For any readers I might have who are not from the Philly area I apologize, but I'm back today with another Philly-centric post! Today I am chatting all about my favorite workout classes in the city and why!
Before I get into specific classes and studios, let me back up and talk a little about my fitness journey in the city. I have always been a fairly active individual. I swam and played tennis growing up through high school and even swam my freshman year at Tulane (club swimming). After giving up team sports I would go to the gym a few times a week in college and I always enjoyed attending a 20-minute Arms and Abs class. Upon moving to Philly in 2014 I hopped right into the city's fitness scene. I started out with a membership at a local yoga and pilates studio, a gym membership, and a class card at a local spinning studio. Over the years I have been a member of both ClassPass and GymPass and have tried MANY of the local and national studios located around the city. The list below are my favorites - but if you have any suggestions for a good studio in Philly I would love to hear, I am always down to try out a new workout class!
Best HIIT Workout: BPM Fitness, located at 18th and Spring Garden in the Fairmount neighborhood. BPM is locally owned by Shoshanna and runs several types of classes, the most popular being a combination class with 25 minutes of spinning and 25 minutes of strength training circuits. While all the instructors are awesome, Wes is my favorite instructor, he really knows his stuff involving form, is super energetic, and is very motivating. If you are not into spinning try the 45-minute strength only class.
Great for: TRX, Kettlebells, Cardio/Strength Combo, Friendly Staff
Runners Up: Orangetheory Center City, F45 Center City, Ripped PHL, Unite Fitness
Best Spin Class: Flywheel on 15th and Locust Street. Flywheel is a national chain, but I love love this studio. Located underground on Locust Street, the spin room here is one of the best. I really love the new bikes they've put in, they're very easy to adjust and the stadium seating ensures that everyone can see the instructor easily. I like that at Flywheel the instructors push you past your comfort zone. I have gotten all my spinning personal records at Flywheel and its something I can do at 6am when I'm barely awake. My favorite instructors at Kat (the best explicit rap playlists), Nicole (she has the best interval work), and Amandah (she's super sweet and also plays great music).
Runner Up: 45 Minute Spin only class at BPM (discussed above), just bring your own spin shoes to clip-in or wear sneakers!
***One more note, I am not a big Soul Cycle fan, but I have been to the Philly studio and Meaghan Kelley has great playlists and is super energetic***
Best Hot Yoga: Priya Hot Yoga on 19th and Callowhill. Priya is my favorite yoga studio in the city due to the number of classes they offer, the convenient times, the overall welcoming atmosphere at the studio, and I like a lot of the instructors. Go to 5pm Sunday with Rachel for a chill way to unwind after a long week, try Brittany's Tuesday or Thursday classes for more of a challenge (but she knows her stuff) or take a Monday slow-flow with Megan to start your week off on the right foot. I also really like Jillian's sculpt class and Lisa's Saturday morning 75 minute class, it has great flows!
Runner Up: I like the Yoga Sculpt class at Core Power Yoga, but its not my favorite for a traditional flow. Philly Power Yoga on Sansom is good for a nice flow, I especially like their late-night beginner class.
Best Sculpt: Sculpt Jawn at Lumos Barre and Yoga at 20th and Green Street. This class is one of my favorites in the city. I've done a couple other classes at this location but this is the class I come back for. The studio is really cute and kind of has a Harry Potter theme (hence the Lumos name). The Sculpt Jawn class is offered Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturdays and consists of about 25 minutes of yoga flow followed by 25 minutes of cardio (think jumping jacks, dancing, squats) and some light weights/sculpting movements. My favorite teacher is Sara (she teaches 6am on Tuesday).
Runner Up: The Yoga Sculpt class at Priya Hot Yoga at 8:15am on weekends and Yoga Sculpt at Core Power Yoga
Best Boxing Class: Everybody Fights at 20th and Market Street. The TRAIN Class involves 10-12 stations with different cardio based movements, including several boxing circuits. While this is not a pure boxing class (Title Boxing on Market Street offers a class with a lot more boxing) I really enjoy the format of this workout because I can get my heart rate up, lift some weights, and also practice my jabs and hooks. I also recently took a class at Rumble Boxing and really enjoyed that, but I've only done it once so I didn't want to review based on that one time.
Everybody Fights also offers heavyweight classes, yoga classes (I have never done yoga here though), and even open gym for their members. You should bring your own gloves and wraps.
Runner Up: Rumble Boxing (like I said, only tried once but I really enjoyed the mix of boxing and core/strength exercises)
Best Pilates Class: Solidcore at 22nd and Chestnut Street. Oh my God. This is the hardest class I do on a regular basis. I've taken Solidcore classes over 30 times and I am still terrible at them - its so difficult! That being said, I always leave feeling like I've gotten a great core workout and have strengthened muscles that I have not worked in a long time. I don't go to a specific instructor here, mostly because I go at different times each week whenever I can fit a class in my schedule. I try to go once, if not twice a week. If you try it, just know you will be horrible the first couple of times. It is also very fast paced, they don't give breaks (you need to take your own) and the instructor talks the whole time. You need to go a few times and learn the movements and get used to the class format before you start to feel more comfortable. One thing to note, this studio does not have a shower so make sure you're able to pop back home after class.
Runner Up: Thrive Pilates classes on Sansom Street, Pilates at Lumos Barre and Yoga
Personal Trainer Shout-Out: I also want to give a shout-out to a personal trainer I worked with the months leading up to my wedding, Jimmy Sutton from J'aime Fitness in Fairmont. Jimmy and his wife Jaime own the personal training studio, but they recently opened up a studio with group fitness classes. I haven't been by to try the classes yet but I plan on it soon! Jimmy and Jaime are both super nice, local business owners and they're great trainers. I highly recommend them to anyone wanting to get better form!
Before I get into specific classes and studios, let me back up and talk a little about my fitness journey in the city. I have always been a fairly active individual. I swam and played tennis growing up through high school and even swam my freshman year at Tulane (club swimming). After giving up team sports I would go to the gym a few times a week in college and I always enjoyed attending a 20-minute Arms and Abs class. Upon moving to Philly in 2014 I hopped right into the city's fitness scene. I started out with a membership at a local yoga and pilates studio, a gym membership, and a class card at a local spinning studio. Over the years I have been a member of both ClassPass and GymPass and have tried MANY of the local and national studios located around the city. The list below are my favorites - but if you have any suggestions for a good studio in Philly I would love to hear, I am always down to try out a new workout class!
Best HIIT Workout: BPM Fitness, located at 18th and Spring Garden in the Fairmount neighborhood. BPM is locally owned by Shoshanna and runs several types of classes, the most popular being a combination class with 25 minutes of spinning and 25 minutes of strength training circuits. While all the instructors are awesome, Wes is my favorite instructor, he really knows his stuff involving form, is super energetic, and is very motivating. If you are not into spinning try the 45-minute strength only class.
Great for: TRX, Kettlebells, Cardio/Strength Combo, Friendly Staff
Runners Up: Orangetheory Center City, F45 Center City, Ripped PHL, Unite Fitness
Best Spin Class: Flywheel on 15th and Locust Street. Flywheel is a national chain, but I love love this studio. Located underground on Locust Street, the spin room here is one of the best. I really love the new bikes they've put in, they're very easy to adjust and the stadium seating ensures that everyone can see the instructor easily. I like that at Flywheel the instructors push you past your comfort zone. I have gotten all my spinning personal records at Flywheel and its something I can do at 6am when I'm barely awake. My favorite instructors at Kat (the best explicit rap playlists), Nicole (she has the best interval work), and Amandah (she's super sweet and also plays great music).
Runner Up: 45 Minute Spin only class at BPM (discussed above), just bring your own spin shoes to clip-in or wear sneakers!
***One more note, I am not a big Soul Cycle fan, but I have been to the Philly studio and Meaghan Kelley has great playlists and is super energetic***
Best Hot Yoga: Priya Hot Yoga on 19th and Callowhill. Priya is my favorite yoga studio in the city due to the number of classes they offer, the convenient times, the overall welcoming atmosphere at the studio, and I like a lot of the instructors. Go to 5pm Sunday with Rachel for a chill way to unwind after a long week, try Brittany's Tuesday or Thursday classes for more of a challenge (but she knows her stuff) or take a Monday slow-flow with Megan to start your week off on the right foot. I also really like Jillian's sculpt class and Lisa's Saturday morning 75 minute class, it has great flows!
Runner Up: I like the Yoga Sculpt class at Core Power Yoga, but its not my favorite for a traditional flow. Philly Power Yoga on Sansom is good for a nice flow, I especially like their late-night beginner class.
Best Sculpt: Sculpt Jawn at Lumos Barre and Yoga at 20th and Green Street. This class is one of my favorites in the city. I've done a couple other classes at this location but this is the class I come back for. The studio is really cute and kind of has a Harry Potter theme (hence the Lumos name). The Sculpt Jawn class is offered Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturdays and consists of about 25 minutes of yoga flow followed by 25 minutes of cardio (think jumping jacks, dancing, squats) and some light weights/sculpting movements. My favorite teacher is Sara (she teaches 6am on Tuesday).
Runner Up: The Yoga Sculpt class at Priya Hot Yoga at 8:15am on weekends and Yoga Sculpt at Core Power Yoga
Best Boxing Class: Everybody Fights at 20th and Market Street. The TRAIN Class involves 10-12 stations with different cardio based movements, including several boxing circuits. While this is not a pure boxing class (Title Boxing on Market Street offers a class with a lot more boxing) I really enjoy the format of this workout because I can get my heart rate up, lift some weights, and also practice my jabs and hooks. I also recently took a class at Rumble Boxing and really enjoyed that, but I've only done it once so I didn't want to review based on that one time.
Everybody Fights also offers heavyweight classes, yoga classes (I have never done yoga here though), and even open gym for their members. You should bring your own gloves and wraps.
Runner Up: Rumble Boxing (like I said, only tried once but I really enjoyed the mix of boxing and core/strength exercises)
Best Pilates Class: Solidcore at 22nd and Chestnut Street. Oh my God. This is the hardest class I do on a regular basis. I've taken Solidcore classes over 30 times and I am still terrible at them - its so difficult! That being said, I always leave feeling like I've gotten a great core workout and have strengthened muscles that I have not worked in a long time. I don't go to a specific instructor here, mostly because I go at different times each week whenever I can fit a class in my schedule. I try to go once, if not twice a week. If you try it, just know you will be horrible the first couple of times. It is also very fast paced, they don't give breaks (you need to take your own) and the instructor talks the whole time. You need to go a few times and learn the movements and get used to the class format before you start to feel more comfortable. One thing to note, this studio does not have a shower so make sure you're able to pop back home after class.
Runner Up: Thrive Pilates classes on Sansom Street, Pilates at Lumos Barre and Yoga
Personal Trainer Shout-Out: I also want to give a shout-out to a personal trainer I worked with the months leading up to my wedding, Jimmy Sutton from J'aime Fitness in Fairmont. Jimmy and his wife Jaime own the personal training studio, but they recently opened up a studio with group fitness classes. I haven't been by to try the classes yet but I plan on it soon! Jimmy and Jaime are both super nice, local business owners and they're great trainers. I highly recommend them to anyone wanting to get better form!
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