Sierra Fitness

I have been so happy with my experience at Sierra Fitness. Sandy is my trainer and she is so attentive to helping me achieve my fitness goals even with my physical limitations. She has the perfect combination of skill, patience, humor and knows how to get me to do the most effective workout to build up my strength!
I was so pleased to discover that Sandy was opening a new Pilates studio on Montecito Ave. last November. I’ve been taking the «pro pilates» and spring board classes for 6 months now. They combine classical Pilates which help strengthen your core muscles and increase balance and flexibility. The «pro» part is there is also a weight training, balance work and cardio component, so that you get a great calorie burn while increasing endurance, balance and strength. The best «full body» workout in an hour! And they offer many classes at convenient times, so you start running out of the «I don’t have time» excuses. I recommend doing the classes 2 – 3 times a week and you will see results almost immediately.

Took a yoga class here today and it was great! Karen Miller is the best!!! Great instructions, especially on breathing.

California car culture got the best of me. My previously good shape, which I attributed to biking 4 – 8 miles a day in Philly, turned into flab. However, my workout options were limited. Biking was dangerous, running seemed boring, and yoga, for all that I love, doesnt burn what I need to burn. I had to find a gym.
Sierra Fitness turned out to be the perfect fit (no pun intended). The management is friendly, the classes are small, and everyone seems genuinely interested in making sure you get a good workout. Even in the largest classes (Yoga and Spinning fill up quickly) the instructors pay specialized attention to each student. I’ve even had classes where I was the only student, which made me feel like I was getting an hour with a personal trainer, rather than a regular class.
Its true that they do not have showers or changing rooms. This doesn’t bother me, because its close to home, but I can see how it could be a deal breaker for some. Still, there is a very clean bathroom which could be used for that purpose if the need arose.
My favorite classes:
Spinning with Melinda (Mon and Wed @ 9am)
Toning with Monica or Cara (Mon or Weds @ 5pm)
Pilates Mat with Connie (Weds @ 6:30pm or Friday @ 11am)
Hatha Yoga with Karen Miller (Sunday @ 10 am)
George’s Core Fitness class is good, but lacks the individualized attention that I found in the other classes. Make sure to ask questions if you feel you aren’t doing something correctly, because otherwise you can wind up hurting yourself.

I also had the Living Social deal and was able to take all the classes, which was great. I ended up taking the Core Fitness with George, Pilates with Connie, and Pilates with Chris. The instructors were nice (especially Connie). They were all a decent workout but nothing special. The classes tended to start 3 – 5 minutes late and the pace was average-​moderate. I think it is frequented by Sierra Madre locals and they are were all really nice. Unfortunately, there are no locker/​shower facilities, so it’s not really convenient unless you are planning to go home afterwards. At these prices, may as well go to the big gyms and have access to all the stuff.

I had a Living Social deal — $ 30 for One Month of Unlimited Pilates Mat and Yoga Classes.
Superb deal. The person working there told me that I could go try out any of their classes except for the reformer Pilates class (that’s extra) and I did.
The Pilates Mat was good — my abs hurt badly the next day… however, I didn’t like how I didn’t sweat as much as I would like to. I guess I was looking for more of a workout where my shirt will be drenched with sweat.
Now the Spinning Class on Wednesday nights were awesome. I had the best workout of my life (on a standby bike that is). WOW! I never thought spinning would be so much fun. And guess what? After the class, my shirt and yoga pants were drenched with sweat. wooohoooo I must’ve burned 1000 calories… I don’t know…
Kickboxing was good too except that a substitute filled in when I tried out the class. So it makes me wonder what it was like normally. However, I still got a workout. My shirt was drenched with sweat also. And for the next couple of days my legs are stiff and sore… I think it was from using the resistance bands while warming up.
Overall, classes are good but it’s rather pricey. If they have good deals I’ll definitely sign up… otherwise $ 15/​class is a bit steep for me.