Three Hot Fitness Classes In Vancouver You Need To Know About

Vancouver fitness classes: Booty Luv

Location:

Tight Club Athletics
261 Union St.

Whose class to take:

Keighty Gallagher. She’s also the owner of the studio.

What the studio is like:

Tight Club is a bit of a tight space compared to square footage at other gyms, but it’s still fully stocked with top equipment staples, smartly stored away so the workout area remains clutter-free, clean and bright.

In biz since 2015, Tight Club Athletics offers group fitness and one-on-one personal training. The overall vibe is hip, urban athletic but without any judgment — the staff is super-welcoming.

Vancouver fitness class: Booty Luv, cont’d

What to expect of your first class:

The hour-long Saturday class I attended was fully booked with mostly millennial women. (Also present: One guy and me, probably the sole Gen Xer).

True to the class name, you’ll work your booty nonstop – along with legs, hips and core – using a variety of tools (bands, BOSUs, bodyweight) and cardio/strength drills (standing, running, floor exercises, etc.). There were also partner exercises— a good way to work harder in the name of teamwork while making friends in class.

BTW, there is no “back row,” where shy newcomers can hide. Instead, everyone lines up in two rows facing into the middle of the room and often switching spots from one side to the other.

Introverts take note: You might also be asked to introduce yourself and share a personal tidbit—fave band du jour?—with the whole group.

Insider tip:

We did a lot of jumping exercises to simultaneously work lower-body muscles and get the heart rate up. If you need to skip high impact because of an injury, etc., be sure to give the instructor a heads up before class so she can provide low-impact options, too.

Vancouver fitness class: The Pursuit – Burn

Location:

Equinox Vancouver
1131 West Georgia St.

Whose class to take:

Jennifer Wick

What the spin studio is like:

Soundproofing for superior acoustics, dimmed mood lighting and bikes positioned on theatre-style tiers (for a great vantage point from anywhere in the room) easily make this the most posh cycling studio I’ve ever sweated in.

That alone would have been enough of an experience to revel in. But The Pursuit: Burn also offers high-tech activity tracking that spurs you on during the ride then pings personalized data to you via the Equinox mobile app.

Vancouver fitness class: The Pursuit – Burn, cont’d

What to expect of your first class:

This 45-minute class is billed as “hardcore” on the Equinox website, and it’s no exaggeration (my Apple Watch says I burned close to 500 calories). But thanks to the motivating and immersive tech approach, it’s also incredibly fun.

When you start pedaling, you’re able to see your effort (represented as a spinning graphic wheel with an assigned number) on a giant screen at the front of the room. The faster you pedal, the faster your avatar-wheel spins; the more you crank up resistance, the brighter it appears.

Of course, this public display means that everyone in the room can see which “wheels” are working the hardest.

Sound terrifying? You can change the name assigned to your wheel so no one knows you by your nickname.

The interval-focused class consists of five immersive games—some you do as individual challenges, some in pairs and some as a team working toward a common goal. Completed challenges appear in the screen’s corner so you can mentally cross them off your list and take note of how many still remain.

Insider tips:

While you can join the class with no obligation to hook up to tracker, I do recommend going tech! The data visualization helped me push harder and also illuminated how cadence (i.e., pedaling speed) and bike resistance affect one another and the ride.

Try also The Pursuit: Build, which uses the same tech but with different games for endurance.

5 / 6

Vancouver fitness class: Hells Bells

Location:

Steve Nash Downtown Sports Club
610 Granville Street,

Whose class to take:

Dolores Leite. She’s also the area group fitness manager for Steve Nash gyms.

What the studio is like:

The spacious group exercise studio houses a bounty of equipment choices, and there was plenty of floor space to set up all the pieces we needed. This Tuesday lunchtime class was well-attended, but the space never felt cramped.

6 / 6

Vancouver fitness class: Hells Bells, cont’d

What to expect of your first class:

You’ll get to use a range of fitness tools, including — as the class name implies—dumbbells, kettlebells and sandbells (i.e., soft discs filled with sand to give them weight). We were also instructed to grab Gliding discs and steps.

The constantly changing equipment mix made the class fly by, as did the dynamic circuit format.

You’ll be in good hands with the instructor Dolores — she masterfully motivated us with numerous strength and cardio segments, rotating through each bout a couple of times. The result was both time-efficient — in and out in just 50 minutes — and tiring. In a satisfying way!

Insider tips:

If you’re timid about using new-to-you exercise equipment (sandbells, maybe?), don’t be. A guided fitness class like this is the perfect environment for testing the water. The rotating segments come and go quickly so you’re never using the same piece of equipment for long anyway.

Amanda Vogel is a certified fitness instructor and professional writer. She is also behind the website: fitnesstestdrive.com.