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I’m not someone who looks forward to exercising. In fact, I dread it to the point that an hour before every OrangeTheory class I took during my 6-month run with it, I’d come up with a litany of excuses why I couldn’t possibly hit the gym that night: I’d just eaten, I’m too tired, I’m feeling sick, I just have to finish this project, I … I don’t wanna. Often, the thing that finally got me there was my own cheapness (if you cancel 12 hours before class, you still get charged).
That’s not exactly a great reason to exercise, and ultimately, all it inspired me to do was quit my membership, since I never enjoyed the classes enough to truly look forward to them. I resigned myself to that belief that exercise is a necessary evil, where the only “high” is the wave of relief you feel when it’s finally over.
But there’s one exception to that rule for me: Pound Fitness. It’s a 30- to 60-minute, cardio-based workout where you follow an instructor through a series of moves using a pair of weighted drumsticks. You drum to the beat of various songs, and you’re so focused on staying in rhythm that you don’t realize you’re doing hundreds of squats, lunges, and jumps.
How To Try Pound Online For Free:
Instructors teach classes at Crunch studios and local gyms all over the country — you can find one near you here — but if you want to test it out for free, the company just launched its summer “tour,” a multi-week fitness series offered online. When you sign up, you’ll get access to a recorded 30-minute workout, as well as six 5-minute “quickie” workouts you can mix and match to try. They also send a meal plan with recipes, as well as a weekly email to help keep you on track.
The Review:
I’ll be honest: I don’t find Pound as high-intensity as OrangeTheory, or other workouts that combine high-intensity cardio AND strength training, but it does get my heart pounding, and it’s the rare workout I actually look forward to, so it works for me. I’m not sharing this because there’s some affiliate program or pyramid scheme; I just enjoy it and thought you might, too.
You can check out Pound’s One Beat World Tour here.
