Ok, so I’m sure many people are familiar with Class Pass by now if you live in a big city.  Even though you might be familiar, I wanted to share my story because I love Class Pass!  First a quick “what is class pass”.  With Class Pass you pay a monthly subscription and you can take workout classes in your area for a flat fee.  I signed up for Class Pass in December of last year because I was dissatisfied with my workout regime.  I used to be a big, big runner until shortly after moving to San Francisco.  I was having knee issues and could no longer run without my knee having a painful collapsing feeling.  So I tried a whole bunch of things, ultimately deciding on surgery.  Obviously that put me out of commission even longer and I was hoping it would fix the problem.  It did, but only for a few weeks when I tried to get back into running.  My knee still felt weak and it is very hard to find flat places to run in San Francisco.  I was not allowed to run on anything hilly, so I was confined to the treadmill.

Anyway, once I decided I could not continue running because it was clearly no longer working for me anymore, I found myself confined to the bike and elliptical.  Cardio is extremely important to me and I was sad to find myself not being able to motivate myself enough on those machines to get the workout I needed.  I used running as a stress reliever, time to listen to some great music, get outside, and be healthy.  I was doing none of that.  That’s when a Soul Cycle opened up an easy bus ride away from me.  (Wait – I thought this was about class pass? Yes, I’ll get to that!)  If you’re not familiar, SoulCycle is indoor cycling, but it basically is like you are in a nightclub.  It’s dark, there are some candles, a disco ball (!), fun lights, and lots of high intensity hip hop and house remixes of popular songs.  I tried it out because I wanted to see if cycling would be easier on my knees than running.  And, hey!, it was!  Plus I loved the high intensity cardio workout and fun music.  I bought a 10 class package, but it was really expensive. Depending on your market, SoulCycle is probably about $30 a class.  Plus you have to rent shoes for $3 if you don’t own.

I didn’t feel this was sustainable since ideally I’d like to attend two or so classes a week, plus I’d need a place to do strength exercises.  That’s when I turned to Class Pass.  For $119 (in San Francisco), you get unlimited classes on a million studios (exaggeration, but you get the point).  Only caveat is you can only go to one studio 3x in a billing cycle.  However, I haven’t found this to be an issue since there are a bunch of studios to choose from.  There are SO many options.  I’ve been able continue cycling and it has been so great for my body and mind (and knees!).  Plus, I’ve also gotten into yoga, pilates, and TRX for strength training.  It is definitely worth it.  I’ve read that they recently upped prices in NYC, so I am hoping they don’t do the same in SF.

Anyway, I was never one for classes, but I have been able to find plenty that appeal to me and fit my needs.  Plus, I have been able to get my cardio and strength exercises completed in fun atmospheres.  If you haven’t tried Class Pass yet, I’d definitely recommend it!  Further, if you have knee issues like me and still want to get high intensity cardio in, I’d definitely recommend trying out a cycling class near you.