[solidcore] Adams Morgan

If you thought all Pilates workouts were low intensity and sweet, think again. [solidcore] takes a familiar machine and turns it on it’s head with nonstop movement and a much better burn. Constant instruction and the opportunity to modify poses up or down in intensity provide the benefits of private instruction in a group setting. This full body workout in a blue-lit space will have your muscles shaking for 60 minutes and sore for days.

RUNDOWN

WORKOUT

We’ll start by saying that we’ve been taking [solidcore] classes for a while now and we’ve been scared shitless to take Arms & Abs. “My abs are already murdered in a full body class,” we thought, “and legs are where I really shine.” But it was time. We walked in and, lucky for us (we guess?), it was a small class so we were stuck going all in.

It wasn’t nearly as tough as we thought. It’s the same set up as a typical full body class, but instead of the legs section you just have one more arms segment. For us, that meant we started with center core, moved to back exercises, transitioned to obliques, and then finished with some chest/biceps. It seemed like we did a little more center core than typical (we went through all of core exercises—crunches, extensions, pikes, elevated plank v-ups, sit-ups off the back), but truthfully, by the time we got into our first upper body section, we forgot all about our core work. We pulsed and held our way through upright rows, low rows, the row that feels like you’re doing a horizontal pull-up, and a few others. While we were feeling it by the end, the tough part was going back into core work on our elbows once our back was fully demolished. Obliques mirrored center core (per usual), with combo extensions to crunches and elevated oblique v-ups. To close out class we finished with some chest flys and presses before burning out on heavy bicep curls.

Our transitions were mostly plank up downs and variations on a push up, which we didn’t mind—we’ll take either any day over army crawls. While we did miss showing some love to our legs, Arms & Abs is the perfect class for when you have a lower body injury, are training for a race and can’t burn out those legs, or want to really sculpt out that upper body.

INSTRUCTOR

Torie is the kind of instructor that we come to [solidcore] for. She called us out in that best-friend-who-keeps-you-accountable way (which we definitely need when we’re deep into the second oblique), but she also provided clear cueing and support throughout class. We like that she used metaphors to help describe what our body should be doing (“Imagine you’re squeezing a lemon with your upper hip and lower ribs”) and also made us push harder by instructing some exercise variations on her count. We would’ve loved a little more hands-on adjustments since the class was so small, but honestly may not have been able to work harder with the ass kicking she gave.

SPACE

The Adams Morgan studio space is intimate with 12 machines lined up in a long room with mirrors on either side. Blue lighting made us look great while we were getting sweaty, no matter how unsteady we felt mid-lunge. Adams Morgan has a larger lobby space than other studios, but we wish that extra space could be added to the studio itself since sometimes doing pushups and bungee work can feel tight. Coconut water and bottled water are available for purchase and there are drinking fountains where you can refill your own water bottle as well. [solidcore] also sells new branded gear from brands we love like lululemon that rotate each month. Though two bathrooms provide the goodies for a quick freshen-up (dry shampoo, deodorant, etc.), we were definitely very sweaty post-class and would’ve needed to shower before heading into the office.