Yesterday was a big day for me exercise wise. I was at my parent's house in NJ overnight on Thursday night, so I decided to run a 5K in the neighborhood I grew up in.
I grew up on the top of a mountain, so planning a 5K route that doesn't involve going down the mountain is very challenging Going to the bottom is one thing... but then I'd have to get back to the top somehow, and I'm not really ready for that.
After I figured out my route, trying to avoid running up too many hills, off I went at 10:00am on Friday morning. About 10 minutes into the run, I turn a corner and see a BIG hill. Crap. I thought that was going to be downhill, not uphill. OK, fine, so I'll run up this hill and then walk at the top. So I did just that.
Fast forward through the rest of the run (that isn't that interesting) - I ran it in 32.30. Which is not an improvement on my baseline time, BUT I did have to go up and down several hills (albeit small hills) and I'm not used to running at an incline. Not that that is an excuse, but I'm happy that I didn't lose more time than that with the hills.
Also, during my run, I ran past a woman with a stroller who said "Wow! you're running so fast!" I was running out of steam at that point, so it was a nice little pick me up. Thanks, random woman.
After the run, Cameron and I headed back to NYC. We ran some errands and then I went to my last Crunch class for the week. Hot Pilates.
I did not like it. I didn't really get it to be honest. I barely broke a sweat, despite being in a heated room. Today I don't feel like I got a work out. It was a very slow moving class and we just didn't do very much. We would do 5 minutes of some exercise, then "shake it out" and go into Child's Pose. I'm so used to my Hot Power Yoga classes where Child's Pose is "always available" but only offered a few times a class. Not after every single thing you do! I was trying to keep my core activated the whole time, but there were some movements where you didn't need to, which honestly I think defeats the purpose. I could sit on my couch and clench my abs for free.
I've never taken another Pilates class, so I don't have another one to compare it to, so I'll leave an open mind about Pilates until I've had more experience. However, I was excited to start with a Hot Pilates class because I was looking forward to the challenge, so I'm disappointed that this class was much less than a challenge. No summary of pros and cons for this class because I would not recommend it at all.
So my week at Crunch is finished, and I have to say, overall, it was not so good. I wish I'd been able to go to some of the other classes, like the Body Web TRX class, but I think the fact that it was so difficult to get into didn't encourage me to keep trying. Crunch is $89/month when you pay month-to-month, and I think more if you pay the year in full (the total came out to $1,234 for the year, which is $123/month), which doesn't make sense to me. Thats $10 more/month than my gym, and I have to walk 20+ minutes to get there. I think it might be worth it if the classes were more accessible and provided a more intense workout, but it seems that there is a lot more smoke and mirrors than anything else at Crunch, Union Square.
Have you ever felt disappointed by an exercise class you signed up for? Do you prefer Yoga or Pilates?
A blog about me, my fitness goals, and the inability to stick to one form of exercise for more than a short period of time. Oooh I see something shiny!
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