Local Motion Studio (Alexandria)
I love working out! And this year, I will be sharing my favorite workouts in a monthly post called Workout Review. First up is Cardio Sculpt at Local Motion Studio in Alexandria. Cardio Sculpt is an energizing 45 minutes of cardio and strength training. This barefoot training class has Pilates and Yoga influences, but this is no mat class! If you’re looking for a sweat-induced workout, this is the class for you.
I walked into Local Motion Studio after a hectic morning of dropping off my first grade daughter at elementary school, my son at his pre-school and my husband at the metro followed by my bi-weekly grocery shopping. It had just begun to snow for the first time this year and I was wondering if I was going to get a call asking me to return to school to pick up my kids. But, once I walked into the Local Motion Studio, all of the stress that I had in my body and all of those anxious thoughts I had in my head melted away. The studio is modern, minimalistic, spacious and has a calming, yet inspiring energy. I didn’t even feel like I was in Alexandria, let alone the state of Virginia. The studio was reminiscent of my days as a student actor in New York City learning Suzuki Movement and Alexander Technique. My fellow attendees of the Cardio Sculpt class had friendly faces and were just as excited as I was to take the class.
What exactly is Cardio Sculpt? Think high rep low weights and yoga-inspired sculpting. Add in a few leg ups/jogging in place and you will feel moderate intensity. This is the gist of what the class was like: An arm segment that’s longer than I’m used to with 3 and 5-lb weights, leg and glutes segments using your body weight (think 80’s style Jane Fonda ‘on all fours kicking your leg back’ with weights in the back of your knee caps style. OMG! Am I going to get a Kim Kardashian ass doing these donkey kicks?), partner planks and one hand patty cake push-ups with Yoga-like “flows” between each circuit. I really liked our instructor Charissa Mobley. She was super energetic, passionate about fitness and is great at giving cues and encouragement.
About Local Motion: Local Motion Studio offers fun and inclusive movement classes to both adults and children. They offer Ballet, Belly Dance, Pregnancy and Postpartum Fitness, Yoga, Pilates, CrossBarre, Capoeira, Capofit, various forms of dance and cardio classes. Their mission is to bring the joy of movement to everyone– at any stage and any age. My favorite aspect in addition to their brand new, clean facility and techniques offered is that they are very family-friendly and offer onsite childcare and children’s classes.
Local Motion Studio is located at 2377 South Dove Street, Alexandria, VA 22314. For more information, visit www.localmotionstudio.com
