fitness class reviews

I love a good gym class for forcing me to push myself during a workout, and nothing beats a personal training session to keep my form in check. Sports Club/LA's BLITZ class is a bit like having the best of both worlds — here's why I can't wait to sweat it out at another one.

BLITZ is a high-intensity conditioning class that promises to help you step up your goals and reach your next fitness level. Since each class is limited to just four or five students, it's an excellent option if you're looking to improve your fitness while staying safe. There's no back of the room here; your instructor sees all and will correct your form as necessary. Each hour-long class is structured similarly — the instructor writes the day's workout on a board in front of the class, and after completing the 15-minute warmup circuit, 30 minutes is put on the clock and the countdown begins. All the equipment you need is ready and waiting for you, from barbells to medicine balls to TRX straps. You goal is to complete as many sets of the circuit that your trainer recommends before the clock hits zero. Afterward, there's a 15-minute cooldown session that includes core exercises followed by stretches. Having the workout on the board in front of you means you can exercise at your own pace, but you can still use a little friendly competition to push yourself to keep up with your fellow students.

Each class has a specific goal based on what you are working on — either endurance, power, or strength — so your reps and sets will vary. Endurance classes, for example, are more like a traditional cardio workout so you do more reps with less recovery time, while strength classes feature exercises that aim to fatigue your muscles. Power classes focus on exercises that require a full range of motion to improve your body's agility, balance, and speed. In general, however, you can expect high-intensity exercises like walking dumbbell lunges, box jumps, deadlifts, TRX chest presses, sled pushes, ball smashes, and power snatches. Basically, you're sweating the whole way through.

Keep reading for more on why I love BLITZ and where to find the class.

If you've been searching for a high-spirited cardio class, BUTI could be your new favorite class. LA-based founder Bizzie Gold created BUTI to be a fierce and feminine workout that combines elements of her favorite ways to get in shape: yoga and CrossFit. Dance, yoga, and plyometrics all meld to create this crazy heart-pumping class.

Even actress Jennifer Love Hewitt is a BUTI believer, which she shares in the latest issue of Shape: "BUTI has given my arms and shoulders definition and helped lift my butt too . . . and even though it's very challenging, it's so much fun!" And after taking Michelle Opperman's class at Crunch, I too am hooked.

The class starts off with a quick warmup and a fast-paced yoga flow. Then it moves through a sequence of common yoga positions (such as Chair, Warrior 1, and Downward Dog). Unlike a traditional yoga flow, instead of holding for a few breaths before moving to the next pose, you hold each position for at least eight breaths, but dancing, gyrating, and pulsing while doing so. This sequencing is broken up with spurts of dancing that help you let loose and kick your heart rate up — by far my favorite part of the class. There was also strength work that included moves like push-ups, burpees, and mountain climbers, all classic conditioning moves — just given a BUTI-ful twist.

Keep reading for my class concerns and where you can take BUTI.

Time is important — especially when it comes to exercise. And nothing beats a workout that does it all in as little time as possible. Stacked, one of the latest class offerings from Equinox, is just that and has quickly become a lunchtime staple during my week. My entire body is challenged in less than an hour, and I leave the gym feeling energized and the good kind of sore. Best of all, there is nothing boring about this class.

Each class consists of two circuits that contain six different exercises. At the most recent class, we started with an eight-minute dynamic warmup that elevated the heart rate and warmed up the muscles through simple cardio, stretch, and strength moves. Then we jumped right into the first exercise of the circuit (triceps dips) for 30 seconds; once finished, we completed a 30-second active recovery (plank) before stacking the second exercise onto the circuit (one-legged squats with bicep curls) for another 30 seconds. But before we could even get to the squats, we had to go back to the beginning and start again with the triceps dips. When we finished that round, we added the next exercise from the list (box jumps), but again, we first had to complete a 30-second active recovery (plank jumping jacks) and start over from the beginning of the list and complete the triceps dips and one-legged squats with bicep curls. This cycle continued until we finished the sixth and final exercise on the list, resulting in a circuit that was right around 15 minutes. After running through the second 15-minute circuit, we cooled down for about eight minutes with some light cardio, stretches, and yoga poses.

Learn more about why I love Equinox's Stacked after the break!

If you've dreamed of channeling your inner rock star into a fitness plan, it's time to POUND.

Created by two female drummers, the POUND workout fuses cardio interval training with drumming to provide a challenging, heart-pumping workout. After taking classes at my local Crunch gym, I'm hooked. Anyone who thrives off the group fitness environment or needs loud music to stay motivated needs try this class ASAP.

It moves fast: From start to finish, lively, heart-pumping movements and upbeat tunes keep the workout feeling fresh. There's no holding an uncomfortable pose for an extended period of time; the class is always moving, always changing, and always pushing the body to its limits. Plus, the time flies by! It moves from warmup to cooldown in just 45 minutes.

It's a full-body workout: While certain group fitness classes tend to target particular areas of the body, POUND offers a full-body workout and targets common trouble spots. A huge part of the class is performed in a squat position. The constant up-and-down drumming targets your inner and outer thighs, butt, and core. And those drumsticks aren't just for show; at one-fourth pound per stick and a little shorter than the standard length, they're perfectly designed to maximize your arm workout.

You'll blow off steam: After a long day, there are few things more exhilarating than grabbing a pair of drumsticks and being able to POUND out your stress. Whether you're sitting down doing mat work or up on your feet jumping to a new track, everything seems more tolerable — and more fun! — when you're banging on the floor a pair of neon green drumsticks.

If you're ready to try out POUND for yourself, find a class in your area. For those who don't live in one of the 11 states where it's offered, you can try the POUND workout at home. Online classes (aka a Backstage Pass) are now available for the first time.

Fans of circuit training will love the latest class offering from Crunch Gym: Diesel Motivation. The hour-long class is fast paced, challenging, and, best of all, a total-body workout. Expect to leave sweaty and sore.

If you're not familiar with circuit training, exercises are performed one after the other with no rest in between the moves. In Diesel Motivation, that breaks down to a mix of strength training moves intermixed with sets of high-intensity cardio. For the class, each student needs two sets of dumbbells (both a heavier and lighter set), a Bosu ball, a barbell, and a gliding disc.

Though no class is exactly alike, the same formula is always followed: class starts with a five-minute warmup consisting of light cardio and dynamic stretches followed by the meat of the workout and then a short 10-minute cooldown consisting of deep static stretches. Between the warming up and cooling down, the instructor leads the class through a series of back-to-back strength moves that focus on one area of the body, which is then followed by an intense two-minute burst of cardio (usually 30-second sets of jumping jacks, ice skaters, jump rope, and boxing moves). This intense cycle continues for about 45 minutes; the idea is that by the end of the class, you'll have worked every muscle group of the body. As for the strength training moves, it's about maximizing results — supersets of compound exercises. Some typical moves are lunges with bicep curls, sumo squats with arm raises, and push-ups performed on the Bosu.

See what I think of Diesel Motivation after the break!

We are pumped to share one of our fave stories from Self here on FitSugar!

Once upon a time, rowing was considered a man's sport, beloved by preppy Ivy League boys and lake fishermen. Times have changed. Here's what happened: we ladies found out it was fun. You know what else is fun? Being toned. And, contrary to popular belief, rowing accomplishes that for more than just your upper body.

Just ask ultra-endurance athlete and World Rowing Champion, Josh Crosby, who created the now internationally practiced Indo-Row workout with partner and fitness developer Jay Blahnik. (They even collaborated with WaterRower on a special Indo-Row Machine that uses actual water.) Though the first classes began in 2005, Indo-Row went global in the last three years and is now offered at over 50 clubs from Equinox and Sports Club LA to The Mayo Clinic's Wellness Center. And, as with any growing trend and especially ones that start in California, Hollywood has caught on. Though the Indo-Row team is hush-hush about A-list clientele, a few names have leaked out like Nicole Kidman, Estella Warren, Kevin Bacon, and Jason Patric.

In the creator's own words, "Indo-Row was designed to bring the benefits of rowing to the masses." See Crosby's top six reasons to row after the break!

Always a sucker for a deal, it was a free week pass that brought me out to review YogaWorks, a chain of yoga studios located throughout California and New York. While the amount (and types) of yoga classes that the San Francisco location offers is remarkable, I found myself coming back for three of its non-yoga offerings — DanceWorks, BarWorks, and SculptWorks. In these classes, I learned to let go, that small can equal sore, and came across a class completely unique to anything else I've ever tried.

• DanceWorks — DanceWorks, the studio's newest offering, is an energetic hour-long dance cardio class. I took the class two times — in the first, the movements were rooted in jazz dance, and in the second, modern; the class format stayed the same in both classes. DanceWorks starts off with a dance warmup centered around proper breath and alignment; after the warmup, you learn individual dance steps, which are then pieced together into a short dance routine set to a popular song. In the beginning of class, I was feeling nervous and self-conscious, but, by the time class ended, I was lighter, looser, and more in touch with my body. While I did sweat a little, DanceWorks isn't an intense cardio workout or filled with overly complicated moves, which makes it a fun class regardless of your fitness level. Be ready to let go of your inhibitions and shake those hips!

Find out about both the BarWorks and SculptWorks classes after the break