The Refine Method Class Review

Tonight, thanks to Dori over at Dori’s Shiny Blog, I had the pleasure of taking a Refine Method class with the fabulous Brynn Jinnett.

But before I get to that, a quick recap of my day:

• 5:30 am wakeup = success!
• Morning ab workout = success!
• 6.4 mile run in Central Park = cold, success!
• Work = busy, stressful, semi-success

So there’s that.

I came home after work—it was the first time since I moved over a month ago that I came straight home from the office. Crazy! I’m always off to the gym or some random work function. I had to think twice about the fastest way to get back to my apartment.

The plan was to have a pre-workout snack, since the Refine class didn’t start until 7:35 pm.

Enter, my new love:

Peanut Butter & Co’s Dark Chocolate Dreams.

Um. How had I not discovered this until last week? Crazy. It’s so good.

On a toasted whole-wheat English muffin? Don’t mind if I do. (Sorry for the blurry photo—my camera is inadequate; my photography skills are obviously not the problem.)

After the delicious snack (plus some baby carrots and a handful—OK 12 handfuls—of my brother’s homemade Chex Mix) it was off to class.

So as I mentioned above, I got the hookup for this fabulously free class through Dori, who posted this great Refine Method review on her blog a few weeks ago.

I wanted to take the class for a few reasons:

1. To meet Dori in person!
2. To meet other NYC-based bloggers and fitnessy folk.
3. To try a new, barre method-based class. I’ve read so much about Physique57, Bar Method Soho, Core Fusion, etc., but hadn’t given any of the classes a try myself. But a free shot? Perfect.
4. The instructor, Brynn Jinnett, is a dancer! She was a member of New York City Ballet, so I knew she’d be a rockstar instructor. I love meeting dancers (I used to be one, and now I work in the industry).
5. The studio is just 10 blocks from my apartment. Couldn’t possibly be more convenient.

First of all, the studio is fantastic. It’s the perfect size for an intimate class but I never felt cramped or too close to the person next to me (by the way, I ended up next to Dori, who is a freakin’ Refine Method superstar—hellooooo inspiration).

We went through a whole series of moves including deep squats and pliés, upper body and ab work using the cable pulley-systems attached to the wall and some deep stretching at the end of class.

The workout itself is fantastic. It’s low impact but I definitely broke a major sweat. I’m fairly certain I’ll be feeling it tomorrow morning!

My favorite thing about tonight’s class was that Brynn is a fantastic teacher.

She’s one of those people you say “Hi” to and instantly feel like you’ve known her forever. She was warm and friendly, but once she got into teaching mode she really commanded the room. Plus I had fun chatting with her after class about people in the dance world.

Fun Fact: She told me that Kevin McKenzie, the artistic director at American Ballet Theatre, wants to come take a class with her! Probably not a big deal to most, but for those dance nerds out there like me, that’s pretty awesome.

And of course, it was great to meet all the other young women who came out for class. (Special shout out to Alison Foster. The coolest girls are ones named Alison, spelled with the fewest letters possible, and have last names that start with the letter F.)

I also got to meet Melissa tonight, whose blog was one of the first ones I started reading this spring when I first got hooked on the healthy living blog world.

So another thanks to Dori for offering up this class.

I highly recommend Brynn and the Refine Method. You’ll leave feeling the burn!

TELL ME: What fitness class should I try next?! I really want to check out SoulCycle. Send me your recommendations!