New fitness studio!

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

There is a new privately owned fitness studio in Teele called soul.train.
The grand opening was last weekend (although they've been running classes for a month now, and have apparently been open in some way or another since April). I just went to their Zumba class this morning, which was fun but PACKED. I talked to the instructor, Erica, afterwards and she said most of the people there have attended her Saturday morning classes for years and followed her as she's moved, but that the other classes (Mondays and Wednesdays at 6:30pm) are less crowded. If any of you go to Boston Sports Club in Davis, that's where she used to teach. She said that signing up and paying ahead of time on the website is the best way to reserve a spot.

They also offer other group classes, in vinyasa yoga, some kettlebell and other weights classes, and an outdoor boot camp class. The yoga classes sound really fun, although I haven't gone to any - Erica teaches those as well and they're high-energy and set to rock and hip hop playlists. It looks like there's also a traditional vinyasa class. Then they offer personal training as well, for individuals or pairs.

This is a great idea to me, especially since World Rhythms seems to be gone. I've been looking for Zumba classes for ages that I could attend without joining a gym or signing up for a terminal 8 week course. The only one I could find (Zumba with Jess) I didn't really like, plus it's way down in Union Square, so this place opening up 4 blocks from me is really exciting.

Website
Facebook

For all the good things I have to say, it's still rather expensive for this part-time working grad student ($14 for one class, $60 for 5, or $100 for 10, and I would happily go 3x/week if it were unlimited) so I also wanted to use this post to ask if anybody's been to the Zumba classes at the Work Out World on Boston Ave in Medford, which would be much cheaper for me in the long run, but they won't let me try a class before paying a $50 joining fee and committing to a $20/month membership. I am very picky about my Zumba classes, so I don't want to make that kind of commitment without knowing anything about them, and that's the only thing I'd need the gym membership for.

(Also, speaking of new things in Teele, there's a new consignment store there as well called Talya's Place. I haven't gone in yet but it looks cute!)

Comments

[elerz.livejournal.com]

Just wanted to put in another good word for Soul.Train. The studio is beautiful, and Erica is such a supportive and creative teacher! Both her Zumba and her yoga classes are a ton of fun--this coming who didn't work out at.all.EVER before taking her classes. I haven't tried the other classes or the personal training, so can't speak to those, but the instructors all seem like they really care about their students/clients.

It is a little on the pricy side--if you go to a lot of classes it ends up being a bit more than a gym membership--but totally worth the money if you can make it work. And $10/class seems to be on the low-end for studios in Boston from what I've seen.

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

Yeah, for paying by class rather than through a gym membership, $10 is the lowest I've ever seen. Erica really looks like she knows what she's doing (like I said, I'm picky about my Zumba, and she's one of the better instructors I've seen judging from this one day). But paying $10 for an overcrowded class is too much for me. I was way in the back today and couldn't see or hear her at all most of the time, so it felt like a bit of a waste.

[elerz.livejournal.com]

I definitely understand that. I try to get there 15-20 minutes early on Saturdays to get a spot near the front. It makes the class so much better. If you come back on a Saturday you should try that! And if you can make the Monday/Wednesday classes, they really are a lot less crowded :)

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'll just go on Mondays or Wednesdays. I don't like the crowd, and I also don't like the idea that me being there means someone else can't, since I can (for now) make it on weekdays.

[borgin.livejournal.com]

It's super cheap compared to most yoga studios in Boston. The only comparable studio I know of is Sweat and Soul Yoga in Allston, which is $10 cash only. (I've been to yoga all over.)

[emcicle.livejournal.com]

I haven't been a member at work at world in a few years, but I do remember that their exercise class schedules changed really frequently/constantly to different times/days or different instructors, often with no warning. I don't know if it is still that way, though.

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

That's what I was worried about. Thanks for letting me know! I probably won't join them then.

[mamabunny72.livejournal.com]

Have you tried a Zumba class with Jess Perkins? She teaches at Dance Union in Union Square. $12 per class, but if you can swing a 10-class punch card ($100), then it's $10/class.

I also like Steven Adcock and his wife Cheryl Casquejo; they are at the Cambridge Recreation Department: Zumba Toning on Mondays in the summer (8 weeks, non-Cam resident fee is $75); Aqua Zumba on Wednesdays is pricier (7 weeks, $85 for non-Camb resident.)

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the thing I didn't like about Zumba with Jess is that she kept talking about toning and seemed to integrate a lot of aerobics into the routines. She even had us do some running in place. But I want to spend my whole hour doing fun dancing. I can do toning and aerobics on my own time.

Aqua Zumba looks SUPER fun, thank you! I'm going to see if I can work that into my schedule somehow.

[mamabunny72.livejournal.com]

Latin Beat Fitness Studio in Malden seems to have a good following. Patricia and Nelson Mendoza teach there. I did a session with them at a Zumba-thon in April.

it is hard to find a drop-in class. Have you used the 'search for a class' on Zumba.com?

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

I don't have a car so I need somewhere pretty close to Somerville. Malden's slightly further than I'd be willing to go weekly. I might check it out and go from time to time, though :) I did try the Zumba.com search and didn't find much in this area, so I was hoping there might be some kind of hidden gems around.

[mamabunny72.livejournal.com]

Right. The only other Zumba classes in Somerville I know about are at the Y on Highland Ave (Weds) and through Somerville Adult Ed. I haven't been to either of them due to scheduling conflicts.

Ha, I just got an email from ZwJ about "Boston's Best Zumba Studios" -- Evolve Fitness in Cambridge and "The Studio" in Brookline are mentioned.

I looked up the other instructors (besides Jess and the Mendozas) who were at the Zumabthon in April that I attended; maybe you can look them up and where they teach. I know Fen Tung teaches at MIT and another fitness place in Cambridge (as in, not likely to have drop in rate):

Mark Alker from Medford
Aimee Tejeda from Lexington
Fen Tung & David Lee from Cambridge
Jill Treddin from Waltham
Acea Theroux from Boston
Lena Andrade from Boston
Jen Williams from Waltham
Maeve Byrne from Brookline

[littlecitynames.livejournal.com]

You are the most helpful person ever. Thank you so, so much! I got that email too and I'm looking into Evolve now, which is very convenient to my work :)

[mamabunny72.livejournal.com]

You're welcome! I love Zumba and understand that finding an instructor whom you like makes a big difference!
Have fun!

[mamabunny72.livejournal.com]

Whoops, I just saw that you tried ZwJ and didn't like it.