Lena & Heidi

I’ve been attending classes with Lena and Heidi for nearly a year. I’ve tried several other classes in the area and this one stands out for a number of reasons. Their mix of music is about ⁶⁰⁄₄₀ between familiar upbeat songs from dance/​hiphop on the radio and latin songs that are newer to me. As a new student I found that their routines were easy to get into, and now I still find small things I can improve to follow them better or to increase the challenge/​exercise/​fun. They introduce new songs fairly regularly so things stay fresh while you still get to revisit old favorites. They take class input on the song mix: if there’s a specific song you want that night you can speak up and there’s a good chance it will be included. The environment is very supportive. you look around in between songs and everyone is smiling and friendly. They also find a way to involve the more experienced students in the class by having them come up and help lead on certain songs. They celebrate class achievements in meeting fitness goals and feature students on their FB page. Lately they’ve begun to incorporate some light/​toning weights into a featured song most classes, which is a nice change of pace.
A couple months back we had an eighties themed zumba party to raise money for ALS that was a lot of fun. It sounds like more themed nights are planned.
These are all things that make this class great. I have a blast every time I go. And I get an awesome workout.
What takes it to the next level for me are three key things:
(1) Childcare. EVERY class they teach has childcare available in the kidzone at the gym. It works out to something like $ 1.50-$ 2 per child per class. This is very unusal in the area, especially for evening classes. My kids have a great time in the kidzone. While there’s a tv in there, my kids usually spend their time playing with the other kids… many nights they have friendly dance contests with them. They look forward to going. It’s like a playdate for them.
(2) Price. Classes are free for gym members. Mt Si Sports n Fitness is already a very good bargain as a gym. If I took these classes as part of a punch card program similar to those offered at other gyms in the area I’d pay ~ $ 5/​class. I attend ~10 classes/​month and I pay less than $ 50/​month for my gym membership. And I can use all the rest of the gym facilities, showers, other free-​to-​members classes (there are several). It’s an amazing value.
(3) Proximity. Of course this won’t be true for everyone, but this is 5 minutes away for me. There are other classes in the area just as close, but not with all the features that this one has. If I had to drive 45 min roundtrip to a class you could chalk up another $ 4 – 5 in gas I would be paying for each class, and that’s if I could make it given the rest of my schedule. I coached my kids soccer teams this past year and I could make it back from soccer practice in time to attend classes.
The only thing I think might put potential students off is that the evening classes can be pretty crowded, especially Monday and Wednesday nights. I’ve never seen anyone turned away, but you should get there 5 – 10 minutes early to get yourself a spot where you can see the instructors.