Month: March 2015

I’ve always sucked at doing anything other than running during marathon training. 

Every time I sit down to write my training plan, I include a cross-training day and a few days of strength training each week. In reality, I end up skipping those workouts because I use every ounce of my motivation just to run.

So when ClassPass reached out to me and asked if I’d like to try a complimentary month of classes, I was initially like, OH GOD NO, MORE EFFORT. But then I figured, hey, I should at least try it.

The verdict? Now I’m addicted to barre and yoga. I crave the burn of those treacherous one-inch micro-movements at the barre. You’ll have to rip my yoga mat from my cold, dead hands.

Here’s how it happened.

ClassPass is a startup out of NYC founded by a world-class dancer with an entrepreneurial streak. The company’s story is awesome; I highly recommend you read it if you’re interested in startups or happen to work at one, like I do.

Fitness classes are expensive. The more classes you buy, the cheaper they are, but then you’re stuck taking all your classes at one studio. 

ClassPass provides a more economical solution with a flat monthly fee — $79 in Seattle, and $99 in a few cities, like NYC — that gives you unlimited access to all of the studios it partners with. 

There are currently more than 100 partner studios in the Seattle area, and I’ve noticed so many new ones pop up in the short time I’ve had ClassPass! You can take up to three classes at each studio per month.

I’ve never considered myself a “class person,” but I wanted to find out what all the barre fuss was about, and I hadn’t done yoga in three years so I figured it was time to get my stretch on. ClassPass partners with Barre3, The Bar Method, FlyBarre, and more, plus studios that offer pretty much every type of yoga imaginable: CorePower yoga, hot yoga, Hauteyoga (of course that’s a thing), and even aerial yoga. There are so many options to choose from!

I eased my way into it by attending two ClassPass events: one at Barre3 in Capitol Hill, and one at Strala yoga in Interbay. I LOVED both!

Barre3 is a full-body workout of concentrated micro-movements that work your muscles to the point of shaking. I thought I had strong legs from running… and then I started taking Barre3. Turns out there’s PLENTY of room for improvement! It’s one of those workouts that you curse in the moment, but find yourself craving afterward. 

I like to do a class midweek, when my marathon training runs are shorter.

One of the ClassPass gals sent me this pic she took at the Barre3 event. I’m in the back, under the clock. Squeezing that ball is hard! The instructor at my home studio is very encouraging about modifications; it’s definitely the type of class that’s flexible if you ever feel discomfort doing a certain move.

Strala is unlike any yoga I’ve ever done before. I don’t feel comfortable in yoga classes where it seems like everyone knows exactly what they’re doing and is taking it really seriously. If I fall out of a pose, I want to be able to laugh at myself and not feel embarrassed. Strala is that kind of place! The style of yoga is more about movement than holding poses, and the instructors encourage you to move in the ways that feel best to you. I’m sure it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but I really enjoy it!

I’ve started going to an hour-long class on Mondays to stretch and recover from my Sunday long runs.

I snagged this pic from Strala’s blog post about the ClassPass event (I’m somewhere to the right of the frame). There were more than 50 people there! In the classes I’ve attended since, there’s been about five or six people — so much more room to breathe. 🙂

In the month I’ve had ClassPass, I’ve taken three Barre3 classes ($20/class drop-in rate), three Strala classes ($18/class drop-in rate), and one class at a yoga studio I didn’t like very much that shall remain nameless ($16/class drop-in rate).

Those seven classes would have cost me $130 if I’d paid for them individually, so the $79 ClassPass would have been more than worth it (had I paid for it). And when I’m not marathon training, I can see myself taking even more classes — probably adding at least a weekend spin class to the rotation to mix things up. The greatest thing about ClassPass is that you can always discover and try something new! So maybe there’s another type of class out there that I’ll love, and I just need to discover it. 

It’s also incredibly easy to book (and cancel) classes on the ClassPass website and app.

I’m dying to try this aerial class! I booked it for last week, but then was just feeling too burned out from running and everything else, so I cancelled it a few days in advance on the ClassPass website with no penalty. There is a $15 fee if you cancel a class within 12 hours of the start time, and a $20 fee if you just don’t show up. Gotta have some incentives to go!

I certainly don’t recommend signing up for any fitness class or membership purely for motivation; some part of you has to already want to go in order to make it a meaningful habit, and therefore worth the money you paid. Nothing is worse than a fitness membership that does nothing but collect dust.

But if you’re like me and just need a little extra push to mix up your workouts, and want an option that’s more flexible than a gym membership and more economical than paying full price for boutique classes, I highly recommend ClassPass. I’m continuing to use it on my own dime!

If you’d like to try it, you can sign up for a monthly subscription using any of the ClassPass links in this post (like this one) by March 24 to get $25 off your next month of ClassPass. (Full disclosure: I’ll get $25 off, too.) 

In Seattle, I just heard about a deal on the radio where you can try one week of ClassPass for $10. If you attend three classes at different studios within the week, you’ll get your $10 back! Get that deal here.

And I’ve seen other versions of the $10 one-week deal around the Internet for different cities, too. Get your Google on if you’re interested.

Has anyone else tried ClassPass? What did you think?