I have to admit: when I initially walked in, I was intimidated. Not because Rebecca, the owner of BURN Total Body Conditioning, made me feel anything other than welcome and capable. I flew solo to the class already worried because I haven’t been in a gym for months due to a back injury. I’ve been a little scared to give anything a go, and when I signed up for this I was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to keep up. Throw in a complicated-looking machine, and I wondered if I would even make it out with all my limbs in tact. Ha! Just look at this:
Upon first glance, I couldn’t tell you what I was supposed to do with it. It had levers and straps and cords and handles and a platform that slid back and forth. *Insert wide-eyed emoji here* But what I will say is that once all was said and done, it wasn’t nearly as scary as it appears. In fact, it was awesome! They have a total of 12 Megaformers in their studio, located in the newly remodeled, fitness-focused Fry’s plaza at Indian School and Miller.
- The owner and lead instructor, Rebecca, was SO GOOD. I’ve known good coaches and bad coaches in my day as an athlete, and she is hands down one of the best I have encountered. During the class when I thought I was going to die (it was a crazy good workout), she was encouraging and pushed me to hang on using language like, “Stick with me” and “We’re almost there.” Instructing groups of any size through a workout can be a challenge without sounding like a drill sergeant, but she made me feel like we were in it as a team. Not only that, she’s super approachable. Personally, I value approachability in a fitness instructor tremendously – it takes the intimidation factor right off the table.
- Not only is your instructor a great help during the class, but other classmates can help too. So even if you go into this place without a clue like I did, you’ll feel supported and your confidence will grow. Once I got the hang of it, I found that operating the machine was WAY easier than it looks!
- The space is beautiful. It’s clean and minimalist (my favorite thing) which makes the instructions easy to understand (there are a lot of movements that direct you to face a certain way). There’s merchandise, an info board, and gorgeous photos of Antelope Canyon adorning the walls opposite the mirror. When the weather is beautiful, they open the garage door to create an indoor/outdoor space.
- It’s very mellow: there was some friendly banter, but the members are very focused. It’s a very in-the-zone type of workout. It wasn’t low-energy, however! It just had a calm vibe as people arrived, and once class began and the music started, there was just the right amount of sustained energy.
- If you go, make sure you bring water, non-slip socks (required), and a workout towel. And if you forgot something, they have cute sparkle non-slip socks you can purchase there. Most members buy them anyway because, well, sparkle socks.
- I was sore for days after my workout at Burn TBC (that’s not a complaint, to be clear. That means the workout was super effective!). I activated muscles I didn’t even know I had, and the best part? My back remained unaffected because the movements are super intense, controlled, and slow.
Speaking of which, here is some info about what exactly the Lagree method is and how it works (pulled from the Burn TBC about page – they answer all your questions here!):