How to Get a Summer Body- For Free
Don’t ever say we didn’t do anything for each and every one of you. We recently took it upon ourselves to try a bunch of different workout classes and review each of them for any of you working on that summer bod. The kicker, we did it all FO FREE. Most workout places give you your first class for free, while you’re testing the waters. Some even throw in a second class for free. Some will even give you a 7- 14 day free pass! We’ve made our rounds and have documented it all just for YOU. Our muscles are pissed at us, but our wallets are happy! We’d do just about anything for the Blog.
Pure Barre - Within the first five minutes we were looking at each other and wondering how we’d make it through the whole class. Barre ain’t playing around; this is some tough stuff. It’s awesome what you can do with your body weight, some bands, a little ball, and a couple of floor pads. This is a total body workout and it WILL kick your a**. The instructors were so sweet and welcoming and they made sure we had all the basic info before getting to business. Unfortunately, the locations are very inconvenient for us Summerville people (Jesse).
Orange Theory - We LOVED this place! Think HIIT workout to the max! Basically, you’re rotating through three different stations (weights, treadmill, and row machine). There are different exercises and intervals you do at each. The workout changes daily, so you definitely won’t be getting bored. Also, the music is awesome- they know how to keep you jacked the whole time. And there are locations all over the Charleston area! We signed up online and we received a very friendly call before class letting us know just what we needed to bring. They asked us to arrive half an hour early so they could show us the ropes. Boy, were they thorough. And when we showed up they had a freakin’ sign welcoming us. C’MON! This class is very fast paced, but they made sure to cover every detail of what the class would look like before it ever started. The instructors were super friendly and made us feel very comfortable the whole way through. We may end up with a membership here.
Charleston Power Yoga - We strive for honesty and IF we’re being honest, this wasn’t our most enjoyable experience. Truthfully, it was a great workout and we did sweat our faces off, but no one really took any time to explain anything to us or welcome us OR to make sure we weren’t injuring ourselves. Heated classes are great, but can sometimes be a little dangerous if you’re OVER-stretching. At the end of class we were kind of rushed out the door without any explanation on memberships or opportunities for other classes, so it all just felt a little unwelcoming. Plus we didn’t get the memo we had to wear lululemon. Maybe that was the problem?
Chucktown Team Training - We love the team mentality of this one. It is very similar to Orange Theory on a smaller scale, but it kicks your booty! You move around between each station, high-fiving and encouraging everyone around you. They have amazing trainers, loud music, and awesome equipment. Highly recommend!
Holy Yoga (okay, this one is always free)- I (Jesse) get to write this one. Ashley won’t do it justice, because she leads it and we are our own worst critic. This is class is amazing. Think chill, relaxing yoga flow with a Spirit-filled devotional mixed in. Not to mention, an incredible worship playlist all the way through. You leave feeling a deeper sense of peace and ease in your day, week, life. Even if you’re not a yogi, you’ll find something about this class that you love or that moves you (physically and spiritually). Do yourself a favor and give this one a shot.
Pivotal Fitness- We checked out the Summerville Pivotal and took a spin class there. The facility is really nice (and gigantic) - all the things you could ever want. They have a huge section of cardio machines and an open expanse of free weights and weight machines. There are also multiple studios for a variety of classes (think spin, crossfit-like, orange theory-like, and Zumba). Our spin instructor was so sweet. There were plenty of bikes AND, as an added bonus, we got to watch music videos while we cycled so the distraction from our burning thighs was nice. Also, they still make music videos?!?
HyLo Fitness- We took the Hy 50 class but this facility also offers other class options like power yoga and barre. Our class reminded us a lot of Orange Theory. You are rotating through three different stations (weights, bike, and row machine). There are screens up at each station that tell you which exercises you’re doing while you’re there. Just like at Orange Theory, an instructor moves throughout, helping where needed, keeping time, and generally trying to keep everyone pumped up. The room was dark, mainly lit with neon lights, which we appreciated. We didn’t need to see how much we were dying. Taking it up a notch, we felt very Boujee at the end because they gave us a damp, chilled, lavender towel. Yall know we aren’t fancy, so there was no delicate patting of the face for us. We walked around with that thing draped across our foreheads.
Burn Boot Camp- This is another great option for people all over the Lowcountry. There are studios everywhere. The workouts are fast-paced like Orange Theory and Hy 50, and the workouts change daily. When we went it was “Sprint City” day. Lord, have mercy. Everything was burning. But this place is upbeat, highly energetic, and people are constantly high-fiving you. You can’t help but be happy here- minus your body crying the entire time. And hold the phone- new clients get a 14-day free trial. Why wouldn’t you try this?!
Most all of these places run fairly expensive, at least in our eyes. Several of them were insanely enticing, but they all were over $100 a month for unlimited classes. From there, you generally can buy an 8-class pack for roughly $80-$90/ month, or a 4-class pack for $60/month. But we guess that’s the price you may have to pay for super fun, planned workouts with trained instructors. We really want to sign up, but the ol’ pocket books may make that difficult. Thank goodness we beat the system with all of our free classes! And we aren’t done yet- here are some other places we would love to try out:
Pilates of Charleston
CHS Revolution
Bikram Yoga
Aerial Fit
Barre Evolution
Raising the Barre
Crunch Fitness
9 Round
Goddess Dance Studio (sexy and fit, whaaaaat?)
The list goes on and on…
If you’re someone who has a hard time committing to just one place, never fear- we’ve got you. ClassPass may be just the thing for you! With this cool membership, you purchase monthly credits that can be used at a variety of participating studios on a ton of different classes. You can check out all the locations in the Charleston area that participate before purchasing a monthly membership- AND you get to sample this out too! You get to try ClassPass for a whole month for free- that’s roughly 4-8 classes! Holy cow. We don’t want to say we double-dipped at some of the aforementioned studios after trying their free classes, but we may have double-dipped at the aforementioned studios. Sorry, not sorry.
Finally, our best advice on how to get a summer body: Have a body during the summer. Don’t get so caught up in having your “dream body” that you stop thanking and taking care of the one you’re in. You’re amazing just the way you are, BUT some of these classes have showed us the importance of taking care the ONE body you get and showed us how strong we already are and truthfully, we all need that reminder. ROCK THE SKIN YOU’RE IN!
