Running With Perseverance

Have you heard of Solidcore? According to this article, it is one way that Michelle Obama stays fit. Believe me, if she can do their workouts, she is as strong as she looks!

A few weeks ago Deb invited me to join her, and the people at Solidcore gave me a free session so I could try it out. I had seen Deb’s review, so I knew it would be tough, but when friends started warning me on Twitter, I began to worry about what I had gotten myself into! 

Solidcore has a great motto:

Create the strongest version of yourself.

But how do they help you do that? According to their website:

We use slow and controlled full-body movements with constant tension to work your muscle fibers to failure – yep, failure. This low-impact process forces your muscles to rebuild a more sculpted, stronger and [solid] you.

The 50 minute classes use machines called “megaformers” that include a platform on a spring that provides constant tension and makes the simplest exercises extremely difficult.

The plank is real, but I’m posing after class! 

I was expecting a lot of core moves, but we started off with glute bridges that were incredibly hard on megaformer. My muscles were burning instantly! After that, we did a series of side plank pike moves that showed me that my 60-second side planks haven’t really made my obliques that strong. Surprisingly, we also did a lot of lunges.

I’m facing the wrong way for this picture, but doing lunges on the megaformer really makes you dig deep into your muscles to work against the spring. 

The Solidcore website warns that Solidcore is not for everyone. It is hard. But, I like that we were encouraged to go at our own pace (most exercises were done for a set period of time rather than a set number of reps), reminded that even a small range of motion would target your muscles, and not mocked when we collapsed in exhaustion. (OK, maybe I was the only one who had to take a minute in corpse pose ….) 

Our coach (Jacob) ws very knowledgeable, energetic and encouraging! 

 I could still smile when class was over, but my legs were quivering an hour later! 

Solidcore has one location in Minneapolis, four locations in D.C., and currently one location in Virginia (Ballston). One reason I was invited to try Solidcore is because in March they are opening a new studio in Alexandria–right around the corner from my favorite pizza place! In May, they will open a third location in the Mosaic District. Like most small studio classes, Solidcore is not cheap. A single class is $35 per class, but by buying a package the rate can be as low as $27/class. 

[Tweet “Pushing my hardcore @SolidcoreVa”] 

I don’t think I can fit another class into my schedule during my spring race season, but this would be fantastic cross-training in the summer. If you decide to try Solidcore let me know so I can put your name down in their referral program. 😉 

Do you do any studio classes?