Class: FUBAR (stands for “F-ed up beyond all recognition”)

Location: Westwood

Work-out: Versa climber

Difficulty: 4.5

Next day soreness: 4

Duration: 30 min

Sweat Level:  Sweaty

Parking: Street parking

Amenities: Lockers, towels, filtered water

Requirements for class: sneakers

With a class titled FUBAR, you pretty much know you’re signing yourself up for a tough workout. But luckily, it’s only 30 minutes of pain and then you’re done! I’ve done versa climber workouts before (at Rise Nation), and it was hard. Admittedly, I’ve only been to Rise twice since cardio is not exactly my thing. This class is a little different from Rise because you do three rounds of intervals with breaks in between and you’re allowed to step off. The climbers themselves are also slightly different than Rise – I do find the grips to be a bit more comfortable.

The class started with 8 sets of 20 second sprints followed by 10 second breaks on the machine, lasting 4 minutes total. Then, you’re allowed to step down for a few minutes and the instructor goes around the room to ask everyone how many meters they’ve climbed. The next set consists of 45 second sprints followed by 30 seconds of rest in between, with a few min. off the machine. Again, you announce how many meters you’ve climbed. The third set consists of 90 second sprints with longer breaks and the last sprint of the third set is 2 minutes. You announce your meters and finally end with a last round of 2 min. of 20 second sprints with 10 second breaks (half of the first round). Your goal is to beat half the meters you got in round 1. The announcing of the meters keeps you accountable to keep pushing yourself. 600 in any round is considered impressive. I definitely liked this class more than traditional running cardio because there were personal goals to beat. It was tough but doable!