January is not a very original month to shake up one’s exercise routine. But after 5 happy years at Pure Yoga, I decided it was time for a change. I toured Equinox and I pondered Asphalt Green, but those places did not provide enough motivation to pull the plug on my favorite yoga and ballet barre classes. Then I read an article in the Wall Street Journal about ClassPass. Before the article was complete, the new app was on my phone and I had signed up for a trial package. Perfect! I could check it out WHILE still maintaining my membership at Pure.
You might be asking what is ClassPass? Class Pass is an app that gives you access to a myriad of workout facilities at the click of the button. The company is about 5 years old, so it is not new, but it was new to me. In a city that relies on bodegas for basic supplies, it makes perfect sense that corner fitness “bodegas” that offer smaller, more focused classes are the the next big thing. Why stay handcuffed to one place when you can do a TRX workout out one day, pilates the next, row the following day and close your workout week with a hot yoga class?
Since parting ways with Pure, I have done about 25 classes of different varieties all over the city – SO MUCH FUN! 
Two studios have bubbled to the top as my favorites: Exceed, for it’s no nonsense, carefully taught, group classes that emphasize strength and performance and Chaise Fitness, for it’s focus on the core and the use of interesting props that provide a very pinpointed and thorough workout, but also kept me entertained.
I love that I can target the location for my workout (usually the Upper East Side) and the time para
meters (usually between 9am and 12pm) and the app will give me all of the options that are available. I also appreciate the heightened awareness I now have of the terrific range of fitness opportunities we have available to us as New Yorkers. New Yorkers are fit! I was concerned I would miss the friendly front desk greetings I used to get at Pure Yoga. Turns out if you amp up your smile when you enter, folks smile right back. To sweeten the social aspects of the experience, I have also encouraged some friends to sign up for Class Pass, so often we do the classes together.
There are a couple of downsides:
1. If you buy a 10 pack class pass and fall in love with a particular studio, you are limited to only visiting that studio three times over the course of a month.
2. In the wake of your class you will receive A LOT of emails from the studios you visited as they want you back, but via their own package offerings.
I am guessing the studios don’t LOVE class passers (not sure the financials work in their favor), b
ut they have all been friendly, professional, and welcoming. Learning what lurks behind each fitness door has been an adventure for me and I look forward to crossing many more new thresholds as I continue on as a converted and happy class passer. ClassPass is available in a big long list of cities, so you can use your ClassPass when you are traveling. Genius! I wonder if they have classes in Montauk?
If you want to grab yourself a ClassPass and go workout, click here for more information.
Bravo! The blog has begun.