With gyms closed for months during the COVID-19 pandemic, streaming workouts suddenly became the only option for people who like to take classes to stay fit. But just because gyms have reopened doesn't mean you have to give up the convenience of exercising on your own time wherever you may be - especially with local gyms and studios giving members the option to take virtual classes, sometimes with instructors they already know.
Whether you prefer to get moving with HIIT, barre or yoga, there's a local studio that allows you to seamlessly combine the unmatched experience of in-studio sweat sessions with the flexibility of streaming workouts. Here are some of our favorites.
VIVE for Women
Before COVID-19, North Chattanooga fitness studio VIVE for Women had planned to roll out a new app for both men and women heading into the summer months. The initial goal of the new VIVE Training app was to offer an on-the-go option for people who were traveling and wanted to maintain their fitness progress, says gym owner Taylor Silberman.
When the gym closed temporarily after the pandemic hit, VIVE began livestreaming its classes - 60-minute total-body workouts that include intervalsof cardio, functional training, strength and core stability - on Zoom through the new VIVE Alive portion of its website and a private Facebook group. The studio livestreams a class each weekday at 11 a.m. If members miss a class, each one is recorded and added to a library of workouts that members can access at any time. The library also includes a variety of pre-recorded workouts with VIVE instructors, tutorial videos, nutrition tips and other fitness and wellness content. Some workouts require equipment such as dumbbells or kettlebells, while others use only body weight for resistance training so all you need to work out is your phone.
"It'll be a nice little thing to take on the road," Silberman says of the VIVE Alive virtual content. "It'll guide you through lots of different workouts in lots of different styles."
The first virtual class is $1, and VIVE Alive virtual membership is available for $29.99 a month. VIVE Alive can be combined with in-studio workouts, which cost $169 a month for unlimited classes, $149 a month for unlimited classes with a 12-month agreement, or $144 a month for eight sessions per month. The first studio class is free.
Details and pricing were still in the process of being worked out for the VIVE Training app, which was set to be released in lateMay.
Pure Barre
Pure Barre, a barre studio with locations in North Chattanooga and East Brainerd, pre-records workouts through its Pure Barre GO app, and also started live-streaming classes during the pandemic. Classes on the app are led by Pure Barre's corporate master instructors and are always available. The livestreamed classes are being led by local instructors until the Chattanooga studios can resume a full schedule of in-person classes at full capacity, says Pure Barre desk associate Kyleigh Yoshida. Local classes are livestreamed daily, and can be accessed as they happen or replayed later through a private Facebook page for $25 a week - the same cost as a single drop-in class at the studio.
The Pure Barre GO app can be downloaded on your phone or TV, and you can also access workouts through the Pure Barre website. A free seven-day trial is available for the app, and after that, membership can be purchased for $29 a month either on its own or combined with in-studio classes. The app is free with a 12-month unlimited class contract, which is $139 per month. Unlimited month-to-month memberships are $149 per month.
All in-studio and virtual options feature Pure Barre's four signature class formats, all of which are focused on high-intensity, low-impact movements that lift and tone muscles and improve strength, flexibility and agility. You can choose workouts based on type, length or equipment required, or follow a specific program based on your fitness goals.
Infinity Yoga Movement
Yogis can find classes of all types livestreamed or pre-recorded by local instructors from Ooltewah's Infinity Yoga Movement (formerly Yoga East-Ooltewah), which plans to continue livestreaming classes daily at least through the end of June, says owner Rachelle Pecovsky. Live and replayed streamed classes are included with unlimited class memberships, which are $120 per month for three months or $1,075 per year. The cost to stream a single class is $8, which is half the drop-in rate for in-studio classes.
Even if Infinity stops livestreaming classes, members will still be able to access pre-recorded content with Infinity instructors through the studio's new online platform launched last month. The platform offers classes, mini workshops and tutorials on-demand.
"There's no replacement for a practice in the studio," Pecovsky says, adding that there's nothing like the mindset one achieves through the studio experience, but she also appreciates the convenience of online options to help one practice wherever they may be. "I'm excited to be able to do both."
Regardless of whether you're a beginner or more advanced in a particular type of workout, you're going to learn more by going into the studio for an in-person workout, says Silberman. "You want to know form, you want to know technique, and there's no better place to learn than actually getting in there with some of these coaches, hearing from them and getting some more insight into your own journey through fitness," he says.
But for those who can't get into the studio or just prefer to take classes online, he says virtual workouts are a good option. "Either way I think is great as long as you're staying healthy and staying active."