My 2 Years with ClassPass! One Fee, Various Studios

Here's my fitness background. I did not have regularly scheduled workouts until 2014. Yes, that means that most of my adult life was spent NOT being active.  Eek.

I had gym memberships, but my money was basically a donation since I hardly ever went.  Gyms were boring so I would try out a fun studio here and there, but my budget would only allow for a class or two. These NYC prices are pretty steep! We are talking on average $25-35/class. Even if you buy a package deal, it can be an investment. For example, Barry's Boot Camp is $35/class. The 10-pack is still $320. And that's without taxes, my friends.

Then came ClassPass with its monthly membership fee which includes access to a huge network of fitness studios worldwide.  The fee is $79-$125 depending on your location. 

You can take a class at any of the hundreds of participating studios. Try them all if you want! You can visit a specific studio up to 3 times per monthly cycle. And if you decide that you want to attend more than 3 classes at a studio, you can buy the extra classes through ClassPass at a preferred rate. 

This meant I could do Barry's Boot Camp for less. Yes! 

(You guys, it's a crazy good workout.)

Don't let the tough face fool you. I need the gloves because my hands hurt when I put my body weight on top of the weights for pushups and kickbacks. What can I say, I'm a fragile flower.

Because I'm paying one fee that allows for unlimited classes at different studios, it motivated me to try a lot of new classes. Hey, it's all included, right?

Cycling in a pool? Sure!

image via gotham-magazine.com

Hip Hop class at Broadway Dance Center

A tad bit intimidating, but so much fun

I never worked on a rowing machine before, but Row House got me feeling like I could join a crew team.  I also felt like my shoulders were getting sexy there for a bit. The operative word being WERE. Still working on it.

Total body surf training at SurfSET!

The idea of boxing freaked me out. But I went to Church Street Boxing via ClassPass, and the instructors were so awesome and encouraging that I ended up buying my own pair of gloves to continue boxing. Don't get me wrong though. They're still very tough.  

A more modern boxing studio : Title Boxing Club

On the more chill end of the fitness spectrum, here is a pilates studio that used to be a beer hall! I love going to classes here at Sal Anthony's Movement Salon. I come here for the pilates AND architecture.

ClassPass got me back into the yoga groove.

 

The awesome art at Laughing Lotus.

 

The above are just some examples of the wide range of fun classes you can take.  I love that in one day, I can be pole dancing, tap dancing, and learning about aromatherapy. Pretty cool, right?  A bonus is that several of my friends joined ClassPass so we get to discover and fumble through interesting new classes together.

Besides the fun factor, I also don't miss classes because you can get charged a $15 late cancelation fee if you cancel within 12 hours of the class. There's no charge if you cancel before that! This is a typical cancelation policy at fitness studios, except you just lose your class credit/money.

I actually like the late fee aspect because it totally increases my commitment to making the class. How many times have you intended to go to the gym or take a class, and you just get..lazy. Also, I think 12 hours is a reasonable amount of time to know if you can make the class or not. Initially, ClassPass had a 24 hour cancelation policy. In 24 hours, I feel like a lot could change. But my schedule is a lot more solid 12 hours before a class. So I'm glad that ClassPass modified it.

OH! And the most amazing thing is that you can take classes when you travel to another city! My friend did it when she went from NY to LA. Another New Yorker used her pass in London. And I took classes when I visited home in Atlanta. 

I really have to give credit to ClassPass for my consistent fitness routine. I have been exercising 3-4 times a week, and I hope to continue to build up and vary my workouts!

If you want to give ClassPass a try, you can sign up here.  We'll both get $20!
Below are some tips and my favorite classes!

*Certain classes can be very popular. Try to book your classes way ahead of time, and then just cancel before the 12 hour period if you can't make it. It is also a lot easier to coordinate with your friends with more spaces open in the class because you want to avoid signing up and your friend not being able to get in.

*I have noticed sometimes the app and full "desktop" website on my laptop do not show the same classes. If you can't find it on the phone app, try the website. Also, I have used the filter option to find a specific studio, but no classes showed up. Yet, if I scrolled down the list of classes from the daily view of all the studios and click on the studio, there were classes available from the studio that day. It's a strange discrepancy. 

Cool classes not mentioned above:

FlyWheel and FlyBarre at FlyWheel Sports

Yoga and Barre at Exhale Spa

Tramp(oline) class at Body by Simone

Bollywood dance workout at Doonya 

Pilates, ballet, aerobics with the addition of the overhead bungees (neat contraption!) at Chaise Fitness 

xo,

Erica