When I first got to Tulane my freshman year, I was excited by the opportunity to work out at our free campus gym. I tried to go to Reilly, but it was something I dreaded doing; I was forcing myself to work out, which was something I also did in high school. I have never known what to do throughout my workouts, and I felt lost without someone guiding me. I started taking various work out classes, and exercise has now become a part of my daily routine! I see working out as something I look forward to doing, rather than feeling like a chore. If you’re anything like me, it can be intimidating to start working out at a studio. One thing I worried about was the varying skill levels of participants in work out classes, and if I would be the worst one there. Sometimes they can feel a little “culty” and you don’t know what to expect. To try and address some of these hesitations, I’ll be reviewing some of my top studios around New Orleans! For The Crescent’s first studio review, I am going to tell you all you need to know about my favorite new workout studio: Body Shoppe!
Kelsey Greenfield, a Tulane alumni and fan favorite amongst Tulane students, recently opened her own workout studio on Freret Street, and it is every Tulane student’s dream. This studio is around a 25 minute walk from campus along Freret, and a 5 minute drive. If you are looking for somewhere to become part of an amazing community, where you can sweat, smile, and have fun, this is definitely your place! The studio is bright, vibrant, and it has such a comfortable and approachable feeling. The studio shop offers some dope merch, and a juice station just opened for some refreshing goodness after your class. Not only does the studio have the best vibe, so does the staff! Kelsey and all of the instructors are the nicest, friendliest, and most passionate people I could hope for when it comes to guiding my workouts.
PRICING:
All student classes are $18, which is a very fair price for a workout studio (especially compared to other studios I’ve been to in and outside of New Orleans). A student unlimited package for a month is $130, and they also offer a first time intro 5 class pack for $49, which is less than $10 a class!
CLASSES: Flex and flow, HIIT and flow, HIIT, Tempo Dance Cardio.
BONUS: For those times you want to sweat, but don’t want to put in the energy, check out the Infrared sauna! It’s great as a stand-alone activity, or a cleanse after your workout!
BENEFITS OF INFRARED SAUNA
- Detox
- Stress and fatigue reduction
- Muscle aches
- Immune system support
- Skin conditions
- Heart health
- Helps the appearance of cellulite
TEMPO DANCE CARDIO: my favorite class at Body Shoppe
Difficulty: the first time can be a little confusing because the pace is quick and there’s some memorization involved, but you have time to get used to the dance and it becomes less complicated every time; don’t worry though, you’ll sweat the same every time! To keep from getting too repetitive, the class switches its dances every month.
Whether you’ve got rhythm or not, this class is everything you could ever want. You get to jump around, shake your butt, and pretend you are those amazing dancers you see all over Instagram. Even though I am the worst dancer and have no rhythm whatsoever, I have never felt judged or as if I was doing something wrong. The room is dark with colored lights around the sides, and it is definitely hot. When I first did this class, I was dripping sweat after the first few minutes; you can imagine I was very confused when the instructor said that was just the warmup! The room is heated to 86 degrees, but I don’t think the temperature affects the difficulty. This class is the perfect mix of sweat, sculpt, and fun!
HIIT: the most rigorous class at Body Shoppe
Difficulty: this class gets every muscle, so it can be hard. It is definitely doable for a first timer, or someone who doesn’t regularly focus on specific muscles (shout out to my runners!). Most importantly, the instructors provide modifications for most of the exercises, so every skill level can make the most of the class.
HIIT classes have become very popular, due to its effects on the body. The short bursts of activity followed by short recoveries are appealing to those who become bored by exercise, and it provides sufficient amounts of cardio in fewer amounts of time. In this Body Shoppe class, you do 45 seconds of a high intensity workout, followed by a 25 second break. This class is SWEATY and HOT, but a great and fun work out thanks to the amazing instructors. I love this class for when I am looking for a hard workout that will cover all different muscle groups of my body. The end of the class involves sculpting with pulsing repetitions and weights, and then you use muscle rollers to relieve all the different muscles. The end of class rolling feels amazing; it’s the perfect way to minimize injury and leave feel light and relaxed!
FLEX AND FLOW: The most satisfying class at Body Shoppe
Difficulty: This class is not terribly difficult, but after doing one move for a while your muscles definitely start to get tired. The moves are very approachable, but you’ll still feel that intense burn!
My parents are always telling me to do yoga, but I’ve never been into the whole yoga vibe. This class is the perfect balance between yoga and the fast-paced work outs I am used to. The class incorporates yoga while also including hard workouts that work on different parts of the body. The class utilizes sliders (which force you to engage all your muscles at the same time) in a way I have never experienced before. This class is amazing for a full body toning with little to no cardio, but still gives you a great sweat!!
For any beginners to the studio work out, or my veteran class members who want something new, I would definitely recommend heading to Body Shoppe! I leave every class feeling super sweaty and great about myself. Even when I am not in the mood to work out, but still want to do something positive for my body, I visit the infrared sauna. They set the room to over 100 degrees, and you can sign up for a 30 minute session. In conclusion, this studio is amazing, and I can’t believe I went an entire year at Tulane without it! Trust me, once you go Body Shoppe, you won’t go anywhere else 😉
Cover Photo: Hannah Gutman
