CLASS PASS SERIES: Revolutionizing Fitness Brick By Brick!!
I consider myself a versatile athlete. I enjoy all different types of workouts. Although I will admit crossfit is not my favorite, I find there are more cross fit gyms nowadays that offer classes that are also cardio and interval weight training combinations. Brick Los Angeles is one of these gyms.
Brick is located off one of the busiest intersections of Santa Monica Boulevard (near Fairfax) and thankfully they have their own parking lot! Otherwise I might have turned around and left because the parking and traffic in that area is horrific.
This gym is focused on crossfit, but they also have endurance classes, barbell training, muay thai boxing and a class I took called B/X. If you want to try this gym on ClassPass, pretty much the only classes offered are the B/X classes, which is fine with me. These classes are 60 minutes, focusing on a high energy cardio workout with interval weight training. It is similar to a boot camp.
We started the class with a few laps around the parking lot, which isn’t all that big. I can tell you right now the cardio focus is minimal at this gym…in fact the receptionist who showed me around actually shuddered when I said the word cardio. Your heart will get pumping from the high intensity interval exercises more than anything else.
After the warm-up, there were 5 different stations. We spent 6 minutes at each one. The first ones were those huge battle ropes and a few sets of burpees. The second station was this Assault bike, which is a spin bike with rower handles, kettle bell swings and a push and press move with dumbbells. The third station were those old school rowers and then a kettle bell squat where you hold the kettle bell to your chest and get up and down on each knee 20 times ( harder than it sounds!). The fourth station was leg lifts with an elastic band tied from weights on the floor to your waist and then thrusters, which is a front squat with a push press with a barbell. The fifth station was a weighted bent over row done on a platform. If you aren’t out of breath from just reading this I don’t know what to tell you…NOT EASY. AT ALL.
This is the kind of workout I would not want to do all the time, but it definitely tests my strength and challenges me because it is not as cardio centric as spin classes or running.
The gym has three rooms. The two bigger rooms are dedicated to crossfit and I assume the kickboxing when it is in session. All the usual crossfit gym equipment is here. There are bathrooms and showers. I am sure if you came often enough you could get to know people, but the only person who spoke to me today other than the instructor was a girl visiting from Texas.
If you are in the area and want your backside handed to you…it’s definitely a worthwhile challenge.
BRICK LOS ANGELES
7811 Santa Monica Blvd.
West Hollywood, CA 90046
