Part of living the Vancouver dream is taking advantage of the abundance of wellness avenues the city has to offer. One of them obviously being fitness studios. There are numerous places to get your sweat on around the city and I wanted to share some of my favourites with you. Since group fitness has re-opened in BC, I've made sure to get my butt into as many classes as I can. Not only to keep myself feeling amazing, but also to support some amazing businesses that have been massively impacted by the pandemic. So here they are...5 Vancouver workouts that you HAVE to try!
Lagree West
If you follow me on Instagram (@yogini.taylor) you already knew that Lagree West was going to be on this list. I've been a student at Lagree West since 2016 and let me tell you - it's a workout that doesn't get easier.
The class takes place on a machine called the Megaformer, which you'll use to target slow-twitch muscle fibers. You're going to be moving very slow in this class - the slower the stronger (don't be fooled - it's hard as f*ck). As a student over the years, I've been to many different instructors with different styles and the instructors still surprise me with exercises that I've never done, that target a muscle I didn't know I had. The sequencing of each class is so different - I've never once had the same workout. It's a low-impact workout that leaves your core activated and your whole body feeling toned.
Lagree West has 4 locations in Vancouver, Gastown, Kitsilano, Main St. and Lonsdale, and they have one location in Victoria.
VNYSA
Previously known as The Hot Box Yoga, VNYSA studio was introduced to me by my sister back in 2014, when she started working there as front desk staff. The room is a toasty 32° which I love because you can't quite tell if you're sweating from the yoga or from the heat. The studio is spacious (which can be hard to come by in Vancouver!), bright and inviting and the instructors are all so creative with their styles and sequencing. They offer a variety of classes from Power, to 50/50 (kind of like a yang/yin style), Detox, and Chill. Creep my class on their schedule and come say hi!
Oxygen Yoga & Fitness
If you live in Metro Vancouver, it's likely you've driven passed a few different Oxygen Yoga & Fitness locations. Oxygen Yoga & Fitness is where I started my yogic journey. There was a location near me at the time and I tried it and became absolutely obsessed. The far infrared heat is VERY addicting and it wasn't abnormal for me to do multiple classes a day. I eventually did my Yoga Teacher Training with Oxygen Yoga & Fitness, and continued on to teach there from 2015-2019. While teaching, I witnessed others fall in love with the benefits of far infrared. The infrared heats your body from the inside out, so you're getting a much more detoxifying sweat than you would say, in a room that is hot, but does not have infrared. Some of the benefits included:
• detoxification
• pain relief
• injury recovery
• skin purification
It's still one of my favorite places to practice yoga. The deep detoxification I get from the classes is game changing for my health.
Jaybird
Hot yoga in the dark? Hear me out. A warm, dark room, loud music. Nothing to do but close your eyes and feel what's going on inside your body. You can't see anyone around you, so you cannot compare yourself to others. It's just you, your body, your mat, the music and the sound of the instructor guiding you.
My favorite class at Jaybird is The Build. It's structured like a yoga class that gradually builds up - it's quite lovely. They don't use any yogic terminology, which leaves more space for interpretation of how to move. I've experienced huge energetic releases at this studio. The environment sets you up to feel deeply. I've also taken The Booty class, which was killer and had my glutes crying by the end (okay half-way through who are we kidding). Oh, and they also have infrared, which you know I'm obsessed with. Highly recommend giving Jaybird a try!
OrangeTheory
If you can't tell already, I'm a fan of lower-impact workouts. That said, I had to throw something a little higher-intensity in here for you. While OrangeTheory is not exclusive to Vancouver, it's my go-to spot when I want to get my heartrate up. OrangeTheory is science backed, so it's very easy to track your progress and see how you're doing and how you've improved. You wear a heartrate monitor, and the goal is to get your heartrate in the "orange zone". While it may be easy to track your progress, the workout is not for the faint of heart - it's intense! That said, they have something for all fitness levels, whether you're a power walker, jogger or runner, you're going to have an insane full-body workout that you'll feel the benefits of even after you leave class.
Many of these studios you can access through ClassPass, which I personally use. If you'd like to sign up for class pass, you can sign up through my ClassPass referral link.
If you do try or have tried any of these workouts, leave a comment below and let me know what you thought!
Happy sweating,
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