This post is part of my 2017 New Year’s Resolution to try every group fitness class offered at my gym, The Equinox in Chestnut Hill. See the full list of reviews here.
Progress: 37 Classes Down, Approximately 7 To Go (class offerings sometimes change)
37 down! Today I got to take a class with Chris Gagnon. According to his online bio, he’s also from Maine! He grew up playing hockey competitively and has gone on to overcome asthma with diet and exercise and create CrossCycle, his own trademarked cycling fitness class… informed by his competitive professional cycling experiences.
So we have tons in common!
Ok. Maybe just Maine. Well, I also like to ride my bicycle.
I would love to take his CrossCycle class but it’s only offered at Franklin St. I get the impression from talking to instructors that the Franklin St. Equinox is quite the high-energy gym. A surplus of motivated professionals fill classes before and after work and on lunch breaks whereas Chestnut Hill has a lot of people like…. me! The stay at home parent who hates burpees. There’s a mix, and I’ve seen some packed evening classes at Chestnut Hill, too, but it’s probably busiest mid-morning.
Class: Metabolic Meltdown with Chris Gagnon
Class length: 50 minutes
Description from the Equinox: An intense full-body workout designed to spike your body’s metabolic rate. Jump, crawl, pull, push and swing as you melt away the pounds and create a new lean body.
What Class Was Like
No crawling or swinging, but plenty of intense and full-body. Class was a pyramid workout with 9 exercises done in progression building onto each set so that the first set was exercise 1, then 1 and 2, then 1, 2 and 3 up to the 9th full workout set. Strength work was the focus of 6 of 9 sets, cardio/strength combo for 3.
This class reminded me of Stacked! because of its pyramid structure and similarity of the exercises. Fans of either might enjoy trying the other for a slightly different feel.
Sample Workout
It’s hard to describe exercises with both brevity and precision, but this should give you an idea of what the class might be like and a sense of whether it’s a good fit for you.
Jumping jacks, high knees and butt kicks 30 seconds each for about 5 minutes total to warm up.
60 seconds working each exercise then a 90 second recovery between the progressive sets.
- Dumbbell full squat up into standing dumbbell press
- Backwards lunge dumbbell “ski” so back arm goes into a tricep extension and front arm into a press while entering the backward lunge
- Low squat holding dumbbells jumping back into high plank (with hands on dumbbells) then optional push up and repeat
- Lying on back with abs engaged and head slightly lifted with feet out and raising dumbbell to meet a scissoring leg on one side then alternate
- Lying on back and doing overhead tricep extensions with feet out and abs engaged
- Tuck and then stand with option to lift weights up with you (a little like a burpee)
- Lunge with arms extended holding light weights to the side then bringing one arm over towards the other
- Low plank rocking forward and then back up towards down dog but keeping forearms down, repeat
- Burpees with a jump around then repeating facing opposite direction
Stretching.
Beginner Friendly?
This isn’t the strength class I’d start with if you don’t have a solid strength and cardio base going in. Chris offered many variations, gave precise instructions, and reminded people to keep it at their own level and rest if needed… but it’s a challenging class. The ability to do burpees, hold a plank position, do push-ups and complete ab work on the mat that involves dumbbells will help you get the most out of the experience.
If you’re at a comfortable level of fitness, pyramid workouts are actually great for people new to a class. Unlike a circuit workout where people swap stations, the entire class is doing the same exercises simultaneously, making it easy for the instructor to offer guidance and/or model the exercise in real time. The building of the exercise sequence also means that you repeat many of the exercises, which can help you work on your form and then focus on your effort.
Why is it great?
It hits that strength, cardio combo, short intervals mean you only have to do the exercises for so long, and it works a large variety of muscle groups.
Know before you go
Take a variety of weights so you can switch them out as needed to get the best workout for you. Music is at a motivational level, some people might like earplugs (they keep them at the front of class, or bring your own). Weight gloves might help protect your hands from dumbbells and keep you from slipping when it’s burpee time.
Also – don’t eat leftover potato chips from Halloween right before class, because you are not really Wonder Woman. That was pretend.
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