Last week a couple of us on the Smarty team were lucky enough to try one of the newest workouts in town, Perfect Burn. It uses a High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) interval/station format and is held at Perfect Balance training center, a GORG new gymnastics facility. Smarty Jen and I aren’t used to this type of thing – we’re more barre-bies than burpies – so we were a bit nervous. But, we came to it with water, running shoes, and a strong mental game.
The gist of the workout is to utilize gymnastics equipment for athletic conditioning – you know, all of that equipment you watch your kids use in their gymnastics classes? The ones that look so easy? Yea, they’re not.
One of my fave local instructors, Mary Queen (who, if you don’t know her, is really just one loooooong muscle…seriously, her crazy-strong legs come to my shoulders) led us through five stations: eight rounds of 30 seconds on and 10 seconds off, with a warm up and cool down. She takes my Pure Barre Platform class, so I immediately picked up on the fact that she enjoyed telling ME what to do for once 🙂 (love you, MQ!).
We used the trampoline (on an empty bladder), squishy mat (quicksand), uneven bars (hello, biceps!), foam pit (G.I. Jane), vault spring board (oh. my. quad!), and some serious core/balance equipment. The instructors mix it up each class, so who knows what we’ll encounter next time. I’m just hoping I’m not shamed by any former gymnasts that show up :-). 
It was not only a SERIOUS burn, but it was also so much fun. Luckily none of us took ourselves too seriously (impossible to do as you crawl through sink in a foam pit), so we laughed our way through it – I’m now convinced laughing pumps more oxygen to the heart. Something we needed. Great music, a positive coach, and a quick tempo made 50 minutes fly by, and we were left with seriously sore muscles and sweaty hair. Love that.
Definitely give this one a try if you’re looking to break out of your routine! No back tuck required, and you’ll gain a whole new appreciation for those AMAZING gymnasts we’re about to see in the Summer Olympics (and you can totally claim a connection to them – I mean, you’ll have been on a vault springboard. Definitely the same thing).
A little more about Perfect Burn:
Perfect Burn at Perfect Balance Training Center
8850 Monroe Rd.
Contact Perfect Balance:
Suzie Sanocki (click here to read Smarty Jen’s interview with Suzie)
980-299-8445
Class Schedule:
All classes are 10:30-11:20am
Mary Queen teaches Mondays, Tuesdays, and Fridays.
Email her here or contact her via Facebook.
Brie Hollingsworth teaches Thursdays.
Email her here or contact her via Facebook.
Cost is $10 per class.
More info can be found on Mary’s blog and the Perfect Balance Facebook page.
