CLASS PASS SERIES: HIIT On Melrose Avenue…

I was supposed to work this giant event in San Diego today that got canceled, so I had some extra time on my hands and decided to try a class from a place I never heard of that wasn’t located in my immediate vicinity.

This place is called the Phoenix Effect and it is located on Melrose Avenue. This snazzy little boutique gym is in the heart of what used to be a popular shopping area. Parking is rather tricky, as they only have two tandem spots in the back. Your best bet is to park at a meter on the street and pay.

The gym has an open front greeting area where you will sign in with their friendly front door receptionists, who are super nice and informative about what you will expect in the class you take, where the bathrooms are and they will also give you a towel for your workout if you ask for one.

The actual gym itself is one room. It is not that big, but they have it set up so you can get your workout in efficiently. I really dug the incline wall they have in the back with the rope…alas, it was not used in the today’s workout.

The gym has several different classes-Burn, Fire, Lift, Fix and Funk. I took the Burn class, which is a HIIT (high intensity interval training) class. As you know from my experiences at Burn 60, Circuit Works and Sweat Garage, I love these super fat burning workouts. I do believe over time combined with the right nutrition, they can help sculpt your body and improve your overall athletic conditioning. The other classes can be found here.

There are no treadmills for this program. It is 10 different stations ranging from butterfly sit-ups to kettle bell swings. Each station you spend 45 seconds doing your maximum effort of whatever the exercise at that station is. Then you get a 15 second rest, then you do a second set of the same exercise. You rotate through all 10 exercises like this. Then you do a second rotation, but this time it is for 35 seconds with a 15 second rest. Sounds like a lot? It is!! You will be sweating by the end of this class, no doubt.

The gym has a bathroom and cubby holes for your belongings in the back of the room. No showers are available. They also like to take a group picture at the end…but no one harasses you if you want to avoid this, which I did.

THE PHOENIX EFFECT

7264 Melrose Avenue 

Los Angeles, CA 90046