After a few classes at Body Space Fitness, we can say with certainty that this is a personal training gym first, a group fitness spot second. There’s just something about this workout that feels more like an impersonal, personal training session than a typical group fitness class. Maybe it’s the small, 10-person class size (and yet, it’s as though they haven’t dialed up the energy to account for more than one person, so there’s not enough of it to go around). Or maybe it’s the fact that you’re just a few feet away from people in the thick of one-on-one sessions, since class takes place out in the open, rather than behind closed studio doors. Or maybe it’s the unfortunate reality that music is a feeble afterthought to the workout, if audible at all, so don’t expect a well-timed beat drop to help you push yourself to your limits here. Ultimately, we found Body Space workouts to be challenging, with solid instruction, but lacking the X factor that gets us pumped up about a studio and keeps us coming back.
After surveying the class for the new and the injured (+2), our instructor warmed us up with walking lunges and high kicks, traveling squats with a booty band (we’re convinced our band was extra hard, because this took us twice as long as everyone else), and a couple of other warm-up drills up and down the “turf.” AstroTurf, that is. The whole class takes place on fake grass, which didn’t bother us much, though wasn’t the most comfortable during plank holds. And how they go about cleaning the “field,” we’re not sure, but the thought definitely crossed our minds watching our sweat drip onto the roughage.
The bulk of the workout was straight circuit training, using pretty straightforward equipment like kettle bells, medicine balls (we held these while doing one-legged deadlifts), and TRX straps. We did some unfamiliar, awkward-feeling TRX exercises, including single-arm rows from sit to stand (we felt this basically everywhere imaginable except the targeted back muscles), and some other move from where we just “stood up” holding the straps (this one confused the hell out of us; we must have looked like we were struggling big time, so we were surprised not to receive any hands-on corrections in such a small class setting). There was also some sandbag contraption with a million straps that we used for deadlifts, lunges (we were supposed to rack the sandbag for this one, but couldn’t make heads or tails of the straps, so ended up holding it like a baby), and a plank exercise where we pulled the bag back and forth underneath us alternating sides (we felt this one in our entire core, and liked it). Each circuit (there were 3 of them) incorporated body weight exercises, too, like V-ups, plank-ups (or walking planks, or commandos, or whatever you like to call these motherf*ckers), and planks with front taps, and side forearm planks.
Everyone knows that the best part of a personal training session is having your trainer stretch the sh*t out of you at the end (or at least we do from our one comped session at Equinox), so imagine our disappointment when this class didn’t even come with a cool down. Instead, on the buzzer of the final circuit, our instructor gave us a spiel about some of the other classes offered at Body Space, which is all fine and good, but we did a lot of strenuous sh*t during class, and found it odd that she didn’t remind us to stretch it out. So, maybe Body Space is trying to get more into the group fitness game, but the vibe and intensity pale in comparison to some of the other cardio-meets-strength classes (Hey, The Fhitting Room) in town.
Gonna Cost You
$30/class, but if BSF is your jam, the unlimited monthly packages are in line with a pricey gym membership. That said, most classes are readily bookable on Class Pass, even last minute.
Instructor Vibe
We sort of feel like a you can derive motivation during a workout from one of two external places – your instructor and the music (often curated by your instructor, so maybe from just one place, actually). Our instructor started off strong, but ultimately lacked the energy to make class an engaging and memorable experience. Without (much) enthusiasm or (any) music to keep us going, we didn’t get as much out of the workout as we might have if these factors had been on point.
Studio Sitch
There are lockers and a shower or two, but nothing to write home about here.
