A week ago, I was invited to try a new gym. Interestingly enough, by the time I received the invitation and spoke to my husband, he had already inquired about trying a class here. I wasn’t familiar with the name, but he had come across it on his Instagram page and planned to take our oldest son (he’s 15) the following day.
After attending the class, my husband explained to me that this might’ve been hardest workout he had every done. My son Bryon agreed and said he really enjoyed the class. I emailed Jess and Hilary and let them know I would be interested in attending and that I would take them up on the offer to bring a friend. I decided to bring my cousin Dominique, as we were trying to get in shape for our upcoming vacation.
The class started at 7 and we were asked to arrive 10 minutes earlier to get an overview. We were also told to bring grip socks (which I forgot but they had at the front desk). I was already leaving downtown a little later than usual, and had to rush home to change so I was a little nervous. Not only that, when I put the address in my GPS I ended up at someone’s home in Beachwood. Cutting it close, I was reminded that my husband said that it was located on Richmond in the same plaza as Moxie. Granted it was in the plaza across from Moxie, that point of reference really helped. The gym was in the back of the plaza next to a small pizza shop.
When I arrived I didn’t know what to expect. I met Dom in the parking lot (ample space so no issues there) and we encountered two others who were talking about how the GPS directed them to the wrong place. Of course, frustrated that the inconvenience made me late I had to put in my two cents and agree. We entered the door and were immediately greeted by two very friendly ladies. Hilary the owner, and Jess her assistant. They told me how much they loved my husband and son and that I was really going to enjoy the class. There were a few benches in the area, so we sat down put on our socks and headed though the beaded strings hanging from the ceiling, to enter the class.
The room was surrounded by mirrors and on the back wall there was a collage of 80’s album covers. In the middle of the room, there were machines lined in two rows, they looked like treadmills but obviously they were not. I had never seen this machine and I was really trying to figure out what I had gotten myself into. Not to mention, there was one group of males all tall and very muscular- (like they could’ve totally been apart of an olympic wrestling team) and then a group of ladies (models to be exact) who were also in topnotch shape (sports bras and had flat stomachs), LOL and then there was me I was confused how this class would work for all of us.
Me and Dom were ready for whatever was about to happen. We picked a machine and watched as Hilary welcomed everyone in attendance. She proceeded to show us the most common moves and what it meant if she stated certain things throughout the workout. It’s hard to actually explain in words, but the machine was broken down into two parts. the first was stationary with a few hand bars and the second moved like a skateboard. There were also multiple pulleys and levers in between the two parts (refer to the image above to help put this in context). The lights went dim, the music started and the class was underway.
We spent the entire 45 minutes on the machine. It was like no workout I have ever done before and I’ve tried almost everything from high intensity cardio bootcamp classes, to pilates and hot yoga. It was a challenge indeed but I enjoyed it. I think after a few classes you probably fully catch on. I spent a lot of my time trying to understand where my hands and feet were supposed to be placed. I have to say the way the room was set up was perfect , I didn’t have to stop my workout to look around to see what exactly everyone else was doing, there was always someone in front of me, or someone I could imitate through the mirror. Jess and Hilary were also amazing! Hilary taught the class but also worked the room to make sure people were in the right position on the machine and getting the most out of the movements. When Hilary was elsewhere, Jess was also roaming the room to adjust my leg or raise my hand, fully explaining what I should be feeling with the stretches.
I learned a lot about my strength in this class. I think it took more concentration than anything else. I wobbled when I had to balance, and I couldn’t also hold low positions for a long time. Some of the exercises were harder than others but some were quite simple. The interesting thing to me is that the class just keeps moving, by the time it was over I couldn’t believe it had been 45 minutes. It went by so fast. Usually when running on the treadmill, or in a intense cardio class I’m wondering how much time I have left. This time, I just followed the lead of the instructor, no breaks just constant movements on the machine. I challenged myself and tried to push further than I thought I could on this machine, I also stretched parts of my body I don’t think I used in awhile.
This was a great class. I would definitely go back and incorporate it into my workouts. I probably wouldn’t do it multiple times a week, but a few times a month for sure. I didn’t leave drenched in sweat but I was sweaty. I walked away feeling so good about myself, not just because I tried something new, but because I didn’t quit. The workout got tough at times, I’d take a deep breath and then get right back into the exercise. I think this is a good class to try with a few friends It’s appropriate for men or women, and also appropriate for teenagers. So if you’re up to the challenge I suggest you visit Corus Fitness and tell Hilary of Jess you read about them on #CourtneyCoversCleveland
No Comments