I had wanted to visit this place ever since I yelped a dance-like studio near my house in North Austin. I had been putting it off and off because for a student, the prices are a little high for what I would pay for. Upon my return from a 7 week graduation backpacking trip throughout Europe where I lost 3 pounds, I immediately gained it back +5 more literally in a matter of days (2 to be exact). I decided that while I still had some residual money left over, I would 'spend it all' and before looking for a job like a responsible adult. I saw that they had $10 morning classes (before noon - which is still going on) and immediately signed up. I figured I might as well tone up my body seeing as I have nothing else to do anyways.
You have to register online which can be a little confusing, but if you create an account first, then find the class you want to take, it'll take you to the payment page. I think I somehow did it in reverse - created an account, paid, and then booked. Either way, the important thing is to BOOK YOUR CLASSES ONLINE or you'll face embarrassment when you walk into the studio and they have no record of you. Then you'll most likely go next door to Shipley's Donuts as restitution and drown your sorrows in a chocolate glazed donut that's heaven to eat but hell on your waistline.
So I waited until I took more than 1 class to write a review since it would be the most fair. I took Sexy Sculpting (Week 1) with Kim, who's idea of a starting activity was to do wall squats with weights. By the 3rd minute, I was already exhausted and my heart had never raced faster. I barely made it through the 50 minutes and the next day, I was sore everywhere. It took nearly 5 days to recover.
The following week I took Power Babes Boot Camp with Kim again and it was grueling work, especially those chair taps we did on my thighs and I woke up the next day with incredibly sore calves and thighs.
My third experience I decided to branch out of my comfort zone and take the Intro to Pole class with Desi. I'm an Asian who loves structured dances like ballet and ballroom, so something like pole where being sexy is supposed to be natural was a bit of a challenge for me. Nevertheless, I kept up the pace with the others in the class who have taken pole before and it was a ton of fun. The next day I woke up with the most sore back, shoulders, biceps and triceps. It was after the third class that I came to the conclusion that if you're not sore after any of these classes the next day, you didn't try hard enough.
I went back for another Intro to Pole class (min. of 2 before you can move on to Beginner Pole) and it was so much fun. I started taking Beginner Pole but they didn't offer it for 2 weeks on a early weekdays so I'm sure when I start up again, I won't be able to hold myself up on the bar or spin anymore.
(Pole by the way, is extremely hard; not only because your skin is constantly rubbing against metal, but unless you have extreme upper body strength, gravity is your bitchiest enemy).
Overall, this studio is really awesome and has really great classes. It's geared towards women so it has a very female-strong-and-sexy vibe and I love that the weights are covered in neoprene - it makes working out fun!
Pros:
-Fun! Entire staff from front desk to instructors are great!
-You do get a pretty extreme workout so don't think you can't b/c this is for women!
-Very clean and they have towels you can borrow for the sweat you're guaranteed
-Lockers you can store things even though most just put their purses in the room
Cons:
-Price if they don't offer promotions (their 12-month contract one is FANTASTIC only if you have a paying income and will use it)
-Parking can get a little crowded if you arrive late (unacceptable for pole classes btw)
-There's a driver's ed school right behind, so sometimes it's really awkward when teenage guys especially, stop to stare through the window at the pole classes (one of them was actually one of my old students when I student taught so that made it even worse)
-Shipley's Donuts is right next door. Sometimes I can't help but want a sausage and cheese kolache or a sugar donut after a hard workout. I wonder if the studio owners opened it next door on purpose - it can be a vicious cycle for those of us who can't metabolize sugar and carbs as easily. read more