ClassPass Review #7 - Jazzercise Edina

 

 

 

 

ClassPass Review #7 - Jazzercise Edina

7111 Amundson Avenue, Edina, MN 55439

(612) 251-8522, jazzercise.com

As you already know, early February I signed up for a ClassPass account.  You can read about that here.  Below is a recap of my 17th class, 7th studio, using the "pass".  If you'd like to read other studio recaps, use the search bar above and the search term: ClassPass.

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So ... I've been promising for some time now that you'd be seeing some stupid ClassPass recaps.  And, well, here it is.  Jazzercise.

Yep.  I did it.

Now, before you get me wrong - I'm not saying Jazzercise is stupid.  I'm saying that Jazzercise makes ME look stupid.  Got it?  Good.  Let's recap this thing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Ok.  So if I haven't said it before, the friend that I'm doing ClassPass with is a Zumba instructor.  Which means she is coordinated with dance moves.  And of course that means ... I am not.

You can probably guess who picked this class.  Not that I exactly refused.

Anyway, on to the meat of the story.  So it begins.

If you've been reading my ClassPass recaps, you know what's coming here: the requested 15 minute pre-class arrival rant.  And heeeerrrre it comes!  The above Jazzercise class was scheduled for 12:00 noon.  We arrived at 11:44.  What did we find?  Lights out.  And we were the first car in the parking lot.  Great!  Just what I want to see when I'm not dressed for class and want a tour of the facility.  Instead I'll just stare at the front door I guess:

Mmmm.  You know how much I love having spare time to enjoy the fine architecture of industrial wastelands.  Which this place totally is in, if you're wondering.  There even looked to be a few deserted, or at least not well patrolled, warehouses just across the way.  I was sort of tempted to see if I could give myself tetanus by jumping the rusty fences meant to keep us out.  Good thing it was cold enough that I was more motivated to just stay in my car and keep warm.

After killing almost 10 minutes, finally I saw someone open the studio door.  A little more than 5 minutes before class was to start.  Super.  Being that I wasn't changed, I rushed into one of two bathrooms while my friend helped check us in ... which ended up being a total cluster because the person at the front desk had no documentation showing that we were registered, and even worse, had never even heard of ClassPass.  I don't know how that was even possible, because we registered for this class almost a full week in advance. 

What a hot mess!!  I felt a little bad my friend had to deal with this while I changed.  However, I gladly would have traded "handling that cluster" for "needing to change" with my friend because the bathroom at this studio was gggaaaahhh-ross!  There was hair on the floor, a dripping sink, no hook on the door (although there had been at one point, since there was evidence that it had been ripped off), and no table to put your things on while you change.

Yeah.  This adventure didn't start off well.

Once I got changed, I walked back into the small lobby that opened into the main studio to help sort out the mess that was check in.  After that, I tried to check out the digs. 

The studio overall was pretty shabby, and not in the chic sense.  The floor was run down, there was chintz décor everywhere, and I felt like the whole place could use a good wipe down or vacuuming.  And no, I'm not trying to be mean just because this is a Jazzercise studio.  Case in point?  What does it say when a studio has a Facebook page that's around 4 years old and a website, and both have ZERO photos of the studio posted? 

Now wish I would have taken a few photos, since this is all I can find on the web and it really doesn't capture the essence of the place:

Despite the shabby studio, and the disorganized check in process, the students at class were very nice.  That's so great for anyone who needs support to stay active.  You can tell the regulars there have a strong sense of community, which I really appreciated. 

I did not appreciate, however, the fact that the instructor arrived at 12:05 and that we started late.  Especially when she excused herself by stating that she also teaches at the Chanhassen location and had just come from there.  If that's the case - just move the class to 12:10 to help balance the time better!!  *sigh*

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Since the instructor was running late, we launched right into class.  Wow, ok.  Let's get going then!

To her credit, she did notice that we were new and welcomed us during the warm up, but since she couldn't talk to us before class started, there wasn't a whole lot of preface to what we were going to do.  I felt a little lost at sea ... but I managed.

Managed to make an ass out of myself, that is.

There was a whole lotta shuffling and shaking and jazz hands fireworks.  (Yes, the instructor called it fireworks.)  I pretty much felt like this:

If you're curious what the class entailed, the format was pretty straightforward - there were a couple of slower songs to warm up, then there was the core of the class (which was obviously Jazzercise dance), then a few songs that incorporated strength and a very brief cool down.

During class, the instructor spent a lot of time bragging about how good of a teacher she was, since apparently she had just cleared her most recent brand inspection/certification process and was also going to be leading an instructor training in the next week.  She also talked about how she had just gotten some sort of fancy laser skin peel because she wasn't going to "age without a fight".  Both my friend and I were a little surprised at how self absorbed her conversation was, since we are instructors as well and couldn't even envision ourselves talking like that to our students.  But then again, it was Edina, so ...

Somehow, at 12:55 I realized - I had managed through class!  (Yep, we started 5 minutes late and ended 5 minutes early - good thing I didn't pay for this out of pocket and expect the full hour.)  In the end, I didn't trip or kick myself.  So I considered it a success.

I do have to admit, though.  This happened:

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So, you might be wondering: after all was said and done, what did I think ?

Well... Jazzercise is exactly what everyone stereotypes it as, let's be real.  It's a lower intensity workout aimed at a mature female audience.  If you enjoy it, though, go for it!  Why not keep active? 
DIFFICULTY - low

That being said, the class format is a little tricky, since there are some dance moves.  They're not terribly hard, but may take you a couple of classes to catch on to.
SKILL - some repetition required for mastery, but suitable for beginners

In regards to staff and environment, I would rate this studio as low in both categories.  They really need to work on being more timely with their schedule, refurbish the floors and sweep/clean.  The ventilation was fantastic, though - loved the plentiful ceiling fans.
STAFF AND ENVIROMENT SCORE - low

And of course - the most important part: would I do it again?
WOULD I DO IT AGAIN? No, even if they cleaned the studio up I wouldn't go back.  Dance aerobics just aren't my style.

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So now, what class is next?!