I was referred to this little gym in the Bitter Lake area by a business client of mine who was a…read moreclient of the gal that runs this place. She explained the science behind the Super Slow exercise protocol. I was a very skeptical that you could build significant muscle in only one 10-min workout per week. I went home and spent an hour or more Googling research about this. I also read the book she recommended "Body By Science." It all seemed to make sense scientifically, but I asked myself, if this actually works, why isn't most everyone I know that works out doing it? Well I found out after my first session. It IS only 10-12 minutes, but in order for it to work right, you have to do the exercises with proper form and push your muscles to failure for several seconds which is VERY uncomfortable to put it mildly. The ironic thing is that this form of working out is actually much safer than many other forms, especially crossfit which seems to currently be all the rage. So I think it's a combination of people not believing you can get significant results in 10 minutes a week (I actually am doing it twice a week - but to build muscle you still can only do it once a week), and, some people are just cutout for the level of "torture" you have to slowly endure toward the end of each exercise. But for someone busy like myself that hates working out, it's a very efficient way to gain muscle. I sometimes try to do the workout by myself when I don't want to drive across the bridge but I never get as sore as I do when I do it with Anne Marie. I'm not sure if it's something about her machines or more likely she makes me push myself harder. After my 10 minute workout all I have to do is make sure I eat enough (I use a food intake journal app) and make sure I get enough sleep. The result has been as good if not better than any other type of workout I've tried. The only downside is this is a by appt only small gym in an odd location and a bit of a trek for me. I wish she had a gym on the Eastside. The equipment looks a bit dated too (but it all works), and there's never more than one other person there training so if you want to gawk at people (or people to gawk at you) in a club-like atmosphere, this place may not be for you. I consider this place and the workout she is using a hidden secret in Seattle. While the 10-12 minutes is pretty intense, I still try to get some additional cardio in twice a week, but I typically get that through sports and recreational activities I enjoy instead going to the gym. When I try to explain this program to my friends and they are skeptical, all I have to do is take my shirt off to convince them. LOL. I also Googled SuperSlow Philip Alexander (the doctor that help pioneer this technique) to read more about it and understand it better. Or SuperSlow Study Switzerland. I am surprised I never heard of SuperSlow before!

I have been a client of ideal exercise for many years, and I'm so glad that I have! I'm in…read morefantastic shape for my age and I've done it in just minutes a week; low time commitment, high results! Highly recommended, & I hear they may be opening a gym on the Eastside soon.

Such an amazing, caring g safe space creates for movement from home. Adaptive techniques, no…read morejudgement zone. All ability levels. Never judged me for being in pain or needing accommodations for movements. I just wanted someone to help me keep my strength, and sanity. Highly reccomend.

This is the type of business that everyone needs!!! I took part in Stacey's 10 week strength…read moretraining class and the care and commitment I received to make it through was amazing! She is all about "listening to your body" And protecting yourself. Stacey was committed to ensure we didn't hurt ourselves and gave wonderful instructions throughout! I've learned so much about my body and I feel the strongest I've ever felt in my life! This experience has and will be with me for a lifetime! Stacey is an advocate for eliminating diet culture which is what attracted me to be a part of strength training! My experience was hands down the best! I highly recommend you take her strength training classes!

Brandon and Melissa exactly what the fitness world needed. Their devotion to truly empower and…read moremotivate their clients to get into shape is unlike anything I've been a part of. werher Your there for Personal training or the amazing Bootcamps its clear as soon as you step in your family. I am beyond grateful for all the hard work and commitment to quality and knowledge Brandon and Melissa put into myself and other clients. I highly recommend Sama and believe you'll achieve your goals while also being emotionally and physically built up!

This may be controversial to some, but Sama Fitness is 100% better than Orange Theory. I was going…read moreto Melissa and Brandon for years to get a great workout. Their classes were always challenging, and I always walked away (if I didn't die from their leg workouts) feeling like I improved in my fitness journey with each class. I recently relocated and joined OF to continue having a class-based workout, but nothing compares to the classes Melissa and Brandon provided. They set the bar high! They always pushed me to levels I didn't think I could perform. Definitely miss their classes!

Kimae has the nerve to tell you she's a former father person, then looks you right in the face and…read moresays "Yea, I don't think I can help you." Yes, she refunded my money, but fat shaming from a personal trainer is wild to me. If you want to tone up and are skinny this may work for you, but if you fat and really want to lose significant weight, look for a different program. There are trainers/coaches out there that have no issues with modification and working with you where you are NOW. Kimae isn't one of those people. It has taken YEARS of therapy and finding the right kind of coach to be even able for me to say anything about the treatment I received at her hands....which is SO messed up because I really did like the way she would break down an exercise. She would explain how a specific movement would work which muscles. And I was truly learning a lot. That's why I was caught off guard when I was told me she couldn't help me.

My partner and I started bootcamps at around the same time, he chose a former athlete trainer who…read moreis an NSCA certified strength and conditioning specialist with an indoor facility and equipment. I went with Kimae's bootcamp thinking that certification didn't matter and having an all women outdoor bootcamp would give camaraderie and be nice for summer. From her website Kimae states she is certified in holistic fitness coaching and group training through the CHEK Institute. For some reason though she is not listed anywhere on the CHEK website as a trainer. From the start our bootcamps were very different, my partner's bootcamp class size averaged 10-15 students where as Kimae's is 40-60 students as she runs two classes at once for newbies and returnees. That is where the problems lay. With that many students Kimae is understandably overwhelmed, unable to check form or field questions. Half of the class time you are running laps as she gives instruction to the other group and then sends them off to run laps as she gives instructions to your group. My partner's bootcamp is entirely devoted to specific exercises that build on each other and each student is given adjustments to their form as they exercise. She is unable to meet the goals of her advertising from her website. More then half of the class miss the instruction she gives for the next set of exercises and have to ask each other. It is very difficult to ask a question as there are just too many participants. She had one entire set of class exercises taken from a magazine page which she emailed the link for. That was embarrassing for me compared to the specific workouts my partner was getting in his bootcamp. She has a weekly statement of nutrition advice she gives everyone and is unable to get more personalized then that. She canceled our group's second week calls and failed to provide the promised food diary feedback via email. After experiencing a mild ankle sprain and asking about the makeup policies, any suggestions for working around the sprain during the 2 weeks off needed for healing and requesting the nutrition food diary feedback she promised now 2 weeks late, Kimae then sent an email with a fake header saying it was from one week prior but she failed to check the reference ID's in the message source, and then she dropped me from the rest of the session and refunded my class fee telling me to sign up with another trainer. I took her suggestion and will now be working with my partner's trainer. I do hope she can run her business in a more sustainable and less shady way and provide a better service then what she is doing. Clients are more likely to continue working with you if you are honest about your mistakes. For anyone considering the bootcamp my advice would be to skip this one, there are better bootcamps in Seattle with more knowledgeable trainers.

I've been contemplating how to best review Seattle Changing Room, Gyrotonic in general, and Leslie,…read moremy instructor. First I was hesitant because Gyrotonic is one of those things that you almost want to just keep it for yourself because it's THAT good. Your body is craving this, trust me. It's the cashmere of workouts, the truffle butter, the hope diamond! I've been working with Leslie for a little over a month to rehab this problem I have with my lower back and hips, but I have also gotten stronger, leaner, have better posture and am and more flexible. I feel 3 inches taller every time I leave and am pretty sure I AM actually taller. Leslie's enthusiasm for her work and your body is quite refreshing! You will be excited that someone is that invested in your body! Just try it and you'll see the light.

I've been doing lunchtime yoga at Seattle Changing Room for years. The classes are small and…read morepersonal, and they work hard to make the classes what their students need, including changing days of the week! They are incredibly caring. I've mostly worked with Elaine, Leslie, and Ben and they are all fantastic. I've only done gyro a few times as a filler when a yoga instructor wasn't available, and it felt simultaneously like I wasn't "working out" and like it was really hard and my body felt incredibly taller and stronger afterwards. Cant recommend this place enough.

What a great first class! Make sure you take the intro class and be prepared to engage all your…read moremuscles. I love that they are so stickler on form! In order to lift heavy you need to do it correctly. The warm up was fun and really helped me use all my muscles. We went over a few different movements. It was also great to start with light, medium and heavy bell. There is parking in the alley way, only a few spots. I cant wait to go back.

I set up a workout at Kettlebility during a recent trip to Seattle. It was really fun to see how a…read moredifferent StrongFirst Gym worked. I had a great workout with Rafael. He checked and tuned up my basic skills with the primary kettle bell exercises. I left with some improved skills and had a great time. The atmosphere is chill. Jennifer, NYC

It's not cheap, but it's life-changing…read more I'll be honest, Pilates lessons are my biggest expense after rent and my student loans. But the amount my body has changed since I began lessons here a year and a half ago has convinced me that classical Pilates is entirely worthwhile. My athletic background is mostly running and gym workouts, but I'm on my feet all day, and so I was interested in improving my posture to avoid back problems down the road. My back was extremely arched, and I was starting to have problems after I walked for long distances. I work mostly with Adrianna, but I've worked with pretty much everyone in the studio. The newer instructors are sometimes a gamble, but it really depends on what you're looking for in a workout. Don't write the studio off just because you don't get good vibes from your first instructor. I prefer Adrianna because she's committed to Joseph Pilates' vision in its purest form, without all the frills and fancy stuff. I also enjoy working with Regina, Clare, Sara(h?), and Chris. I need to point out that I was anxious to start Pilates because I was worried the studio would be populated with stick-thin, beautiful, pretentious, rich former dancers and trophy wives. There are a few, but most people are down-to-earth and average. Because you work with mostly the same people each week, getting to know the folks I work out with has been one of my favorite parts of Pilates. After you start with a few private sessions, you can move on to semi-privates and mat classes. I stayed with privates for quite a while, and I'm glad I did because I feel like I have a much better grasp on the reasons behind why the exercises are performed the way they are. I also feel much more independent in my semi-privates and mat classes, which gives me more bang for my buck and makes up for the initial money-sink. The front desk staff is generally friendly, and their bookkeeping/scheduling is always spot on. On a practical note, their facilities are clean and the showers are helpful for when I'm done with my morning or pre-dinner classes! I've also done Pilates at various studios in Michigan and Hawaii, and I would strongly recommend that even if you don't come to Metropolitan Pilates, you look into a classical Pilates studio. Enjoy, and don't be afraid to get started!

I like working out. I like sweating, I like my heart beating fast, and I like being able to eat…read morejust a little bit extra. I am always up for trying a new way to exercise. I know Pilates is popular but I was never one that wanted to do DVDs. If I was going to try this I want to use those reformer machines that sort of look like torture devices. My chance came when my mom and I were at a silent auction. Nothing offered sparked either of our interest then I saw a three private lessons package and begged my mom to bid on it. To my delight she won. Soon I was on my way to strengthening and lengthening my body. I had to leave a message to make an appointment but was immediately called back. I didn't have an instructor preference since I had never been there before and with the time and date that worked for me Kelsi ended up being the instructor I was paired with. Metropolitan Pilates is located in University Village next to the Gene Juarez salon. It is open and airy, clean, and bright. The front desk woman was very nice and pointed me in the direction of the locker room. Towels and a hair dryer are provided in the locker room and locks are there for your convenience. After I dropped off my things I made my way to the waiting area. Kelsi, with a genuine smile and a hand extended, met me. We immediately got on the machines. Kelsi was patient with me as I typically run, lift weights, and do boot camp classes which is the complete opposite of this regime and I found it hard, at first, to utilize different parts of my body to do moves I had one before. Lots of extensions and leg lifts and bending and rolling and slowly engaging muscles. All fun and harder than they looked but the challenge was worth it. Every time I left my session with Kelsi I stood a little taller and my muscles were stretched and longer. Although I wasn't sweating buckets or panting uncontrollably I felt that I got a great work out just a different type which I later realized, my body desperately needed. I recommend Metropolitan Pilates to anyone. The studio is lovely the staff is friendly, encouraging, and knowledgeable. I had a great experience and I hope to come back soon!

Welcome to the gun show! Kristen will LIFT you up to the next level of personal best. She is…read moreamazing and you can see it in everything she does. Her commitment to health and fitness is just the beginning of what sets her apart from other trainers. She is a disciplined teacher, yet totally fun to hang out with! It makes the entire process of training a much more enjoyable experience- plus she will do everything possible to help you achieve your fitness goals. I came to see her last year, had a goal to look good for a reunion and she made it happen. Sure, it took commitment on my part, but having her guidance and experience made it simple and attainable. She motivates, strengthens and builds friendships along the way. If you are looking to make a change in your life, make sure that Kristen and Lift are a part of it. Trust me, you cannot get better than this!

Update - hey Im still seeing Kristen 2-3 times a week. She keeps you accountable and makes it fun…read more Im inspired by her own journey and dedication. I may not be able to match her results but everyday I feel good about the effort and education I get thru keeping on. Also she really knows what women's bodies will respond to in both weight training and FOOD. She is a real pro and IM coming up on 5.5 years. Best decision to start, better decision to keep on going!!