ClassPass Review
Disclaimer: I received a free month of ClassPass in order to provide this review. All opinions are my own. There are some affiliate links in this post.
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I had been hearing about ClassPass all over the internet world, and after moving to Chicago I had the opportunity to experience it for a month. Is it worth it? Short answer (for me) is yes, but before I get to the why, let’s tackle the what.
From their site, ClassPass is “a monthly membership to the best boutique fitness classes in your city. There are thousands of classes available to ClassPass members, including cycling, pilates, yoga, strength training, dance, martial arts, and more.”
When I started my month on December 1st, there were 9 cities that offered ClassPass. During the middle of the month, two more were added. As I write this, ClassPass is now available in 20 cities nationwide. For $79-$99 a month, you receive access to a wide variety of exercise studios and can attend a class for up to 3 times at one studio.
For more specific questions, check out their FAQ page.
My Experience
I had a great time using ClassPass. The interface was very easy to use and I simply looked for classes that appealed to me and clicked a button to reserve a spot. The one downside I saw was that they didn’t have an app which would have made making a reservation even easier, but VOILA, now they do!
I think this is a perfect service for those of you who live in a city. Living in MD and VA I was accustomed to one large gym complex that also offered classes. When you live in a city those do exist, but so do many smaller, more specialized fitness studios, often with steep membership fees. In order to diversify and mix up your workouts, a flat, affordable rate in exchange for the ability to sample those smaller studios seems like the perfect idea.
You can search for classes based on day, time, and location. I found the map view most helpful because I was able to see which studios were near me and then look at their schedules. You can read descriptions of the classes, see who the instructor is, and also when that class will be offered again in the future. If you want more information on a particular location, the website is also included.
One thing that also helped keep me accountable was the cancellation policy. You have 24 hours to cancel your class or you will be charged $20. This prevented me from registering for all the classes while drunk on ClassPass excitement and then deciding that I would rather sit on the couch.
Pros and Cons
I may have had a more unique experience since I attribute my job and shadowing opportunities directly to ClassPass. Without this service, I never would have gone to a class at Sweat on State and made the connections that I did. Part of it was the work that I put in after attending my first class, but that class would have never happened in the first place without ClassPass.
Since I live in Chicago, my experience is solely about Chicago. I can’t speak for the selection of classes in another city, but for me these were the pros and cons of ClassPass:
Pros
- Diversity of workouts
- Affordable membership price
- Ability to hold or cancel membership (note: to reactivate after cancelling there is a $79 fee and you are still charged $19 a month while on hold)
- User-friendly interface (also now an app!)
- For those members who travel, ClassPass recently introduced ClassPass Flex, which allows you to use your membership in other participating cities
Cons
- Too many yoga/barre studios (personal preference, you may love that)
- Minor technical errors (I wasn’t able to reserve a class that had open spots)
- Can only attend the same studio 3 times (only a con because I am greedy)
Overall, I really enjoyed my experience with ClassPass. It provided me with so many opportunities to meet people and make connections in the fitness community, which was an integral part of my career change process.
My only regret was that December had a lot of schedule disruptions that didn’t allow me to utilize ClassPass as much as I would have liked. I also got sick for about a week and found that working out seemed to exacerbate the symptoms, so I needed to back off for a few days. The service itself was great, I just wished that I could have made more use of it.
Once I actually get some real income, ClassPass is definitely on my list of things to invest in.
Check out my ClassPass studio reviews and Sara for Tried It Tuesday :
Questions:
- Do you have ClassPass? How do you like it?
- Do you prefer larger gyms or smaller studios?
- It’s snowing here. Snow: yay or nay?
Once it works for my budget, I really want to try ClassPass! I love working out at all of the different studios, but I agree that their membership rates are steep, and I’d probably get bored going to the same place all the time, month after month. AND, I know that a few of the studios I’ve already checked out via Groupon are on ClassPass (CrossTown Fitness, OneBody PIlates, Body R&D) as are a few places I’ve been wanting to try (AIR, Reform Pilates, Mazi Dance Fitness, Core Fusion at Exhale).
Maggie recently posted…Stop Hating on Resolutioners
I loved ClassPass for the month that I had it, but I also felt pressure to HAVE to take advantage of it. And then the restrictions on the classes and times made it difficult for me to make a lot of the classes. If I was more a class taker in general, I think that it would be great. But during training, it is difficult to keep up with it.
Susie @ SuzLyfe recently posted…Confident Winter Running: Yaktrax Run Review
Great review! I also loved Class Pass. For me I month membership was great it allowed me to test the waters at so many other gyms. But I also was taking ridiculous measures to get to classes that I wouldn’t be able to do month after month. Such as taking cabs every morning before 6 a.m. I like a routine so yes for the month it was nice to try something new everyday. But I like to know the gym I am going to go to and their schedule by <3
Sara @ Lake Shore Runner recently posted…Bye Bye C. Wonder, Hello Lilly #TOLT
Yeah I think that if there were a lot of gyms that I wanted to attend within a close distance to me then it would be more beneficial, but there were only a few that I was willing to make the trek for. I think if the weather was warmer I would be more willing to be adventurous, but not in December haha.