Fitballet

This is an amazing workout! Marc and Jessica are absolutely wonderful and kick your butt at the same time.
Don’t let the name fool you, this isn’t easy. Class starts with a warm up of plies, squats, sit-​ups, etc to get your heart moving. From there, two sets of really tough intervals. After that a wonderful 15 minute stretch. The instructors make sure you’re doing everything perfectly so you’ll only get stronger and never hurt yourself. They’re especially good and modifying and giving challenges to make sure that everyone’s pushing themselves and and able to keep up, no mater your fitness level.
This is a fantastic class for someone how likes low-​impact working out (like barre or Pilates) but wants to throw in some more cardio/​strength. Highly, highly recommend!

Read about this class on a blog and now am addicted! I love the hard core cardio moves mixed with ballet grace. You get an incredible workout. The tuesday morning classes are small and personal, Marc is the best!

I read about this class on a blog entry and I was thinking ‘HOLY COW, SOUNDS LIKE DEATH – I’M IN!!!’ Quickly searched for the class and I signed up for my first class.
There’s a few locations in NYC but I attended the one in Chinatown/​Tribeca. It’s an old building so you have to trek up 5 flights of stairs just to get to the studio– that’s right, no elevators! Once there, there were 2 changing rooms I believe. No lockers, you just leave your belongings at the sides of the studio.
Now I was super apprehensive before beginning the class. I’m not out of shape but I don’t work out consistently either. I do runs here and there and have done a half marathon. My jam is usually Bikram yoga where I can just sweat everything out without moving too much. Fitballet is not that!
We used 3lb dumb bells and a 15lb kettlebell. Each circuit has 5 routines and you repeat it twice. By the end of the 45 minutes, you are exhausted from all the repititions. Your muscles are tired and I think I pulled a thigh muscle. It was a lot of fun learning the basic ballet moves. I have no dance experience at all but my instructor Jessica showed us every move that we’d be doing and the best part is, she did it with us! I love when instructors are sweating and panting like the rest of the class. The last 15 minutes are devoted to stretching. It really does help in preventing the soreness.
As soon as the class was over, I couldn’t wait to sign up for the next one! I think I’m truly addicted. And yes the day after I was a tad bit sore but not bad at all. I’m so glad I discovered this class.

I friggin love FitBallet! I’ve been training online with Julie and totally love the program. It’s very challenging, but Julie also makes sure your program matches your fitness level. I recently took a group FitBallet class in Santa Monica and totally loved it. The instructor was energetic and gave really clear instruction, the music was motivating, and I felt absolutely amazing after class!

This class is amazing! I feel stronger after taking only 3 classes and Jessica is a great instructor. Really willing to help. I even feel my posture getting better! I would take this class over and over. Jessica really knows the moves to improve a woman’s body.

I went to my second fitballet class and love it. It is the perfect class to get your heart rate going and keep yourself thinking «what did I get myself into!?» The instructor is super friendly and really encouraging throughout the entire class. For it being an hour class, it goes by pretty fast but there’s never a dull moment. I also appreciate the intense stretching at the end because it definitely keeps me from being immobile for the rest of the day.

As a former dancer, who has been ridiculously out of shape for longer than I care to admit, fitBallet came at a perfect time for me. Since starting a distance training program with Julie, I cannot believe how much stronger I am and the amount of energy that I have! Julie is always patient and supportive as we try out new moves. I remember when I used to struggle with getting through the warm-​up section of fitBallet, and now I FLY through it! I am IN LOVE with this workout routine. Seriously, no matter what your fitness level is (or if you don’t have one at all and are just starting out), this is something that is so challenging, yet easy, that ANYONE can do it. If you find yourself asking whether you should take this class or sign up for distance training, the answer will always be a resounding «YES!»
My best friends are now burpees, squats, and push ups… who would have ever thought that was possible?

I’m a former dancer (turned yogi) and was definitely challenged (and had fun while sweating my face off) in this class. Julie’s so motivating — she pushed me to do more abwork, pushups, burpees, etc. than I thought I could handle, all well giving lots of guidance and corrections re: alignment and posture so that we were doing the exercises safely and using the right muscles. I love the stretch portion of the class at the end — whereas with other interval workouts I sometimes felt like I needed to stretch/​cool down on my own because we didn’t spend enough time on it, Julie led us through a great, comprehensive stretch session at the end of class that left me feeling loose and open despite having worked my entire body. I was super sore the next day (obliiiiiiques) but loved it! No crazy props /​gimmicks — just your body weight and strength.

Fitballet is a fantastic workout. I worked out muscles I forgot I had! I am a former dancer and the exercises Julie led us through involved strength training, cardio and muscle lengthening. It’s an ideal way to get a toned body without the bulk. I was so sore for days after even though I didn’t feel it right after class. I plan on taking more Fitballet classes with Julie, especially before wedding and bikini season.

Julie was so sweet and a great teacher. I was feeling the effects of the class for three days after, which is my kind of workout! Nice feeling of community in the class, too.

I have done distance training with FitBallet (via face time) 2x a week for the last 3 months. I was skeptical at first as to how dedicated I would be to the program (because I hate to sweat, gross) — but after the first 2 weeks, I could feel myself getting stronger. Subsequently, I am now hooked. I feel better, am much stronger (I can now do 20 real push-​up like it ain’t no thang: brush the dirt off:) and have more energy throughout the day. Also– I can see the muscle tone in my arms and abs now! 6 pack here I come!
FitBallet is a circuit based workout, which is great at keeping your heart rate up and working out muscles you wouldn’t normally use (or use all the time!). So you leave feeling like you just ran 2 miles, did yoga and lifted weights. Basically the best of all the worlds.
These workouts are deceptively hard, but not in a ‘I wanna die’ way, in a feeling like a superhuman after you finish way. Which, lets be real, who doesn’t want that?