Recently, the folks from Spectrum Athletics Club in Santa Monica, Calif., invited me to try out a new class Les Mills put together called CXWORX . The 30-minute class, which consists of six different stages, promises to hone in on your abs, glutes, back and obliques, was calling my name. (I’m a sucker and a half for anything that works my abs and booty.)
We started with a pleasant warm-up, moved quickly to moves that target the lower and upper abs, and then hopped up for some glutes, abs and sling muscle work. Once the glutes were firing, we took it to the next level and introduced resistance tubes. (My fit bottom was definitely singing during this part of the class!) We did side planks and side-plank dips that had me shaking. Then we finished it up with some back exercises. By the end of it, I felt like we had worked every connecting core muscle one could work.
The verdict? I liked it! Tishy really liked it! The class was difficult but not impossible. The instructor, Christina P., was energetic and informative. She offered lots of modifications as well as encouragement. I was the only newbie in attendance and totally expected to get lost in my inexperience, but she never failed to keep the moves intense but easy to follow.
I dropped sweat beads and felt the abs shaking a bit. The only downside to the whole thing was that I SO could have done more than 30 minutes. I figured out quickly why most of the women from the previous class she had taught stayed for the next round. This sounded crazy at first, but CXWORX isn’t a hard core “RIP YOUR ABS OUT!” type of class. It’s controlled and painful while you’re in the moment, but afterward you’re feeling mighty swell. So swell you feel like you could do another 15 minutes.
There are Spectrum Clubs scattered across Texas and California, so if you live in one of those two states and are looking for a gym, you might want to try one of these out. CXWORX is also offered by other health clubs around the country, so see if your fitness facility has it. I really loved seeing different shapes and sizes, different age ranges and, most importantly, seeing so many people eager to sweat it out on a Sunday morning. Plus, everyone was super friendly and personable. Maybe that’s why I didn’t want the class to be over…it was just so lovely in there!
If you plan to check out the CXWORX class or have tried it in the past, I’d love to hear from you! —Tish
We started with a pleasant warm-up, moved quickly to moves that target the lower and upper abs, and then hopped up for some glutes, abs and sling muscle work. Once the glutes were firing, we took it to the next level and introduced resistance tubes. (My fit bottom was definitely singing during this part of the class!) We did side planks and side-plank dips that had me shaking. Then we finished it up with some back exercises. By the end of it, I felt like we had worked every connecting core muscle one could work.
The verdict? I liked it! Tishy really liked it! The class was difficult but not impossible. The instructor, Christina P., was energetic and informative. She offered lots of modifications as well as encouragement. I was the only newbie in attendance and totally expected to get lost in my inexperience, but she never failed to keep the moves intense but easy to follow.
I dropped sweat beads and felt the abs shaking a bit. The only downside to the whole thing was that I SO could have done more than 30 minutes. I figured out quickly why most of the women from the previous class she had taught stayed for the next round. This sounded crazy at first, but CXWORX isn’t a hard core “RIP YOUR ABS OUT!” type of class. It’s controlled and painful while you’re in the moment, but afterward you’re feeling mighty swell. So swell you feel like you could do another 15 minutes.
There are Spectrum Clubs scattered across Texas and California, so if you live in one of those two states and are looking for a gym, you might want to try one of these out. CXWORX is also offered by other health clubs around the country, so see if your fitness facility has it. I really loved seeing different shapes and sizes, different age ranges and, most importantly, seeing so many people eager to sweat it out on a Sunday morning. Plus, everyone was super friendly and personable. Maybe that’s why I didn’t want the class to be over…it was just so lovely in there!
If you plan to check out the CXWORX class or have tried it in the past, I’d love to hear from you! —Tish