I Tried It: Body Logic

Image from Medioimages/Photodisc

It started with a LivingSocial deal, as these things often do: $25 for three Body Logic classes. I got a friend buy it, too; we were going to try this together. Safety in numbers, right?

The description had me intrigued. I danced for a few years as a kid, and it’s one of my biggest regrets that I ever gave it up. So this class, which is led by a dancer and promised long, lean ballerina-like muscles, sounded fun. And since my friend danced through high school, I knew she’d fit right in.

As the day of our first class drew closer, we started reading more about it. That’s when we got scared.

Body Logic was created by dancer Jillian Dreusike as a cross-training program to keep dancers in shape during the off season. You’re supposed to go through an introduction session of three classes before you enroll in the open classes; we just signed up for three at random—oops. On her website, Dreusike promises that the classes, which are done sans shoes, will be “extremely difficult.” And then there’s the time requirement: The first class on our schedule would run for 75 minutes. What in the world had I gotten us into?

Saturday arrived and we set out for our 8 a.m. class. This one was held at a studio in Old City, but there are also classes in Fairmount during the week. The space certainly looked the part: big, bright windows, a ballet barre attached to the wall, and floor-to-ceiling windows where we could watch ourselves—and each other—muddle our way through the workout.

Thankfully, there were only six students, and four of us were beginners so Dreusike was careful to go over the basics and explain each movement thoroughly. The class moved sequentially through a warm-up, core strengthening exercises (these were similar to what you’d see in mat Pilates class), and cardio and barre.

I really didn’t expect to get much out of the cardio portion—it was just 20 minutes of step aerobics, after all. But Dreusike mixed the cardio and barre work, so we were constantly running—literally, in place—from one move to the next. I was seriously sweaty by the end. And sore the next day.

Dreusike says to get the best results, you should take her class once a week. She offers the 75-minute total-body class, plus a 40-minute cardio class and a 60-minute strength class. She floats between the Old City studio (219 Cuthbert Street) and one in Fairmount (1831 Brandywine Street). Prices are $20 for a single session (or drop-in), $55 for three, $105 for six, and $150 for nine. There’s an introductory package for new students for three classes for $45.

Get all the info you need over here.

See also: Fit Review: Cardio Hooping at Ploome