ClassPass San Francisco Launch + Barry’s Bootcamp
Happy Friday y’all! I had a fun and busy week but I’m definitely looking forward to the weekend.
Brandon has been staying downtown for a conference so it will be good to have him home again. I dropped him off last Sunday afternoon and we had a nice lunch with Coco on the patio at Samovar Tea Lounge in Yerba Buena Gardens before parting ways.
On Tuesday I was downtown again for a pretty exciting event – the ClassPass San Francisco launch party.
If you’re not familiar with ClassPass, it’s a monthly service that allows members access to the top fitness classes in their city {for example, Boston, New York, Los Angeles and now SF- Click here for a map of the classes offered}
For $99 a month, members can take 10 classes at any of the participating studios for up to 3 times a month. Additionally, they have a convenient online schedule that allows you to view when and where classes are offered and reserve your spot ahead of time.
I absolutely love the idea behind the ClassPass because I find that one of the biggest problems with exercise is that it can become boring after a while. Being able to experiment with different classes and change things up depending on your mood is a great way to keep things exciting. Plus it’s always good to offer your body a little variety so that your muscles are continually challenged on a regular basis.
Speaking of challenged muscles, the launch party also allowed us the opportunity to experience Barry’s Bootcamp which is known as “The Best Workout in the World”.
Other than hearing about their incredible post-workout protein smoothies, I really had no idea what to expect going into the class.
Apparently Barry’s is popular among multiple different celebrities, some of which include Jessica Biel, Katie Holmes and Jake Gyllenhaal. It’s known for combining intense cardio and strength training to give you noticeable results faster than any other workout.
As we entered the room for the class to start, half of us were directed to the treadmills and the other half to the opposing weight benches.
The setting is similar to a night club with red track lighting and they play current music, most of which just so happens to be on my running playlist.
I started out on the bench side, where we were instructed to start with weighted squats while those who were on the treadmills went through variations of jogging to running to sprinting.
The first song they played was Clarity by Zedd and right as it started to hit the energetic break, the instructor yelled for the runners to start sprinting and turned the lights down so that the room went pitch black. The energy was awesome and it made me wish I was on the treadmill because I instantly felt like running as fast as I could!
But instead I just gave those squats everything I had. :)
After about ten minutes, we switched off and I got my chance to run my booty off on the treadmill, which was one of the nicest treadmills I’ve ever ran on.
The entire time we were running, the instructor was constantly moving around the room encouraging everyone to up their pace and it really helped keep me motivated. We continued to run for approximately ten minutes before she asked us to switch off for a second set, this time using resistance bands for strength training our lower body while the runners did intervals using up to a 10% incline. I really liked this set because the bands targeted the glutes and the quads. Can we say sexy lower body?
Then the third and final set involved backwards running on the treadmill (!) while the rest did weighted lunges, dead lifts, yoga poses and finally squat jumps. My legs were screaming by the end of it but I loved every second!
I think Barry’s would be perfect for conditioning while training for a race because it involves a lot of running and encourages you to improve each time. I can see why people love it so much and I’m already itching to go back!
Afterwards Urban Remedy was passing out samples of their juice cleanse and I went for the refreshing cucumber watermelon. I enjoyed it while chatting with Ashley and Elle who were both super sweet.
I had plans to meet up with Brandon for dinner right after so I didn’t get a chance to stay for long and apparently missed out on the awesome swag bags. {you can see what was inside in Ashley’s post if you’re curious} But overall it was a great experience and I’m really excited to try some of the other classes in the ClassPass network. I’ll be sure to keep you guys updated!
Have you heard of ClassPass?
What are your favorite fitness classes?
Disclaimer: ClassPass was kind enough to provide me with a complimentary one month pass but as always all opinions are entirely my own.
What a cool concept! If San Fran is introducing the class pass now I’m sure it will be 2018 before Pittsburgh eventually picks that idea up haha. Happy Friday Sarah!
Hi Sarah! Thanks for sharing my posts. I can’t wait to try Barry’s Bootcamp out, since I missed the class that night. That’s so great you’ve been getting a little taste of San Francisco. Samovar is a great place to eat. Have you ventured out into the other neighborhoods away from Yerba Buena and SoMa? So many gems!
That seriously looks like so much fun!! Love that it’s like a club vibe! I bet you felt energized and excited the whole time!
No, I haven’t heard of class pass but I think it’s a brilliant idea, thanks!!
That looks like such an intense class! Glad that you had fun – I love the dark lighting and the track lights! So cool.
I’ve heard a lot about Barry’s Bootcamp, but I didn’t know the details! Sounds like so much fun, and unlike any other fitness class I’ve heard of. So cool that you got to take part! Have a great weekend my dear :)
Never heard of ClassPass, I guess because there’s nothing like that in Europe. I like the setting, kind of night club, no much light so you cannot see very well the sign of the fatigue while training! Sounds like more intimate and “protective” at the same time.
That place looks amazing! The dark would also make it totally less embarrassing to be sweating loads at the gym! I feel like the night club vibe would get me really excited and the energy pumping! I’m now dying to give it a go :)
I wish there was a better place to post my review, but classpass in San Francisco has some serious issues.
First, the site itself is often unusual and very buggy. But worse, the person that convinced me to sign up told me there were plenty of places near my work to use. The map of locations in SF is buried in the website. I found a few near my work and thought I’d try it for a month. Only after I signed up was I able to see that those clubs near my work have no, none, zip, zilch classes. None. Of course, you can’t get a refund after you sign up and the only way to cancel is by emailing them – you’ll only find that in the small print of their terms after you sign up. There is no easy method via the website. And you better do it quick, because they charge your card for the next month fast.
The next closest club, and as I commute to the city from the east bay it isn’t really an option, states that to attend any of their classes you have to go to a “Start” class first. But the start class isn’t available via classpass. So I called them. Well, you have to take it and pay the normal rate for their classes – not through classpass… and the first open class is over a month away.
All of this just screams scam artistry to me. I’d be very very wary of this product for now. I’m very very very unhappy and will make it a point to cost them more than the $99 they conned out of me. Already have two coworkers that were thinking of it that no longer are. You just can’t play games like these guys are. The business won’t last around here.
I’m so sorry to hear about your bad experience, Juniper. I haven’t activated my monthly pass to experience the actual sign-up process but it seemed like such a great idea to me. I had no idea about having to pay to take an initial class either- that just doesn’t sound right at all. :/
I hope they are able to work something out for you for the headache!