Body Alive: waking me up from my COVID slumber
Body Alive has been around for a while. In fact, they were one of the first boutique group fitness studios to pop up in Cincy, with a focus on Hot Yoga. Since then, they have grown to 4 locations in the tristate, Oakley, Kenwood, Mason and Crestview Hills, and one in Phoenix/Moon Valley, Arizona. They have also expanded their classes to include Barre (heated and unheated), bounce, cycle, body fusion, and my new favorite, hot body challenge.
I recently checked out a few different classes taught by various instructors at their three Ohio locations.
Cycle Alive
I started with a 45-minute cycling class with Sam at the Mason location, where they recently opened up a cycling room. I’m not sure if it was capacity of the room (fits 18 bikes all comfortably and safely spread out), the bumping tunes, the lights that are synced to the music and your effort, or the high energy instructor, but I’m pretty confident that I never worked harder in a cycling class. Their Mason location is conveniently located right off the Mason/Montgomery exit on 71 and took me just 20 minutes to get to from downtown. Bonus points: Maplewood being across the street and some great shopping down the road at Deerfield Towne Center.
Hot Body Sculpt
The Oakley location on Madison Road is smaller than their other locations with just one room, making it a more intimate experience. I took a Friday 6am Hot Body Sculpt class with Shannon on a cold, snowy morning, and dare I say it was the perfect start to a Friday. How good does it feel to take a hot class when it’s freezing out? It doesn’t get much better. The class was a great blend of stretching and strength. With new COVID regulations, you are required to bring your own weights and towel. I recommend opting for 2 lb weights, unless you are a beast. The high reps during arm work will make those two pounds feel plenty heavy.
Hot Body Challenge
Lastly, I took Allison’s Tuesday 6am Hot Body Challenge at the Kenwood location. Wooooey! It was intense: an all-out 60 minutes of cardio and strength, set in the hot room. Again, bring your own weights and a towel (don’t forget the towel). I had to take several breaks. The class was full of extremely strong people who apparently take this class every week because it shows. If there was any class I would deem as more “advanced”, it’d be this one. You’ve been warned 😉
I took these classes for the sake of this article, but what I found was that my tour-de-Body Alive reinvigorated me on group fitness. Everyone is approaching this COVID world differently. I went from taking 5 in-person group classes a week to transitioning most of my workouts to online/streaming in my living room. Diving back into these group classes at Body Alive made me feel ALIVE again. I walked out feeling more like myself than I have in months. I can’t wait to try more of their classes.
If you are not ready to dive back into in-person classes yet, they have a massive library of classes you can stream on their Alive Online app for just $36 a month. Also, they are currently extending a special offer to all Quidwell followers– $19 for one month of unlimited classes!
