When I first moved to the Washington D.C. area I started searching for a cycle studio. The spin classes at my gym were great, but there was something special about walking into the a cycle studio. No one could recommend a good one or even knew of one to try.
Luckily, a a little more than a month ago Revolve opened up around the corner from my apartment. I was DYING to check it out. The classes sounded interesting, but the cost was high, especially considering I was already paying for the gym. I decided to buy one class when they were offering their reduced prices.
I really wanted to try the Barre Class, which was a combination of cycle and barre exercises. Then came the second issue, the times of the classes were just terrible. Most were smack dab in the middle of the work day. I couldn't figure out who they were targeting! Even their standard classes weren't fitting into my work schedule.
With a day off from work I was finally able to get to Christianne's Barre Ride. The studio itself was pretty nice, simple and clean. They use iPads for you to check yourself in and have lockers that you can store your stuff in. The shoe rental wasn't terrible ($2).
Christianne was a pretty good instructor. The music selection was good, although really loud. The class was broken into 35 minutes of cycle and 25 minutes of the barre exercises. She really packed in the cardio and I have to say my heart was racing and the sweat was pouring.
The barre section literally destroyed me. We used a ball and light hand weights to do the exercises. I didn't feel much when we were doing the light hand weights, but I literally wanted to die when we were in chair pose in eleve. My legs were shaking and there were points when I just had to come out of the pose.
Melissa Romero from the Washingtonian also took this class. See what she thought here.
I would be interested in testing out their standard ride and their complete body ride classes. They have added in more classes and better times making that a little bit easier. It might be something I treat myself to every once in awhile.