ClassPass Review #3 - CycleQuest Studio

 

 

 

 

ClassPass Review #3 - CycleQuest Studio

6409 City West Parkway Suite 107, Eden Prairie, MN 55344

(952) 236-7691, cyclequeststudio.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 third class using the "pass".  If you'd like to read other studio recaps, use the search bar above and the search term: ClassPass.

---

You may recall that in the month of February I am working on a special project. Well, technically, two special projects.  The first is the Lazyman Ironman.  The second is the month end Tri U Mah race.

That being said ... here's how I ended up at CycleQuest Studio: Lazyman was already well underway, and I knew that I should really be training more for Tri U Mah, so I started looking through my ClassPass list for some cycle options.  Boom!  Here we go!

OH!  And, special for this recap, I have a partner in crime.  Yep, I talked my friend from the Bacon Chase into getting a ClassPass, too.  Hopefully she and I will get to do a few more classes together in the future! 

OK, ok - duh, we will OBVIOUSLY be doing a few more classes together in the future, and some of them are going to be totally asinine.  :-)  I bet you can't wait!

 

 

 

 

---

So far, of the three studios I've visited on ClassPass, CycleQuest has been my favorite.  And they won that title within the first 5 minutes of my visit.

Why?

Simple, actually: they had someone on staff who was dedicated to greeting folks at the door and giving facility orientations.  When you're new to a studio, that goes a LONG way.  I can't tell you how nice it was to not bumble around trying to figure out where stuff was on my own.

Well, the tour was great but let's be real: the owner brings his dog to work for Casual Fridays, and I'm a sucker for dogs.  So, maybe that's why this is my favorite?! LOL!

But before I talk about the facility, let's take a step backwards and talk location:

 

 

OK, brass tacks here.  And this has nothing to do with the studio.  The design of this strip mall is horrendous.  To get into it, you have very limited options - the best entrance being a roundabout.  I've been to several places in the strip mall (including TC Running, the shoe shop down the way from the studio), and I always cringe a little at the design of the parking lot and it's lack of ease to get in/out.

Soap box aside, CycleQuest is located at the far end of the strip mall, away from the roundabout.  It is right next door to the Italian restaurant, and its store front looks like this:

The building the studio is located in has a central lobby, and the entrance to StudioQuest is to your right once in the lobby.  It's pretty easy to figure out. 

Eventually, you'll make it inside to see my favorite part, this:

---

Prior to class starting, I tucked into the women's locker room to dump my coat and workout bag, and to quick change into my workout gear.  I didn't leave my purse in the locker area, since I was informed the room where the bikes were had a cubby for that.

Eventually, I moseyed into the studio and grabbed a bike next to my buddy, who beat me to class.  Making a few guesses based on how her bike was adjusted, I set up my seat position and height and clipped in (clip in shoes are not required, but since I own a pair, I usually drag them along).

Before I could even get to pedaling, the owner, who also gave me the orientation of the facility, was right back at my side.  He gave a great overview of how the bike worked, helped me adjust my seat a little better, talked me through what the computer reported back to me, and showed me how to adjust gears.  The information was all very useful, as I had never used a stationary quite this fancy before, and a few things were new to me.

Once I was "informed", I settled into an easy pedal pace and waited for class to begin.

---

Right on time, and just how I like it because I can't stand when instructors start late, we were off.  Some sort of funky Japanese pop song was playing (that of course I loved), and the instructor started talking us through the format of the day's class.

To her credit, and the studio's really since they post signs about keeping conversations down during class, the instructor clamped down right away on a couple of girls who were obnoxiously chatting away.  They were in the exact opposite side of the studio from my friend and I, almost as far away from us as they could get, and yet they were so loud that I could hear them better than I could hear the instructor.  Unfortunately, the girls were totally self absorbed and continued on chatting through TWO announcements from the instructor to save it for post-class.  (OK, ok, the instructor made a fairly non direct announcement instead of "clamping down", you got me, but still). 

Fortunately, a fellow classmate looked right at the chatty ladies, pointed at the signs in the studio, and told them to can-it.  That was enough for the chatty women to catch a hit and shut up. 

Not gonna lie, I kind of wanted to give that woman a hug.

Anyway, after that, the class went off without a hitch.  I loved the music, and it was well selected - I could catch the beat and maintain the RPMs the instructor wanted us to follow.  We did various hill and speed drills, and I sweat like a pig.  (Is that the correct tense of sweat?  It seems weird ... sweatted?  Swut?  Oh boy...)

At the end of class, once we were all off the bikes, the dog came trotting in to check out how we did ... and then wandered over to watch the world go by via the studio window.  That just cracked me up!

---

So, what did I think?

As with all cycle classes, your ride is what YOU make of it.  It's all about picking your resistance and your speed.  The beauty in that concept is that anyone can do a cycle class, at any level of fitness, and do great.  The hitch in that is you can easily cheat yourself out of a good workout by being lazy (and chatting through class with your neighbor - *ahem*).  Regardless, though, I got a great workout.  Heh, I guess I killed two birds with one stone on this part of the summary!
DIFFICULTY - medium/high for me, but it's all about what YOU make it
SKILL - appropriate for all levels

In regards to staff and environment, I would rate this studio as high in both categories.  While the décor isn't flashy, the studio is clean and neat, and they have ... wait for it ... SHOWERS!!
STAFF AND ENVIROMENT SCORE - high

And of course - the most important part: would I do it again?
WOULD I DO IT AGAIN? Definitely, and probably next week again

 ---

So now, what class is next?!

ClassPass Review #2 - Kula Yoga

 

 

 

 

 

ClassPass Review #2 - Kula Yoga

4402 France Ave S, Edina, MN 55410 

(952) 836-6316, kulayogamn.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 second class using the "pass".  If you'd like to read other studio recaps, use the search bar above and the search term: ClassPass.

---

Having successfully completed my first ClassPass visit on Wednesday morning, and doing a 1500 meter swim that same evening, I woke up Thursday feeling a bit stiff.  Knowing that I was well overdue for my newly self imposed weekly yoga session, I decided to hop onto ClassPass and see what was open last minute over my lunch hour.

Lo and behold, a studio within a reasonable distance from my office had a lunch hour class with openings still available.  RESERVE! 

*note that I actually took the Feb 12th class

 

 

---

Driving to the studio took a little longer than I had anticipated, and in fact, I practically drove right by the place.  I didn't realize the building had an upstairs area, and being so focused on the street level shops, I totally missed it at first glance.

 

Once inside, I was still somewhat confused ... the signage for the studios wasn't totally pronounced and the lobby was a little haphazard.  After peeking into some windows, I realized I needed to go to the door towards the far end of the lobby, ditch my shoes there, and then come inside. 

Once I did so, I was greeted with a studio that looked somewhat like this (although it was empty of course):

 

It's hard to see in the above photo, but the studio has a wood floor with a semi circle trim (which butts up to a stone tile).  At the front end of the studio are the windows out to the main street.  At the back end of the studio there's a small mirrored wall and a set of curtains which lead to simple change rooms - one for men, one for women.

---

Before I could even say boo, upon entering the studio I was warmly greeted by Sydney - both my instructor for the class, and the studio owner (who is freaky limber, btw ... I mean, yeah, you would expect that from a seasoned yogi I suppose, but still!). 

Similar to most other studios, since it was my first time there, I signed my waiver.  And ... well, that was pretty much it.  Sydney said I could roll out my mat wherever I pleased (oh - FYI, bring your own mat), so I did.  Then I headed back to the changing area, took care of business, and relaxed into my mat.

---

Being that this was a gentle flow vinyasa class, when class got started, I wasn't expecting what happened next. 

Although the class was on par with its name, for some reason within 5 minutes of our practice, I started sweating bullets.  It was somewhat embarrassing, actually, since I appeared to be the only one in the studio overheating.  I'm not sure if I was just fatigued due to my previous day's activities, or perhaps it was due to my poor choice of a long sleeved wicking top, but I was smoking hot. 

Despite my hot flash, the class itself was good.  Sydney offered up positive encouragement whenever she could, paid careful attention to form and prompted when needed, and even made adjustments when she could.  I was pleased.

After about 45 minutes of standing poses that flowed through a fairly basic sun salutation variation, we moved into some seated work, and ended with the standard savasana.  By the end, I noticed the stiff feeling I woke up with had started to fade, whoop!

Luckily I had cooled off enough during the seated portion that I wasn't still dripping when the students came out of savasana and started milling around.  Unfortunately, though, with the sub zero temps we had ... my hair that was damp from sweat froze into a mess on my walk back to the car.  Blah, I was embarrassed all over again.  Thank god I work with a bunch of older men who could care less about my bad hair afternoon, and for the fact that I keep an emergency brush in my glove box.

---

So, what did I think overall?

As far as difficulty, I would rank this class as a low.  Typical of yoga, this class does not take loads of strength or endurance to complete.
DIFFICULTY - low

Yoga, however, is not so much about physical difficulties as it is mental.  First, you need to know and understand the pose.  Second, you need to listen to your body.  Being that this is a flow class and jumps right into asanas, I would not recommend someone who has never done yoga before attend this class.  But, if you have a basic knowledge of poses, or even if you are a yoga pro, pretty much anyone else will enjoy this class.
SKILL - best for those with basic+ yoga knowledge

In regards to staff and environment, I would rate this studio high in regards to knowledge and friendliness, but would deduct a few points for overall environment.  It's not a bad place, but for a boutique studio, it was a little smaller and offered fewer amenities than I would have expected.
STAFF AND ENVIROMENT SCORE - high on service, slightly lower for environment

And of course - the most important part: would I do it again?
WOULD I DO IT AGAIN? If I can pull myself away for another lunch session - definitely!

 ---

So now, what class is next?!

ClassPass Review #1 - Studio TimeOut

 

 

 

ClassPass Review #1 - Studio TimeOut

6001 Lyndale Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55419 

(612) 866-0832, studiotimeout.com

As you already know, last week I signed up for a ClassPass account.  You can read about that here.  Below is a recap of my first class using the "pass".

---

With so many studio and class format options in my ClassPass search bar, I was really struggling to select my first ClassPass ... we'll call it "event".  I kept looking at all the options, and felt all ADD, basically just wanting to try everything at once and GO, GO, GO! 

But finally, after two days of pondering my options, reality sunk in that I had to balance a work schedule and my current existing life limitations.  So, to help me focus, I decided to finally look only at options that (1) fit my work/office schedule and (2) didn't conflict with my pre-existing gym commitments of teaching, attending cycle, swimming and so on. 

Easier said than done, of course!!  Throw out Tuesday and Thursday nights for teaching, Monday nights for cycle and running, late Wednesday nights for swimming and ... yeah, I'm already really full.

After realizing my evenings were pretty much a no-go, and then himming and hawing for what felt like ages over the rest of the options (but was really only like two days of deliberation from initially registering for ClassPass),  I finally found this:

*note that I actually took the Feb 11th class

 

Queue singing angels.

This option was perfect!  Although you might notice that it's  a bit of a drive from where I live, this class started late enough that I could realistically drive there, work out, and then take a short jaunt to my office (where I'm fortunate enough to have shower facilities).  Score! 

So, I clicked on reserve, and I was in!

---

Leading up to go time, I was pretty excited for this class.  That, and a little nervous.  Hold on - don't get me wrong here!  I wasn't nervous in regards to if I could do the class, I knew that would be no problem.  I was only nervous because ClassPass has a policy that if you miss a class once you reserve, you get dinged $20, and I was praying to the Aerobic Gods that I wouldn't accidentally oversleep.

Now, before this $20 fee gets you all riled up and you say "well, screw ClassPass then", hang with me here.  To me, this makes TOTAL sense.  Why?  Because once you pay your $79 ClassPass membership fee, reserving classes is totally free.  That means it's very easy to abuse the system by reserving everything and it's mother, and then just cherry picking whatever you feel like taking when the time comes.  So, in order to ensure people only reserve what they really intend to use, and to ensure classes remain open for other students who will actually show up, ClassPass has this policy.  Makes sense, no?

Anyway, back to the story. 

Of course, with my nerves of over sleeping, my night of sleep was sub-par.  (This may have also been thanks to a restless dog who kept pacing the bedroom, and a snoring husband who woke me up at least three times in the night - blech).  Pair my lack of sleep with the fact that I just finished working out at my pre-existing gym not even 12 hours prior, and ... well, let's just say I showed up to class day of a wee bit exhausted.

Good thing the lobby was so bright and cheery!

Speaking of, the facility is beautiful inside.  It may not look like much when you drive up at 6am on a dark winter morning, and that's compounded by the fact that the studio is kind of hidden around the side of a ballroom dancing studio:

But it really is wonderful inside, as you can see from the lobby shot above.  (And yes - I regret not taking a few photos of my own, because the vibrant colors and glass domed areas on the ceiling were really pretty).

---

Walking in when the doors first opened was a bit intimidating, as it was quickly apparent I was the only newbie in the group.  Good, since repeat clientele means the class will be worth my time, but bad because there was no one at the front desk to show me the ropes and help me figure out what to do.  No worries - being that everyone removed their outdoor shoes and placed them on a shoe rack at the front door, I figured that meant studio policy was to do so, and I followed suit ... and then followed the trail of students into the above mentioned beautiful studio.

Once inside the studio, I noticed the students were throwing purses into a wall cubby and gathering equipment, so I again followed suit.  In a matter of a few seconds, I had a step (with a yoga mat underneath it), a figure 8 band, a flat elastic band, a rope-less jump rope, a small inflated ball, a pair of gliders (which they call purple circles), and a second yoga mat set to go. 

Phew, now that I look at that list, it was QUITE the assortment for a 45 minute class eh?

As I was pulling out equipment, the instructor immediately noticed I was new and was very welcoming.  She checked to make sure I had the equipment I needed, asked me to sign a waiver, and then wished me well for class.

As other students filtered in, I killed time by filling my water bottle via the fountain near the cubby. 

Then, it was time.

---

If you're looking for a class that's a gentle wake up before you work out, this is definitely not it.  As soon as the instructor saw it was time, she pumped up some heavy beat, club style music and we were off.  We only took maybe 5 minutes to do a few basic warm up moves and offer a brief hello to our neighbors (which was nice, as I'm not used to having that in a class - we also did a little group interaction at the end as well), and then we flew straight into tabatta segments.

The core of the class was what you would expect for tabatta - 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off, repeat.  At the end of each set, we had an extended break, and then a new set would begin.  Activities included high and low impact moves (with modifications if needed), with a few muscle toning things thrown in.  It was a good variety, and I was pleased.  Plus, there was even a little core work towards the end.

Throughout the class, I was definitely sweating.  Sometimes I struggled a little due to being unfamiliar with a few moves.  In both instances, the instructor was great at encouraging people.  Not only did she cheer everyone on when they were fatiguing, when she saw I couldn't figure out how to do something she was right there to help. 

At the end of the class I was happily fatigued and sweaty.  Hooray!!

---

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

Well, as far as difficulty, I would rank this as a medium/high.  It wasn't like Insanity, where I felt like I was going to throw up after each set... but it was definitely harder than a basic step class. 
DIFFICULTY - medium/high

That being said, the class format was easy enough to follow and modify that really anyone could attend.  So from that standpoint, I would say it is appropriate for all levels.
SKILL - appropriate for all levels

In regards to staff and environment, I would rate this studio as high in both categories.  My only gripe is I wished they had a shower facility on site, but I worked around that.
STAFF AND ENVIROMENT SCORE - high, aside from lack of showers

And of course - the most important part: would I do it again?
WOULD I DO IT AGAIN? Already registered for the next session!!

 ---

So now, what class is next?!

Starting Over, Update

As  I mentioned in a post awhile back, I've had some weight regression in the last 6-9 months.  I'm not thrilled about it, so I came up with this plan to get myself back on track:

(1) Working Out

Monday - AM Group Strength (as a student), PM Cycle (as a student)
Tuesday - PM Total Body (teaching)
Wednesday - PM Swim (as a student)
Thursday - PM Total Body (teaching)
Friday - Still my rest day, this has always been my one celebration for Friday
Saturday - AM Cardio (teaching)
Sunday - PM Yoga (as a student)


(2) Eating

Now that the holidays are over, and the temptation is much less strong, I'm working to get my eating back in line.  No more mindless snacking (since the food isn't sitting around), no more junk food (again, not sitting around).  More vegetables and fruit.  Maybe even less cheese (yes, I just cried a little) ... cutting out eating out ... and of course, beer.  Ah - the good stuff.  I'm not going to go crazy and say I won't drink any, as I've really been enjoying my rotations through the new tap houses in the twin cities.  BUT, I will be more responsible.  Tasting is one thing.  Over indulging is another. 

With the addition of a ClassPass to my workout regime, the above has been totally blown out of the water.  Here's why ... and yes, this was my actual workout schedule last week:

Monday - PM Cycle 1 hour moderate, followed by 2 mile run
Tuesday - PM Total Body (teaching)
Wednesday - AM ClassPass (tabatta), PM Swim
Thursday - Noon ClassPass (yoga), PM Total Body (teaching)
Friday - Noon ClassPass (cycle)
Saturday & Sunday - out of town

Yes, you're seeing that correctly - roughly 7 hours worth of working out in 5 days.  I think I'm going to be looking like someone in this crowd pretty soon...

Anyway, obviously I'm having no problem getting back on the workout horse.  And since I had already been pretty good about using MyFitnessPal again to track calories, my eating has come back in line.  As an added bonus, ClassPass has really upped my workout mojo.

I am PUMPED!!

In celebration, I'm going to #breaktheinternet ... or rather, spam you with a post a blog every day recapping my ClassPass adventures.  Tune in tomorrow for the first post!

I hope that my renewed excitement in working out, and my adventures ClassPass'ing inspire you to do something too!

Back to the Running

As I mentioned briefly in Wednesday's post, I'm BACK TO THE RUNNING.

Somehow, it seems appropriate that I'd be back running in 2015 and Back to the Future traveled into 2015.  Maybe it's a sign? I dunno!

Anyway, why is it such a big deal that I'm back to running?

Well, if you recall last July, I ran a 4th of July 5K.  And that was the beginning of the end in regards to me developing plantars fasciitis (which, of course, I only admitted I might have a month and a half later.) 

Since then, it's been a long and sad struggle for me in regards to keeping active period.  Everything I did always seemed to make my feet hurt, so much so that some days I'd get out of bed the next morning and could hardly walk.

Even this girl looks better than I did most mornings.



Which, of course, meant that I stopped being as active as I usually was.

Which also, of course, then took a toll on my confidence ... and my waistline.

So for the last few months, I've slowly let all my running conditioning rot away.  Which is so depressing to watch, especially knowing last year at this time I was almost marathon ready.  And, from late fall on, I limited myself to non-impact sports.  Which meant I also toned down what I would do in classes to avoid as much impact as possible, and then not long after - I lost all my mojo and kind of fell into the toilet.

Don't get me wrong, I still worked out.  But my love for it got lost somewhere.  Understandable, knowing that the pain that would follow would make it impossible for me to even walk, let alone workout again the next day.

Despite wearing a device to stretch my foot at night and buying a tiger tail to work out my feet and calves, the pain continued.

But then last month, something happened.  After days and months of waking up, some days in so much pain that I could barely walk to the shower, all of the sudden ... poof.  One day a few weeks ago I rolled out of bed, and before I could even make the connection, I had walked all the way to the shower - ABSOLUTELY PAIN FREE.

I cautiously hoped that would mean I had finally healed. 

Unfortunately, in the week that followed, I did still have some sensitivity.  But - it was much less than I had felt, pain wise, in a long time.

And then this month, Lazyman Ironman began.  Plus, I have Tri U Mah (my first indoor tri) to look forward to at the end of the month.  So I decided on Monday night to jump back into running head first with a brick workout that included a moderate hour long bike session and a 2 mile run.  I don't know what kind of magic juju it was, but I launched right into the run segment like I never even took a break this fall and winter. 

Ok, ok - yes, the pace was slower, and my endurance wasn't enough to do a long run but ... I cranked out 2 miles and felt pretty good.  Plus, with a little extra tiger tail work on my feet before bed, I woke up the next morning with almost no pain ... and I didn't even wear my overnight brace!

So this is it.  I'm getting back out there.  Let's see where it takes me...

Coming Up ... Dasies? (InkNBurn Ambassador & Spring Collection)

I don't know what happened with the turn of 2014 into 2015, but it seems like all of the sudden everything is coming up ... not so much roses, but maybe ... daises (?) for me lately!!

Here's why I say this: not only have I finally gotten back on track with my workout routine, and in more ways than one, I also went for my first run last night after months of giving my poor feet a break and ... it actually felt great!  ( ... more on this in a future post)

And as if the above wasn't enough, last night I came home to this:


Dear Natalie, 

 

Thank you so much for submitting your application!

 

We are so excited to invite you to join our amazing team of INKnBURN Ambassadors!

 

WHAT?! 

Ok, first of all, you all know how much I love InkNBurn product.  Not only is their quality great, their design aesthetic is FANTASTIC.  Case in point:

 

 

In addition to the above, the timing for my acceptance is perfect, since InkNBurn just announced their spring line (hence the daisy comment):

So now, with my 2015 fitness goals in full bloom, and InkNBurn product literally blooming, I feel like the "old" me is back.  Here's to the potential 2015 has for us all!!  Cheers!

---

BTW, if you're interested in shopping InkNBurn, go here to check out their main site, and here to see the women's spring line featured above.

I'm Trying ClassPass

Dang it.

GRR!

I'm ashamed to admit it.  Facebook ads finally got me.

Thanks to them, I'm now spending money on a new thing finally available in the Twin Cities Metro area - ClassPass.

Ok, ok.  Hold on.

In all fairness, despite being sucked into a Facebook marketing trap, I'm actually really thrilled this service finally exists in my area.  I've been hearing bloggers in Chicago talk about a similar service for ... forever, it seems ... and I just keep wishing they had it here too.

And now - wish granted!!

---

So, you may be wondering - what is ClassPass?  Well, per the website:

And what kind of classes do they offer, you ask?

And how about what studios and locations are in your area?  Well just click on the major city nearest you and take a peek:

The most exciting part about this for me is - I can finally get back into some more boutique yoga studios, and hopefully pick up some lunch hour workouts at places near my work, all the while not being forced into to paying a membership (or top dollar drop in fee) at each place. 

Not to mention, it will help me focus on my current goal of trying to get my weight back in check, and may even give me some new ideas for classes at my gym as well ...

I.  AM.  PUMPED.

In the next few weeks, as I try out new studios, I'll be sure to let you know what I think.

Stay tuned!!