What I learned from 6 weeks on ClassPass

By sweatysandiego

For our 50^th post (man that mile stone came kinda quick!) I wanted to switch it up a bit. While we have included runs, bikes, hikes, instructors, studios, and gear information for you all, we’ve mostly been busting our butts getting around to different classes in San Diego. This has primarily been possible due to enrolling in a ClassPass trial. In the span of 6 weeks, I attended over 50 classes. Not all are posted yet—but I’m slowly parceling them out on the daily. In honor of our postiversary?, I’d like to share what I’ve learned from my class pass experience:

I wish I had taken some type of before picture to now compare to my after picture. However, I’m not even sure that the pictures would look all that different.

Maybe my pull up form got better?

I was working out before—my usual schedule, when allowed by work travel, would be to do yoga 2x weekly, cross train 2x weekly, and run somewhere between 4-6 times depending on if I was training for a race.

However, as anyone who regularly works out can attest, it gets BORING. There are always challenges and milestones to shoot for, but after a while your mind (and your body) can get you into a routine that almost feels more like a funk. When I saw the email offer to try classpass for 2 weeks free—I jumped at the opportunity. (I’m the kind of person to bring a Tupperware to a buffet and I live for free things). I ended up loving it so much, I kept up my membership for the following month, trying as many different classes in different areas of our city as possible.

How can you be bored with this stuff around?!?!

So what are my main take-aways?

1. Don’t just “do you”. Yeah, you heard me. It might sound counter-intuitive to most of the advice you’ve gotten, but this is an opportunity to step OUTSIDE of your comfort zone. Are you a born yogi? Try kickboxing—you might like to let go of that extra aggression in a less spiritual way for once! Are you a crossfit junkie? Maybe explore the benefits of barre and toning with lighter weights. If you’re nervous, bring a friend! (or don’t, since it’s a great chance to meet new people!) We all have our go-to exercise routine, but that is what leads us to be bored and our body transformation to plateau. Yeah, I suck at dancing, but I still did it and ended up smiling the whole time. (This can also apply to checking out a new area of your city—don’t be afraid to travel a little for a cool class!)
2. Own a few must have items. Classpass is a deal, but I’ll admit, there are plenty of places that are offering extra—for a fee. Always travel to class with a water. If you’re going to yoga or an outdoor boot camp, bring a mat. If you’re going to a heated class, you WILL need a towel. Bar or reformer? They will want you to have grippy socks (get some). Is the class outside? Sunscreen it up, friends! Throw an extra layer in the car. Consider what type of foot wear, sports bra, and clothing you will need for this level of activity and dress to your comfort.
3. Capitalize on steals and deals. If you are using Classpass to explore something new, do the leg work and check out their website. If you have limited time, I’d suggest first checking out the studios and classes that are a bit out of your price range. There are lots of places that offer free weeks, classes, or very cheap trials that you might not want to spend your time on first. If you are interested in reformer or personal training gyms, these typically end up being the priciest, usually followed by spin and barre. Classpass generally assumes the value of each class $19, but these places can sometimes charge up to $35 for a drop in! (If you find a place you love, and hit your 3 max visits in a month, don’t fear—you are added to their email lists and I’ve already received many offers for additional class packages) Following this logic—don’t just go for the “cool kids”. Even if a place isn’t a popular gym you’ve heard of, check it out. I can’t even count how many classes I’ve signed up for that turned into highly productive 1:1 or small group sessions.
4. Don’t be a jerk. Show up early. Learn what you need to know about the studio culture and location. Read the footnotes on the class and what you need in the confirmation email. These are all things that our momma’s already taught us (kinda), but remember them. Nobody likes the person running in late who missed the warm up or is interrupting the opening meditation.
5. Ask questions. Sometimes trying something new or being in a new place can be intimidating. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. I’ve noticed that a lot of the studios don’t give Classpass members as much of spiel about joining (phew, less pressure), BUT you are still new and there to learn. It is your workout to maximize!

Oh, and I also have a wish list! Here are the things I think that Classpass could look into developing to make a fit girl’s life a little easier.

1. Search by proximity to an address. Some of the neighborhoods in San Diego are just BIG and some I don’t know that well because I am new. I spent a while tooling around on the site and asking people questions before realizing some areas I was discounting were actually pretty close and vice versa. My constant companion during this time was google maps as I mapped and mapped and mapped to maximize my time.
2. Link teachers to all of the studios that they work with. I’ve never been one to follow a teacher from studio to studio, but I’ve met almost 50 different awesome teachers since joining class pass. Some I’d love to learn more from. Access to schedules of where/when they are teaching would help them create a cult following AND ambassadors for classpass.
3. Make suggestions. It’s good to be able to select the type of class “yoga” and the neighborhood—but I’d love to access some of that survey data. What class have users rated as good for beginners? Which ones focus on core? Which ones are five star locations versus 2 stars?

A few final comments…

To the dudes…get out there! Why is every class I’m in all women??? Ladies, grab your boyfriend and make him get his glutes to shake at barre! Go to boot camp as a couple and start sweating for that wedding! Grab your dad, your brother, your bros…whatever, and make sure they know how cool this program is too!

To the instructors…there are very few things that you need to do when a new person arrives at their studio to TOTALLY set them up for success. 1. Introduce yourself. 2. Be nice. 3. Ask them if they have any prior injuries or physical limitations. 4. Ask them if they have done this type of class before (if not, show them relevant equipment) 5. Tour them around if time allows. It seems self-explanatory, but it shocks me whenever someone misses one of these few key conversation points. Additionally, my classes were way better and I felt more comfortable when I was prepared by a teacher.

To Classpass… this has been a great experience. Your customer service team (that I’ve interacted with) is unparalleled. Please keep growing and evolving and making boutique fitness accessible to the masses! (and thanks for following us on Twitter!! )

Categories: Annoucements, Classpass, Free, Trials

Tagged: #annoucements, #classpass, #free, #trials