The classpass adventure continues: LA

Bespoke, DTLA

As you may know, I LOVE a good spin class. Soulcyle always ends up my number 1, but I am enjoying trying new studios on my Classpass. Now that I am a little more North-East than West Hollywood it was time to check out a DTLA studio– plus it tied in perfectly with me heading over the LA Live for a Sparks game 🙂

Bespoke is in the Figat7 complex, which means you are going to have to resist temptation of a food-hall on your way to class (which is ok, because Five Guys tastes better after you earn it). I really like this little complex, it looks like they do a few events here which I will need to check out. Anyway, back to bespoke. This studio is doing something that no other studio in LA seems to be doing….. not charging you extra for shoes!!! Hallelujah! When you are paying $30 for a class it really annoys me that it’s then $2 for shoes or mats or towels etc. A big thank you to Bespoke for taking care of this little detail.

I’m not sure if it is every class or not as I have only been to the one, but this class STARTS with 15 minutes of squats and lunges BEFORE you do 45 minutes of spin! This is tough! And the complex not having all the escalators working going up after was definitely felt! I have to say though, it is a good addition to the class, I know my butt needs it. The actual spin class it’s self was good- not amazing but still good. What made the class was the instructor who I think is called Jackson. He had so much energy and brought more thrusting than I’ve ever seen to a spin class. He seemed to love jumping off his bike and dancing around as much as possible, which included a water bottle squirt over the classes. He also played a mash up of Britney’s Oops I did it again and Taylor’s Look what  you made me do, LOVED it! Need to find that song.

Next time I’m in DTLA I’ll head in for another booty ride for sure.

The Bar Method, Silverlake

Despite the fact that they always seem to make me want to cry, I can’t seem to stay away from a barre class. I guess it’s because my aches & pains make it clear to me that I am working on my strength. The Bar Method in Silverlake was nice and close so I decided to give it a try, plus I liked the message on the window which made me think I may just be able to be ‘sculpted’.

Weirdly, the studio is carpeted. I have never been in a carpeted excersize studio before, I guess it’s ok because it’s not a dripping sweat kind of class, but it was definitely weird (and very plush). The class was different to the Pop Phsyique ones that I have been to (which is good, I like it when things are different) but still really challenging. I felt like I worked my butt off but kept getting massively distracted by the smell of Same Same Thai next door. It’s a shame that you can smell it so strongly in the studio as it puts me off. I really want to try the class again, but I am going to have to mentally prepare myself for the smell. Maybe I need to try and earlier class so it doesn’t bug me so much.

Zenki Dojo, Los Feliz

When I was in London I really liked going to Kobox, a strength and bag work boxing class. For some reason, I find punching things a little satisfying 🙂 I found the Zenki Dojo when I was looking through the options in Los Feliz on classpass. It was listed as a boxing class so I thought I’d give it a go. When you get there it has the feel of a little local dojo- not like the slick studios you often get on classpass, don’t get me wrong, this is not a bad thing. Kind of feels a little more authentic. Word of warning: this is not an easy class! It will kick your butt. It started off with some jump rope which about 1 minute in I was starting to regret my life choices, when did skipping get so hard? I’m sure I used to be able to skip for a whole of a lunch break! Once we moved onto the boxing element it was good but all partner work. I have a shoulder injury from years ago that refuses to go away and it just doesn’t really have the strength for partner work yet (there’s more control for me i bag work). At the end of the day, I really liked the class and definitely feel like I worked hard. Once I have built up some more shoulder strength I’ll head back in. In the mean time if anyone knows a good bag work class, please let me know. I miss Kobox.