Class: Full Body w/ Astrid Swan

Location: Hollywood

Work-out: Bootcamp/circuit training

Difficulty: 5

Next day soreness: 4

Duration: 60 min

Sweat Level:   Sweaty

Parking: 90 minutes validated lot

Amenities: Lockers, showers, swag for purchase, Fuel Bar (smoothie bar)

Requirements for class: sneakers

I finally dragged myself over to the new Barry’s in Hollywood this morning and it did not disappoint. The new space is gorgeous and there is exponentially more room than the West Hollywood location. My only complaint is that there is only one bathroom. But, plenty of lockers and amenities. It’s nice that there is a big validated parking lot, and a smoothie bar where you can order drinks before your class and have it be ready for you when you’re done. Lockers came with combo locks and the ladies’ locker room was clean and spacious.

The workout room itself is set up just like the Weho location. Treadmills against a wall of mirrors with floor stations behind them. This is the second time I’ve taken Astrid’s class and even though the cardio portion was split up into three different rounds (my first class with her, we did 25 minutes straight of cardio), it still didn’t feel any easier. Barry’s is one of the hardest cardio workouts I’ve ever done, especially since I am not a runner. The treadmill rounds consisted of alternating intervals between jogging/walking, running and sprinting all with or without incline. The inclines were 0, 3, 6 and 9 and suggested jogging speed was 6, running was 8 and then your personal best for sprinting. I mostly jogged between 4-5, ran at 6-7 and “sprinted” at 7.5+.

The floor portion, although favored by me, was in no ways easy. First round included bodyweight exercises like walking planks and pushups, second round worked arms using resistance bands of three different difficulties (I tried the middle level and had to go down to “easy”), and last round consisted of chest and abs with a heavy weight. I used a 12lb dumbbell (the lightest one I could find haha). The first 4 rounds were about 9 minutes each, and the last two were about 5 minutes, and then we ended with a stretch. Overall, always a fantastic workout but definitely not for the faint of heart. Highly recommended and effective (and no slacking with Astrid)!