5 /5 musical footsteps: I LOVE this place, and you should take advantage of the new member special. Professional, informative, and encouraging trainers. Welcoming and supportive clients. Clean facility. Noticeable improvement in strength, endurance, and ability within a few weeks! Details below as this place rocks. I hope this is encouraging if you’re new to fitness or wanting to re-prioritize it.
After listening to a couple of Mel Robbins’ podcasts, I was determined to build muscle to counter things like osteoporosis, dementia, etc. For the first time, I was motivated to workout for my long term health instead of vanity. (It had been over 6 months since my last workout; I had only gone on walks and mild hikes.) In March 2025, I took advantage of the new member special that came with 3 personal training sessions. I was assigned to Mando who helped me learn the basics for bars. He was informative, patient, and encouraging. I was so afraid of hurting myself with the bar, and I got more comfortable through these sessions.
During PT I went to 1-2 burn classes a week. After PT, I went to about 3 bar classes each week. The classes are well designed with the perfect balance of consistency and variety. The first 5-10 minutes of class start with a few stretches and a warm up. The next 10-15 minutes focus on heavy lifting with the bar. The next next 20-25 minutes is the “WOD” or workout of the day. It’s similar to HIIT with a combo of strength and cardio and targets the whole body. The classes are small, so the trainers can provide guidance and tips to clients throughout. As a newbie I felt really comfortable asking for clarification.
The first 2 weeks were rough. I was really sore (even though I stretched and foam rolled every day), and my muscles felt swollen. During the entire class I felt heavy; like I just got out of the swimming pool. My clothes felt tighter, and my arms and legs felt hot. I had to keep reminding myself of my long term goal to keep going. If this happens to you, don’t let it discourage you. It’s very temporary and so worth pushing through. I slowly gained confidence and strength, and by early April I noticed a difference in my strength and endurance. Although it wasn’t a priority, all my clothes fit much more comfortably. (I purposely did not weigh or measure myself for a “before,” because I didn’t want to obsess over vanity.)
By early May, something clicked. I think it was learning the proper rowing technique that helped me understand how the momentum of my lower body really fuels the upper body. Since then, I’ve become kind of addicted to the workouts. I finish class feeling like a bad a$$. I was significantly stronger and felt so confident and comfortable with the bar. I also happened to go down 1 dress size. The experts on Mel Robbins’ podcast were right. Women really do need to build muscle. We are meant to do more than cardio, yoga, and Pilates.
A few more notes:
When I first joined, I had mixed feelings about attending a more “masculine” gym with men. It’s about 50/50 male/female presenting people for both trainers and clients. I was used to gyms/studios that targeted fem clients. This may or may not be related, but I love the culture of this place. There’s less diet culture. There was a day where I was light headed, and the instructor asked if I ate enough and reminded me that food is fuel. It was so refreshing. Also, the instructors use biological terms for your muscles or body parts. This makes me feel more safe as a woman following the instruction of a male trainer. They also will ask permission before touching you and ask in a neutral way such as “can I point to your scapula?” It’s always to help you with technique and never feels icky. The trainers give fist bumps (I thought this was awkward at first but grew to love it for the same reasons as the bio language) and will say things like, “don’t you feel strong?” and “you’re getting so strong!”
What are you waiting for? Sign up!
