Sunday, June 21, 2009 | Life, Health + Fitness
Round and round we go

The workout to end all workouts—Pure Energy circuit training in Buckhead

Courtesy of Body Sculpting Inc.
Body Sculpting Inc.

WHAT: Pure Energy
WHERE: Body Sculpting Inc.
COST: $15
WHEN: Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m.
CONTACT INFO: 404-493-4873.
www.bodysculptorinc.com.
FITNESS FACTOR: 5 stars
FUN FACTOR: 4 stars

By Colleen Oakley

Two hours is a long time. You can watch four episodes of “How I Met Your Mother” (maybe five, without commercials). Or drive to Greenville, S.C. Or take a really killer afternoon nap. Or you can take Body Sculpting Inc.’s 120-minute Pure Energy class—which is how I chose to spend last Saturday morning. From 10 a.m. to noon, I joined about 30 other students and two trainers in what can only be described as a grueling workout.

With a DJ in the corner providing club-like beats, everyone grabbed a body bar (a long, weighted pole), and for 30 minutes we went through a series of squats, lunges, bicep curls and shoulder presses, without so much as a tiny break in between. I was sweating buckets, breathing hard, and my thighs felt like they were on fire.

That was the warm-up.

The only highlight at this point was when the two very hot, very muscular, very male trainers leading the group took their shirts off, revealing every ripple in their upper torsos (I mean, if you like that kind of thing). It was … er … inspirational.

We then moved on to the circuit training. Dolvett Quince, owner of the gym and one of the trainers, had set up about 35 workout stations. Everyone went to a station and then did the workout for 30 seconds. When time was called, we moved to the station to our right, going in a circle to every station, until we’d completed them all. There were pull-ups, balance squats, jump squats, crunches, step-ups, treadmill running, leg presses, bicep curls, shoulder presses—and much more.

After 45 minutes, we had been through all of them. And most importantly, I was still alive. But the workout was not over. The whole troop followed the trainers outside (thank God it was overcast that day, and not boiling Atlanta-summer hot), where we did about 100 lunges, then ran down the sidewalk, only to do more squats, jumping jacks and—you guessed it—more lunges.

We took off running again and this time, I was out of steam. I slowed down with another girl in the class, and the pack took off without us. But Dolvett wasn’t having that. He grabbed our hands and practically forced our tired bodies to jog with him. (Unfortunately, he had put his shirt back on by this time—otherwise it would have been much easier to follow him.)

When we got back to the gym, huffing and puffing, it was time for abs, which meant only one thing—I got to lie down. Sweet baby Jesus, I had made it.

It was one of the hardest workouts I’ve done since writing this column, but I haven’t even told you the best part—it’s only $15. A two-hour workout class in Buckhead that’s bound to get you in awesome shape; I think it’s the best fitness deal in Atlanta. SP
Colleen Oakley is a freelance writer in Atlanta and the former editor of Women’s Health & Fitness magazine. Got a fitness challenge for her? E-mail her at colleen@sundaypaper.com.