Since August, my only fitness membership has been with ClassPass as it fulfills my need to visit different gyms and studios to have a moderately diverse workout program. My membership was, until the beginning of November, their 10 classes/month one and I take planning and tracking my classes very seriously. The following is an example of how I note a workout in my Google Calendar:
[CP 13-8/10] Body Balance
Translation:
- Class Pass class (cf BL for Ballet Lounge, SCTY for Spin Society, etc.)
- 13th monthly membership
- 8th class out of 10 available classes in the month
- Body Balance is the name of the class, I’ll enter the actual gym or studio in the Location field
Suffice it to say, it’s a b*tch for me to enter these in my calendar through my mobile phone given the special characters! And even on a full-size keyboard, I will still make a typo!
Change is inevitable and in October, Class Pass notified me that I would be part of their beta testing of a system of credits per class instead of a fixed 10 classes per month. Some classes are worth less – e.g., unsupervised Gym Time is just 1 credit – and “regular” instructor-led classes are 5 credits. With 50 credits per month with my former 10 classes/month membership, I can still take 10 5-credit classes if I adhere to the maximum of three visits to a given studio. Visiting a gym or studio more than three times has a clear cost of additional credits. I have noticed it costs 3 credits for my fourth Gym Time visit and 7-9 credits for my fourth instructor-led class.
Well, isn’t this interesting?
And, personally speaking, my own routine is changing (as can also be said about the weather). I am getting increasingly chagrined to go to a 45 minute class and for some reason it takes 1 hour and 10 minutes of my day – commute time that could be walking or taking a quick bus ride, arriving at the studio with the bare minimum amount of time to set up, classes that don’t start and thus don’t end on time, cleaning equipment before leaving. Going to a gym on my own schedule is refreshingly efficient and easily completed within an hour. This credit system will work for me as I reincorporate cardio with low-credit Gym Time reservations and visit a streamlined list of studios more than three times, costing me more credits starting with the fourth visit.
Before the new system came into place, I thought I would be taking all 5-credit studio classes and basically have a 10 class/month membership. Upon closer inspection, this could be an interesting (and time consuming) game of optimizing my credits to get as many workouts as possible and minimize leftover credits which – for the time being – do not roll over. Given my 50-credit membership costs $99, each leftover credit is nearly $2 not spent!
November is the first month under this system and I rose to the challenge:
- Nov 3 / Body Balance (5 credits)
- Nov 7 / Ballet Lounge (5 credits)
- Nov 10 / Steve Nash class (5 credits)
- Nov 14 / Body Balance (5 credits)
- Nov 16 / Steve Nash gym time (1 credit)
- Nov 19 / Spin Society (5 credits)
- Nov 20 / Body Balance (5 credits)
- Nov 21 / Body Balance (7 credits – 4th visit)
- Nov 23 / Steve Nash gym time (1 credit)
- Nov 28 / Body Balance (7 credits – 5th visit)
- Nov 30 / Steve Nash gym time (3 credits – 4th visit)
I used 49 credits out of a possible 50 and workout 11 (instead of 10) times in the month. Not bad…
And here is how now I create my Google Calendar entries – oy:
[CP 14: 6-10/50] Body Balance
Translation:
- Class Pass class
- 14th monthly membership
- Using 6th through to and including 10th credits
- Out of 50 total available credits
- Body Balance is the name of the class
On this day..
- November 2012 Canada Glossy Box - 2012
- Strategic Thanksgiving - 2009