Pure Barre Platform Review

Today I survived Pure Barre Platform. I did not fall on my face.

Verdict: This class torches a ton of calories. This is what I need to take after going on a cupcake binge.

It really wasn't like traditional Pure Barre classes at all. Where Pure Barre is about small movements—this class is about big movements. And there's a definite adjustment needed.

I took a Wednesday night class. It was a small class of 7, including an instructor who was taking. There was another lady's her first Platform class.

I felt like a little lost sheep in the class. Like in my first class—when I just didn't know what to expect at all. I was looking around to see what others were doing a lot. And there weren't that many people to look at. I was more lost in this class than I've been trying new classes in awhile. That said, I think I'd do better next time.

The class starts with a step on and off the platform warm-up. I was the worst at this. I was also bad at the Pure Barre warmup. So this is expected. I'm so bad at choreography.

There were similar sections to Pure Barre: Warmup, obliques, leg work at barre, ab work, and cool down. And the floor work toward the end definite felt like Pure Barre so I wasn't as lost. There were lunges with pulses, familiar weight work, bring your knee to your chest, seat work. It's a full body workout.

Highlights:
• Pushups with toes on the platform. At some point over the years, I started liking pushups. (And vainly how my arms look in the Pure Barre mirror.) These were great.

• The flying leaps that are in all the ads. These are fun. (I struggled with them in general, and could do the left side better than the right, but I'll get it.)
• All the big kicking—bringing your leg from the floor to several feet up in the air. This is fun!

Low points
•  At some points it was hard to see the instructor and what I was supposed to do.
• How long we worked the right and left thighs. Way too long. Dying. I thought I'd done a leg twice by accident.
• The motions do look really crazy. This could be amusing to watch. I also don't have those fast twitch muscles you must need for this. Not sure I work at that speed.
• And ha ha. I did fall off the platform once. But not on my face. Just during leaps I missed my footing. No big.

Sweat was dripping down my arms for the whole class. I did bring a towel. And sipped on my water a lot. At the end of class, I just chucked my wet tank in my bag and put on a long sleeve shirt for outside over my sports bra. That shirt was too gross to wear home.

The class was surprisingly low impact. There wasn't too much jumping. I was worried about box jumps—like in the Body Shred class I went to. But no the leaps off the box are controlled (lock out those arms on the barre.)

I got a few corrections. I won't beat myself over this. It was really different from Pure Barre. And I think I will go again a few more times to see if I like it. Or just if I overeat and need to burn 500+ calories.

Seriously, the calorie burn was the best part of this class. My Apple Watch is super stingy with calories burned. It gives me 100 calories for a pilates class. Maybe 280-300 for a barre class, and a little less than a 100 calories per mile for a run. I burned a ton of calories in this class. (More than an hour of trampoline fitness.) And I'm confident I'd do a better job next time.

If you go:
1) You will sweat. I wouldn't recommend a cotton shirt. Wear something sweat wicking. I wished I had worn crops—but couldn't remember if you were supposed to wear full length leggings for this class.
2) Don't worry about looking stupid. I was too busy watching my feet and trying not to fall off the platform to worry about what anyone else looked like.
2) Just when you think you can't do another rep—it's time for stretching. (I love stretching breaks!)

The Nerdy Girl's Guide to SkyFitness (Trampoline cardio)

Basketball dunk after the class

Today I tried a Skyfitness class at skyzone. The kind you might have seen on Keeping up With the Kardashians (the episode where Khloe has some camel toe, but still wears tight pants and short tops.)

Granted, I've been taking trampoline cardio classes for a year, but I wanted to try another gym and see what their classes were like.

Atlanta traffic is unpredictable so we left very early. It took an hour to get there and we were super early. The manager signed us in and printed out our tickets (to jump afterwards). I signed up and paid online the night before.

Your first Skyfitness class is $5, and after that $10 each. Or you can buy a monthly membership for $20. Classes are offered at 9 a.m. Monday through Saturday. 

There were 13 people in our class. There was a high school aged guy, 3-4 older couples, and a lot of 30-something women, maybe teachers. Most people came in pairs.

The instructor, Josh, was a beefy guy who I guessed played high school football. The class started with some light stretching, balancing on one foot, stretching shoulders, ankles, legs etc. The warm-up was 10+ minutes of running mans, jump up and touch your knees, side-to-side jumps, lunges, pulses, jumping front to back, tracing all the corners, butt drops, There were pushups, plank holds (where my feet slipped because of the socks), butt drops (but no spins), jumping jacks, donkey kicks, jumping really high for a minute—to get your heart rate up. I was definitely ready for a water break when it came. 

The third part of the class was cardio. 60 seconds of laps around the trampoline, 60 seconds of curls with a band, or 30 seconds of lunges and 30 seconds of tricep dips on the floor. Then it was back on the trampoline, where we raced up and down the lanes for 30 seconds, while our partners did a sidestep with the band. We took the bands back to the trampoline and did some leg extensions, push ups, planks etc. There was also popcorn (back bounces), V-ups and butt-ups for abs. The class ended with 7 minutes of stretching.

After the class, we stayed to jump. We went to the foam pit and flipped until some 10-year-old boys showed up. Then we tried the basketball court and attempted to dunk the basketballs. We went back to the main trampoline to jump. I wanted to flip, but wasn't rotating enough and it wasn't happening. Kids also kept jumping across our pads (though the trampoline was pretty empty.) We went back to the foam pit and tried to flip some more. I kept under rotating. And Matt finally figured out how to dunk! And that was our 30 minutes.

I liked that there was a clock on the wall that counted down the seconds. We need that at my gym.

Socks: I would prefer to jump barefoot. I really hate socks. (I'm a Southern girl and would rather be barefoot or in flip-flops.) The Skyzone socks didn't bother me for the most part. The didn't bother me at all while I was jumping. They did make holding planks harder in the class (I kept slipping on the sock) and the foam pit foam tends to stick to them.

Quick Guide: 

Verdict: Fun way to burn a lot of calories. You will get your heart rate up.

Thoughts: It was a good class. It got my heart rate up. There was nothing too confusing for me. Most of it was super easy. I rather thought I killed the class—jumping higher than most of the pros, etc. But there was no high-five from the instructor after class. The participants filed out and he put up the equipment. I missed the personal touch from the instructor, or maybe I just wanted to be told awesome job.

And overall, an Aerofit class is more fun. (Skyfitness also didn't use the walls at all). Alex's classes are brutal, but when he's singing Britney Spears off key it just makes the class more fun. 

Atmosphere: Standard workout class. The attendees seemed very quiet. The instructor seemed to be a no-nonsense trainer. 

Intensity: The first 10 minutes are the hardest. It will get your heart rate up. If you're new to working out, just take it easy. Do as much as you can and watch the others. If you're a pro, you won't have trouble with the class. It isn't too hard. And there were two water breaks built-in. 

Price: $5 for a first class and $10 afterwards is pretty good. 

What to wear: Workout clothes and the socks they sell there. I wouldn't wear anything too baggy. I like to wear capris and a tank. 

If you go: Ladies, make sure you pee before you jump. Trampolines do weird things to bladders. 

Would I do it again: Aerofit doesn't offer Friday or Saturday cardio classes anymore. (There is a noon class I can't make, but no Friday evenings or Saturday noon.) If gas wasn't $15 a trip, I'd consider it. Until then I'll wait until Aerofit expands. I've heard rumors of a basketball court, tumble track, climbing wall and foam pit.