Mom in the Mtns

Hey everyone!  Thanks so much for your supportive comments during the last few days.  I’m happy to report that we are able to use our refrigerator now!  Yay!  And once the insurance adjustor comes by hopefully things will start moving quickly.  The best news?  Now that the drying machine is done working I can use my treadmill again!  And my hair dryer!  It’s the little things  🙂

Anyways, for anyone out there who is treadmill-free and doesn’t feel comfortable working out in the icy conditions outdoors, you should definitely look into taking a workout class.  It’s a great way to fit some cross training into your training plan!  There are millions of classes out there (that’s probably an accurate number) so you’re bound to fall in love with one of them!  There’s just one problem with that:  there are so many classes out there that cost a ton of money.  For example, Barre3 is $20 per class so there is no way I can afford making that part of my regular cross training routine!  I’ve learned that if you want to buy something that is too expensive you just need to do some digging to find it on sale (hellooooo TJ Maxx/Marshalls!), but I had no idea how easy it was to find expensive workouts for free!  I’ve been hitting the free workout jackpot lately and I wanted to share my secrets with you.  Now you’ll have no excuse to skip a workout!

1. The first step in any free workout hunt is to determine what kind of workout you’re looking for.  I was totally overwhelmed by all of the options out there, so I hit up Groupon and Living Social for ideas.  On Groupon I found a deal for $29 for 5 workouts at a local spin studio.  I had no idea there was a spin studio so close to my office, and I’d been interested in trying it out, so I checked out their Facebook page.  I was extremely excited to discover that they were giving away 4 free classes to new members, PLUS all new classes in January were free!   Those new classes weren’t all appealing to me (like pilates at 10:30am on a week day) but I did get to try a basic spin class that was being offered at a new time slot so it was considered “new”!
2. If you do know what kind of workout you want to try, look up studios in your area.  Chances are that when you are a newbie you can try out your first class for free!  It’s a great way to make sure that you’re not going to waste $20 struggling through a class that really isn’t what you were looking for.  Sticking with the spin class theme, I found 3 more spin studios in my area that offer your first class free.  One of those studios also offers a new client discount of $25 for a 5 class package!  Discounted classes are almost as good as being free  🙂
3. Look around for new studios that are opening in your area.  This is how I was able to take my first Barre3 class for free!  Studios are looking for new clients and this is a great way to get 1 or more classes for free while seeing if you’d like to come back to the studio again.  Also, whenever Barre3 hires a new instructor they offer their first few classes for free as a “practice” for the instructor.  I was super lucky to discover that Barre3 Berwyn hired a new instructor the week after they opened and she is teaching 2 free classes per week for the next 3 weeks!  Her classes aren’t as tough as the first one I took, but it’s a great way for me to learn the techniques for the commonly used moves and prepare myself for the tough workouts that I’ll be paying for later.
4. Use social media to learn about new classes!  Barre3 posts about their free instructor-in-training classes on Facebook, so it really pays to like them on Facebook!  I also frequently check the Facebook pages of my 3 local Lululemon stores because they are always hosting free workouts on the weekends!  Each store in the Philly area is currently hosting a free yoga workout at a nearby yoga studio each weekend throughout the winter.  The store in Wayne is also hosting free yoga classes every Sunday in February for a new yoga studio that is opening in late spring.  I’m definitely going to try out some of these free classes so stay tuned for an upcoming Try New Things Tuesday posts about it!
5. Check out local wellness or event websites for free workout announcements!  If you live in Philadelphia make sure you check out Be Well Philly.  They post lots of great health tips, as well as notifications about free workout classes and new studio openings in the Philly area.  Totally worth the weekly Facebook post check!
6. And last but not least, many gyms will give you a free week pass if you’re thinking about joining.  I’ve never actually done one of these, but from what I understand it is totally free and you have no obligation to join once your week is up.  If I ever run out of free spin classes I’ll be trying this out!

Hopefully these tips will have you finding free workout classes all over the place!  And once you fall in love with your free classes, you’ll make up for all the free workouts by buying some classes, right?

Have you ever done a free workout class?  What workout class would you be willing to spend a lot of money on?