WOW: Pound Fitness

You heard me right.  I said POUND.

If you’re wondering what the heck I’m talking about… you’re not alone.

The last day of FitSocial kicked off with a Pound Fitness class.  When I first saw the name, I instantly assumed it was like boot camp or something and didn’t give it a second thought… UNTIL several of my new blogger gal pals insisted I join them.

What is Pound Fitness?

The ladies were all excited to take it because it was a BRAND-NEW type of fitness class that they had never experienced.  And, it was taught with weighted drumsticks.

From the Pound website, here’s a description of the class:

“Pound is a full-body cardio jam session, combining light resistance with constant simulated drumming. The workout fuses cardio, Pilates, isometric movements, plyometrics and Isometric poses into a 45-minute series. Burn between 600 and 900 calories per hour, strengthen and sculpt infrequently used muscles, and drum your way to a leaner, slimmer physique – all while rocking out to your favorite music!”

Source: Fitsugar.com

The class was at 7:30am, which is always a stretch for me.  Nonetheless, the tweets started early… reminding everyone not to miss the class.  I had committed to going, so I was in.  That doesn’t mean I wasn’t nervous about it…

When I arrived at the Anschutz Wellness Center, I was excited to have a chance to take a class here.  The facility is just GORGEOUS and it would be a shame not to take advantage of it.

When I walked into class, I was greeted by a barefoot Melissa Towey (instructor extraordinaire) who handed me my own set of neon green Ripstix and encouraged me to pick up a mat.  And then there was cheering… cheering from new from my new friends Jill and Melissa, who were excited that I made it to class.

True Story:  I confessed to both of them the day before that I “didn’t really like working out but I know that I have to do it in order to maintain my weight, so I power through it…”  One of those confessions that you don’t hear much at a conference like this… But is my reality.  While I love my yoga, getting to the gym for cardio can be a struggle sometimes, even three years later.

I found my spot in class near the back and set up my station.

The fact that I had a mat was a little comforting to me.  Yoga being my dearest of fitness loves, it gave me hope that there would be some yoga-like activity.  Oh, how wrong I was… The mats were primarily used as a sound buffer when we were beating our sticks on the ground.  Interesting…

As Melissa set up the class, she ran us through a few of the general principles and set our expectations.  There would be lunges, there would be squats, and there would be ab work.  She also warned us that the 1/4 lb. drumsticks would be more impacting that we anticipated… she was right!

These pictures don’t do the class justice by any means, but I wanted to catch a few pics of what was happening during this 45-minute class.

Here’s a video of the Pound basics that you might be interested in.  It gives a better idea of what we were doing.  INTENSE!

Did I enjoy the class?  Hmmm… I’m definitely glad I went!

I always love trying something new.  The squats did leave me quite sore afterwards though (OUCH!) and my lower back took a beating during the class which I didn’t anticipate.  Also, my drumming abilities are a little rough… but gave me a good laugh as I was tapping my sticks offbeat to the music.  Overall, it was a great workout and helped me get my sweat on during a weekend of mostly sitting.

And… what’s more fun than working out with this group of fabulous people?

Have you ever taken a Pound Fitness class?  To find a class near you, click here.