Last week I had the pleasure of going to a free core fusion class hosted by Dori. It was at the Exhale location on Madison Avenue, between 76th and 77th st. I have been to core fusion sport, but that’s it so I was really excited to try the class and meet some new bloggers (and see some I had already met!)
I drove into the city because I wasn’t feeling the subway. It took me an hour to get in, which is pretty rare. It usually takes 25-30 minutes to get it, but I still left with enough time, so it was okay. I got there 5 minutes before the class started. This location is on the 2nd floor and seems smaller than the Central Park South location. Still it was very neat and clean and the people who worked there were super friendly!
After we went into the class, we got set up with light hand weights and a strap. I grabbed 3 and 4 pound weights. We started off with some pushups and then went into some arm exercises. We did a variety of pushups, even using the red ball for some of them. (One hand on floor, one hand on red ball.) Laurie, the instructor, told us we should grab what we were comfortable with. Right away I liked Laurie because she was friendly but I could tell she was tough and meant business. I started with the 3 pound weights to be safe, but ended up switching to the 4 about half way through. I tried to be conservative with the weight, but now I know I can handle the 4 pound weights. The exercises definitely made my arms BURN by the end…or half way through. We did things with high reps of shoulder raises, kickbacks and curls. When we were done with arms, we moved onto torturous legs.
I hate working out my legs. Have I ever told you that? I just hate it. I’m also not the biggest fan of my legs, but we have a working relationship. I run and do some squats occasionally and they are generally happy. Well, this was the biggest workout they’ve gotten in awhile. There were tons of leg exercises that involved different types of squats, squats using the ball, single leg stretches and some yoga moves (hence core fusion). Even though it burned, I still was having fun. I really appreciated Laurie coming around, motivating us and also the adjustments she made, made a world of a difference in that “wow it hurts even more but it feels good” kind of way. I also have to mention, even though I have gotten a LOT more flexible from yoga, I still am not what you call a bendy person. At one point you had to put your back to the wall, hold onto the bar and lift your feet straight up, think pike crunch. I had to take the extreme modification and only put one leg up at a time. Don’t feel bad for me, I don’t feel bad for myself, as a matter of fact I was pretty close to breaking out in laughter and how inflexible I am.
We finished up with some ab work. I really do enjoy working my abs, but I have to say I don’t do it enough. The ab work was welcomed. Laurie finished the class with some stretches and relaxation. Overall I really, really liked this class. I will be going back some time in the near future. As a matter of fact I loved the class so much I paid $10 to do an online version of the class with the cofounders of Exhale. You can do this through YogaVibes.com. I highly reccomend it if you want to try it out before buying the dvds. It’s an amazing class and you can do it in your own living room. All you need are light weights and a chair. If you have a strap and a workout mat, even better, but you don’t need it. This class will kick your butt just as much as going to the studio kicked mine.
Have you tried core fusion?
* Also Lindsey from Sound Eats has created a Healthy Living Blogs resource. Healthy Living Blogs is a new resource for the health blogging community. Thanks for doing this Lindsey! Here is a blurb from her:
HLB is a site designed to enhance the positive community of the healthy living blog world. Bloggers and readers can explore the site and find more blogs to love, bloggers in their area, and forums to deepen healthy discussion and support. If you're interested in having your site listed on HLB, simply send the following information to healthylivingblogs@gmail.comand check the site out for yourself!
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Thank you so much for the great review — and for posting twice today just for me
I had to do that modification with the single leg stretching the first couple of months of Core Fusion. I was 100% sure I my body was what it was, and I’d never be able to get my legs straight up. But then I did! And now I always can. Core Fusion really just works to improve flexibility, it is crazy!
Anyway, I’m really glad you had such a good experience and I hope we can take more classes together! Try Cardio!
Dori recently posted..Core Fusion Yoga Energy Flow DVD & Pur Earth Eco Mat
The class sounds AWESOME!! I am all about core fusion, try to incorporate workouts like this with my clients!!!
You know I love Core Fusion! I love working on strength training in different ways that Core Fusion really does that in a sneaky way!
Sarena (The Non-Dairy Queen) recently posted..Wagon Wheels and Weenies
I’ve heard such amazing things about the Exhale studios and will definitely have to check out a class when I get the chance someday! Sounds like a great workout.
Respect yourself if you would have others respect you. -Baltasar Gracian
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