We’d bet good money you’re seated while reading this. How did we know? Because one in four Americans spend more than eight hours a day on their rear end, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. All that time on your tush can result in high blood pressure, obesity, and an increased risk of heart disease—the leading cause of death in the United States.

The good news? “Exercise is one of the best things you can do to reduce the risk of some of the biggest killers in America,” says Dr. William Cornwell, medical director of sports cardiology at UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital on the CU Anschutz Medical Campus.

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So, we’ve rounded up the 12 best workout classes to get your sweat on in the Mile High City. In addition to reaping all the physical benefits of fitness, these classes can also help you connect with fellow swole mates.

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Best Cardio Classes in Denver

Exercises that elevate your heart rate are particularly beneficial because they put good stress on your lungs and ticker. In fact, regular aerobic activity can help your heart maintain youthful function into your 70s and 80s, Cornwell says. Experts suggest adults aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity or 75 minutes of vigorous cardio a week—and in Denver, you can do so much better than the treadmill. Here are three of our favorite places to get our hearts pumping.

Block21 Fitness

Photo courtesy of Kalen Jesse Photography
  • Workout: Dancing
  • Address: 930 N. Lincoln St., Denver (Capitol Hill)
  • Cost: $30 for a single class

I spent my entire childhood training to be a professional ballet dancer. That meant living in a leotard 40 hours per week, vying for first place in competitions, and enrolling in a rigorous ballet academy instead of traditional high school. By the time I was 16, taking my place at the barre each morning filled me with more angst than enjoyment; the mirror never seemed to reflect anything but my inadequacies. Ultimately, I was driven away from the sport I loved by the constant pressure to be perfect—and always falling short.

So, when I booked a class at Block21 Fitness, a cardio dance studio in Capitol Hill, I felt a familiar wave of anxiety. I hadn’t set foot in a studio in seven years. What if I didn’t nail the choreography? What if the mirror taunted me like it did when I was a teenager?

I claimed a spot in the back row and fell into my old ballet stretching routine. But when the instructor, Kenny Beahm, turned on the music, it was no Tchaikovsky. What ensued was 50 minutes of unabashed booty shaking. Block21’s signature class is a follow-the-leader format made up of 80 percent dancing and 20 percent strength exercises. Instructors repeat the movements throughout the song, so if you don’t pick it up the first time, you likely will the third or fourth. We body-rolled to Shy Smith’s “Soaked,” made it rain during “$100 Bill” by Big Freedia, and dropped it to the floor as Sage the Gemini rapped “Gas Pedal.” Twenty minutes in, I was soaked—and, surprisingly, smiling.

“In a typical dance-technique class, there’s so much thinking,” says Sally Urban, who founded the studio in 2019. “It’s really easy to overanalyze and become critical and have that little voice in your head run wild. The whole idea [at Block21] is that you can just turn your brain off and go.” After a few songs spent side-eyeing my classmates to make sure no one was looking at me (they weren’t), that’s exactly what I did.

There were plenty of times when I messed up the choreography, nearly bumped into my neighbors, and felt a little silly. But I found that my mistakes were part of the magic. Here, instructors ask for a playful spirit, not perfection. “And if anything doesn’t work for you,” Urban says, “you can always twerk on the wall.” —JG

Viv Cycle

Photo courtesy of Viv Cycle
  • Workout: Indoor cycling
  • Address: 3611 Walnut St., Denver (RiNo)
  • Cost: $26 for a single class

Inside a dark room off Walnut Street in RiNo, Nadine Potter screams beneath a single spotlight as she maxes out the speakers’ volume. Potter looks as though she’s DJing the biggest stage at Coachella, but really, she’s pushing 40 people to their limits on stationary bikes. “There’s something truly sacred about stepping through those doors, getting up on the podium, turning off the lights, and letting the music play,” Potter says. “Something happens to my soul.”

She co-founded Viv Cycle with Ann Tribone in July 2019. Together, they’ve shaped Viv into a high-energy boutique fitness studio that feels more like a nightclub than a workout class. That’s thanks in part to its use of beat-based indoor cycling, meaning the rhythm dictates the choreography and how fast you pedal. Five different spin classes range from Just Jogs, which focuses on endurance, to Heavy Hitters, which prioritizes slower songs and heavy resistance. But the signature 45-minute Viv Ride lets cyclists try every tempo. “It’s a party on a bike every time,” Potter says. You might tap it back to old-school rap, burn out your biceps to Benny Benassi during the five-to-six-minute upper-body section, and then belt out hits from the early 2000s like you’re at a karaoke bar.

“The community here is something special. You’ll notice people talking and bonding, many of whom didn’t know each other before,” Potter says. “It feels like all the coolest, kindest people end up at Viv.” And because the schedule also includes strength training, mat Pilates, yoga, sound baths, and a slew of social events, you can hang with your new besties in and out of the saddle. —Sara Rosenthal

Bodied

Photo courtesy of Biz Young
  • Workout: Step aerobics
  • Address: 2101 W. 44th Ave., Denver (Sunnyside)
  • Cost: $28 for a single class

Leave the leg warmers at home: This is not your mom’s Jane Fonda workout. Dreamed up by Veronica Peterson (better known as V around the studio), Bodied puts a modern spin on the nostalgic ’90s step aerobics trend. “What I love about step is that it’s very high intensity—you are dripping sweat by the end of it, and your heart is pounding—but it’s super low impact,” says Peterson, who opened the Sunnyside studio in August 2023. Backed by the beats of contemporary artists like Cardi B and Taylor Swift, instructors begin the 45-minute signature class with about 20 minutes of step to raise your heart rate and warm up your muscles for the impending strength section.

That’s when you’ll meet your new frenemy: the Heroboard. Despite being just slightly larger than a laptop, the rolling platform packs a punch similar to that of a Pilates reformer machine. As if single-leg lunges and planks to pikes weren’t hellish enough on solid ground, performing them on four wheels fires up your core and challenges your balance. Bodied coaches often add dumbbells and resistance bands during this section for upper-body training and glute gains, giving you a true full-body workout.

Whether they nailed every triple toe tap and knee drive or spent the whole class giggling with their girlfriends, clients tend to walk out of Bodied with a newfound swagger, Peterson says, and not just because their legs are Jell-O. “My absolute favorite [compliment] is when people tell me that Bodied has helped them feel confident,” she says. “You can see them exiting the room feeling so strong and so sexy.” —JG

Best Strength Training Classes

For many Coloradans, the great outdoors is their gym. When you spend your weekends running up Mt. Sanitas, skiing Vail’s Back Bowls, and pedaling through Trestle Bike Park, why bother with barbells? But strength training could be the key to safely sending it on your outdoor adventures, says Lauren Heap, personal training manager at the CU Anschutz Fitness Center. Lifting weights can help prevent injuries, strengthen unilateral muscles crucial to sports like hiking and biking, and improve your bone density. “Let’s make it hard here in the gym so that when you go out into the world, you can enjoy it—so that it feels easier and you’re not so focused on how tired you feel,” she says. Whether you want to perfect your frontside 180 or simply be able to carry your kids from the lift to the lot, these strength-training gyms will prepare you to step up your stoke.

Alpine Training Center

Photo by Scott Greisser, courtesy of Alpine Training Center
  • Workout: Strength and conditioning
  • Address: 1840 Commerce St., Boulder
  • Cost: $30 for a single class

It’s not unusual to spot a troupe of runners in Boulder, but on an icy February afternoon, a group lugging 30-liter backpacks as they sprinted through an office park in the shadow of the frosted Flatirons caught my attention as I drove by. Next up for them was step-ups and tire drags, “which are a lot easier when the parking lot is slick—they’ll like that,” Connie Sciolino, the owner of Boulder’s 15-year-old Alpine Training Center and one of its decorated trainers, told me.

Sciolino, a former ski racer, launched her gym to help “outdoor athletes—skiers, rock climbers, ice climbers, mountain bikers, ultrarunners, mountaineers—maximize their performance and their enjoyment,” she says. She employs a year-round approach that includes phases for maintaining in summer and conditioning in fall, so athletes can chase bigger goals and better results without losing a step in the offseason. It’s a model that appeals to competitive athletes and weekend warriors alike. I count myself among the latter, choosing to while away my Saturdays in the Indian Peaks and my PTO on farther-flung epics across the West. And when I do head out, I simply want to enjoy the climb—and not slow anyone down.

But I’ve spent the past three years bringing the next generation of Colorado climbers into the world, which means I’m not necessarily Grand Traverse–ready. My schedule is simply much less mine than my toddlers’ these days, and my mountain missions look more like predawn skins on close-to-home fire roads than icy ascents up remote peaks. Unlike other gyms, which might sequester me into an individualized program and gradually increase the intensity, however, Sciolino is adamant about keeping training groups together—out-of-shape moms and Jerrys included. “We throw new people into the workout because athletes motivate each other and hold each other accountable,” she says.

For my session, designed for backcountry skiers, that meant that I did the same workout as my classmates—but modified. After an aerobic warmup of jump rope and burpees, Sciolino adjusted my weights and reps for squat cleans and mobility work. We finished with a brutal superset of squats and pushups.

The folks in my class ran the gamut. There was a gal training for the Audi Power of Four Ski Mountaineering Race and a dude I’m pretty sure was gunning for the Olympics. But there were also several (very fit) desk jockeys. Sciolino tweaked everyone’s agenda to ensure we all lasted the hour, and even though my final pushups could best be described as an embarrassment, the exhortations directed my way sounded oddly familiar—like something my partner might say as I’m kicking my last few steps into a crusty couloir at 14,000 feet. —Maren Horjus

Colfax Strong Strength & Conditioning

Photo by Kalli Wilkins, courtesy of Colfax Strong Strength and Conditioning
  • Workout: CrossFit
  • Address: 1516 Emerson St., Denver (North Capitol Hill)
  • Cost: $159 biweekly for the first three months of Strength and Conditioning classes; $93 biweekly for the Barbell Club

Most gyms don’t just welcome drop-ins; they’re desperate for them. That’s because guests sometimes become members—i.e., recurring revenue. Colfax Strong, a CrossFit gym in Uptown, is a bit more guarded about who gains admittance. Though critics deride CrossFit as a cult due to its practitioners’ undying devotion to the WOD (workout of the day), a more serious criticism lies in its propensity for bodily harm: In a recent National Institutes of Health study, 48 percent of respondents reported suffering at least one injury during their CrossFit careers.

That’s part of the reason Colfax Strong requires newbies to meet with a coach individually four times (the cost is included in the membership) to ensure their technique is true before participating in the signature Strength and Conditioning class. It’s offered eight times Monday through Thursday and presents as a typical CrossFit workout—albeit one that’s vigilant against injury. (When we visited, the instructor spent 10 minutes teaching us how to safely bail from a squat.) If you want to focus on Olympic lifting, enroll in the Barbell Club, which meets three times a week. The club requires three personal training sessions ($100 each) before you can start power snatching with your new pals.

Whichever course you take, Colfax Strong’s ultimate goal for your fitness is the same. “We want to build a foundation for your everyday life,” says Chad Pinther, who co-owns the gym with his wife, Esther. “Doing a squat the right way is going to translate to picking up the groceries or your baby—safely and for the long term.” —Spencer Campbell

Worth The Fight Boxing & Fitness Studio

Photo by Jas K Productions, courtesy of Worth the Fight Boxing
  • Workout: Boxing
  • Address: 1999 Pennsylvania St., Denver (North Capitol Hill)
  • Cost: $30 for a single class

Gladys Santiago was so nervous to attend her first boxing class, she brought her nearly 60-year-old mother along. The up-tempo music spilling out of the boxing gym in her Queens neighborhood had enticed Santiago, but her fear that fitness buffs might judge a gay Latina midway through a weight-loss journey made her wary of booking a bag. “There’s a saying that the heaviest weight in the gym is the front door,” she says.

More than a decade later, Santiago and her wife, Emily Stork, strive to ensure the door to their Uptown gym, Worth the Fight Boxing & Fitness Studio, remains featherweight. Beyond it, they run 50-minute boxing and kickboxing classes for all levels that conclude with high-intensity interval training or yoga. Woven into the framework of three-year-old Worth the Fight is a vibe that screams “you belong here” louder than any instructor calling out punch combos. Teachers review boxing stances 15 minutes before every class, reassuring any of the 20 attendees who might have jitters. Newbies who want to sort out their jabs and crosses can book a 30-minute personal training session and one week of unlimited classes for $60.

But just because the instructors are welcoming doesn’t mean they’ll go easy on you. Boxing is a combined cardio and strength workout, so expect footwork drills that will improve your agility in the ring and out on the trail; explosive punch sequences that fire up your arms and core; and some sweat sesh silliness. (Santiago is known to holler “duck” and swipe at boxers with a foam pool noodle.) The easygoing atmosphere often promotes catharsis, helping participants punch through the temptation to break sobriety or moving them to tears after realizing they’ve finally discovered a safe place to sweat. “I’ve been in fitness spaces where I felt like the odd one out,” Santiago says. “That empathy is just pulled into the fabric of our brand.” —Angela Ufheil

Unconventional (But Effective) Workout Classes

In addition to engaging different muscles and your mind, an unconventional workout class can inject a little more joy into your exercise routine. “I don’t think that fitness has to be one long-time boring thing, where you’re doing the same thing over and over again,” says Laura McDonald, a certified clinical exercise physiologist and owner of personal training provider E2O Denver. Luckily, the fitness industry is always dreaming up new, creative ways to make movement fun. From perfecting the art of the lap dance to flying around the room on a bungee cord, there are plenty of classes in the Denver metro area that combine physical exertion with something unexpected. Choose a workout that adds diversity to your typical fitness regimen, McDonald says. If you’re training for a marathon, opt for a non-weight-bearing challenge like a vertical climbing machine class. If you’re an avid cyclist, try holding yourself upside down on a pole. But beware: You just might find a new obsession.

Pharonik Pilates

Photo courtesy of Pharonik Pilates
  • Workout: Bungee
  • Address: 22946 E. Smoky Hill Rd., Aurora
  • Cost: $48 for a single class

On an episode of Saturday Night Live in January, host Timothée Chalamet played the instructor of a bungee fitness class who leads a group of energetic women in a vigorous round of dangling and bobbing. All that “effort” results in five calories burned—collectively—leading the skit’s straight man to ask, “Is this supposed to be hard?”

You know a fad has reached its cultural crescendo when SNL deigns to lambaste it. But the viral workout hadn’t yet reached my Instagram feed when I walked into Pharonik Pilates—a southeast Aurora studio that began offering a beginner’s bungee course way back in 2018—and I was terrified. The studio’s website promises to work “almost every muscle in your body, focusing on your core strength.” I figured it achieved this miraculous effect through some diabolical use of the bungee, which, to me, resembled a medieval torture device.

Indeed, I spent the first few minutes of class feeling like a piece of meat. Not because of the immodest anti-chafing shorts Pharonik lends participants (they didn’t help), but rather because my six compatriots and I stood in a line as the teacher fastened us, one by one, to thick black cords tethered to the ceiling, like T-bones being hooked in a meat locker. Then she instructed us to squat—and that proved to be the most devilish move of all. I’ve been trained to think of a squat as easy down, hard up. The bungee’s resistance results in the opposite effect: You have to bear down to stretch the cord to the floor before it pops you back up, nearly off your toes. The same shift is needed for lunges and pushups. This change in mindset, though, is nothing compared with the reality-reassessment required to fly.

When the instructor casually commanded us to defy gravity, my classmates and I eyed one another nervously. The coach then ran toward the front of the class, jumped, and, as the bungee caught and snapped, flung backward. She maintained a perfect plank throughout, creating a Superman effect that left the rest of us stunned—and eager to join her in the air. Although my first effort was bumbling, by the end of the hourlong class we were performing passable renditions of a basic bungee routine—squat, lunge, run, jump, FLY!—and cackling as we zoomed past each other like pendulums in a clock.

Like Chalamet’s straight man, I’m not sure bungee is the most difficult workout. The only part of my body that felt as if it had been tortured was my hips, which bore small slashes from the harness. Bungee is, however, the most fun exercise regimen I’ve discovered since Mrs. Dunavant introduced me to dodgeball in the third grade. Only at Pharonik, you’re the projectile hurtling through the air. —SC

Studio CLMBR

Photo courtesy of Studio CLMBR
  • Workout: Rhythmic climbing
  • Address: 155 Saint Paul St., Denver (Cherry Creek)
  • Cost: $30 for a single class

In the heart of Cherry Creek, flanked by cafes and luxury boutiques, Studio CLMBR bursts with energy before the rest of the neighborhood is even awake. Starting at 5:30 a.m. three days a week, participants pump their arms and drive their legs to contemporary beats on vertical climbing equipment set in a dark room with pulsating lights. A class might feature Lizzo and Lady Gaga or Eminem and Ludacris, but the tracks are all carefully programmed for particular cadences. The machines (which look a bit like traditional stair climbers, except with handles that slide up and down with each step and resistance knobs) facilitate a full-body workout that safely builds strength and cardiovascular endurance. “It’s less about speed and more about resistance and strength,” says Samantha Jones, head trainer at Studio CLMBR.

The gym was once part of the Rise Nation family, but in 2021 the Denver-based CLMBR team took over the space as its popularity grew nationally. As the first vertical climbing company to offer machines and Peloton-esque connected fitness classes to at-home users, CLMBR attracted investment from A-listers like LeBron James and Jay-Z. Ultimately, it was acquired by smart-home fitness company Forme in 2023.

Luckily for fans of the format who don’t want a climber in their living room, the studio remained, and today, CLMBR offers more than its name suggests, with a free-weight area where core, conditioning, and lifting classes are held. But we’re still partial to the original workout, which is so effective and efficient, most classes are just 30 minutes long. That leaves plenty of time to make like a real Cherry Creeker and treat yourself to a bougie smoothie at Organic Squeeze down the block. —Jay Bouchard

Tease Studio

Photo by Scott Brayshaw, courtesy of Tease Studio
  • Workout: Pole and dance classes
  • Address: 3534 Walnut St., Denver (RiNo)
  • Cost: $26 for a single class

The lobby walls covered in a rainbow of shiny platform heels are your first sign that Tease Studio isn’t your standard workout spot. If you somehow miss those, the nine floor-to-ceiling poles in the mirror-walled room beyond will clue you in. “Pole is our first love,” says Ashlee Renee, who bought the 17-year-old RiNo gym from its founder a decade ago. “Everything else we do was added to make us better at pole.” Today, that includes aerial yoga, reformer sessions, cardio and strength classes with cheeky names like Look Good Naked, and dance options such as salsa, burlesque, chair, and Hard Rock Heels (which is exactly what it sounds like).

Renee understands if that lineup sounds intimidating. When she took her first class—lap dance—it was only because she’d been gifted a Groupon. “I was really uncomfortable,” she says. “Nothing was necessarily screaming at me to come back”—that is, until she saw a group of clients practicing pole moves on her way out. “They were all shapes, all sizes, all ages,” Renee says. “I was fascinated by how supportive they were. There was such a sense of confidence that I’d never felt with myself.”

She returned in search of that spunk and quickly got hooked on the physical and emotional benefits of Tease. Now the captain of this sexy ship, Renee is on a mission to make everyone feel empowered, from getting clients comfortable with lots of exposed skin—essential for grip—to building the muscle and body control it takes to shimmy up and dangle off a pole. And those heels? While they make it easier to master moves by keeping dancers in relevé, they’re part of the self-esteem boost, too: “They make your calves look great. Your ass gets bigger,” Renee says. “I mean, come on: You just look so good.” —Jessica LaRusso

Read More: Meet the Owner of Denver’s Sexiest Fitness Studio

Best Low-Impact Workout Classes

Experts agree: The most effective workout regimen is the one you’ll stick to. Although practices like Pilates or yoga are easier on your joints (and, perhaps, less intimidating than a boot camp or hip-hop dance class), don’t mistake low impact for low efficacy. “Low-impact exercises really help you tune into how your body is moving,” says Jessica Klain, a physical therapist and founder of Physio, Yoga and Wellness in Denver. “They allow you to activate the stabilizer muscles that help you do the bigger movements better—help you ski better, help you run better, help you hike better.” Even hardcore Coloradans who spend their weekends backpacking through the Maroon Bells can benefit from spending time in the following more mellow fitness settings. “As adults, we typically don’t have a wide variety of motion in our day-to-day life,” Klain says. “We need to spend time specifically working on it so we have the available range of motion to do the activities that we want and need.”

Ape Co Movement School

Photo courtesy of Mackenzie Ross
  • Workout: Mobility
  • Address: 5461 W. 20th Ave., Edgewater; 4745 Walnut St., Suite 200, Boulder
  • Cost: $25 for an intro class

I stared at my body in a wall-length mirror inside Ape Co Movement School’s Edgewater studio, concentrating on the task at hand: moving my neck side to side, as if on a sliding track, keeping my head level without using my shoulders.

Each time I tried, though, nothing happened. Well, something happened, but not to my neck. My upper body swayed back and forth, my shoulders rose and dipped, and the top of my head teetered. But the base of my neck? Motionless. I might as well have been trying to wiggle my ears. Whatever muscles I was supposed to be using had surely been lost to time and atrophy.

It’s a good thing, then, that the instructors at Ape are skilled at helping students find and engage the body’s rarely used parts. The school’s mission is to help people increase their everyday range of motion so they can move with ease outside of the gym. “We try to remind people that they can learn new things, get stronger, and get more flexible,” founder Matt Bernstein says.

A former CrossFit athlete, Bernstein opened the first Ape Co location in Boulder in 2016 to offer a holistic approach to exercise—one that’s a little more playful than powerlifting. The classes are informed by disciplines like gymnastics, acrobatics, and dance. New students begin with Ape’s Foundational Movement Practice curriculum, which includes exercises like handstands and partner-assisted pullups. A typical movement class might involve dribbling tennis balls, swinging on still rings, or crawling across the studio floor on all fours.

Thankfully, I had better luck with the drills that followed neck sliding. I learned how to stand on one shoulder and combine it with a somersault. I hung on a pullup bar and manipulated my core and leg muscles to hit targets my partner set. And by the end of the class, I’d activated muscles and tendons I didn’t even know I had.

My wrists and feet were loose. My hips were unlocked. My reach was longer. And I went home with new stretches and skills to practice. A week later, I stood in front of the bathroom mirror and tried that neck exercise again. Still nothing. But hey, at least I have something to work on. —JB

The River Yoga

Photo by Jes Kimak, courtesy of the River Yoga
  • Workout: Yoga
  • Address: Multiple locations
  • Cost: $32 for a single class

To get a feel for how diverse the River’s yoga is, just take Lisa Parente’s class. One moment you’re moving through cobra pose to downward facing dog as the speakers play the soothing sounds of trickling water; the next, you’re lunging to the beat of energetic techno tracks. The hot-yoga instructor’s sessions are imbued with her passion for both sound healing and EDM production, an unorthodox combination that creates a teaching style entirely her own. And she’s not the only coach with her own conventions.

“I think the best teachers show up when they can be themselves,” says Danielle Barbeau, who owns all three of the studio’s locations, in the Golden Triangle, Sunnyside, and Five Points. “We’re not in the business of creating yoga robots.” Instead of cookie-cutter classes, you’ll find that all of the 54 instructors at the River, founded in 2012, bring their own personality to the practice: For example, Marisa Kowalski is intentional about breathwork during sessions, while Dan Moody focuses on the fundamentals of yoga flows.

And because the staff is allowed to come as they are, it gives clients the freedom to do the same. The result is a diverse fitness studio with space for everyone. Not yet ready to contort yourself into a compass pose? Let coach Steph Winsor lead you in a deep stretch class, where you’ll relax tight muscles in a balmy studio. Looking for an extra ethereal experience? Sign up for the warm candlelight river flow, where you’ll follow a gentle sequence of movements and sink into Savasana beside the soft flicker of flames. At the River, yoga isn’t about fitting in—it’s about finding what fits you. —Barbara O’Neil

Boost Pilates

Photo by Taylor Vincek, courtesy of Boost Pilates
  • Workout: Pilates
  • Address: Multiple locations
  • Cost: $32 for a single class

You don’t have to be a Pilates princess sporting a glowy spray tan and matching workout set to reap the benefits of this reformer class. Anyone is welcome to hop on a trendy torture, er, toning machine at one of Boost Pilates’ five locations (in LoHi, RiNo, Cherry Creek, and Sunnyside, with another opening in Baker this month) and see just how swear-word-inducing a series of precise, controlled movements can be. Over the course of 50 minutes, you’ll complete a warmup followed by sections devoted to your core, legs, and upper body on a Balanced Body Allegro Reformer with customizations designed by Boost, like a nice wide platform you can rest on when you start to get the shakes.

Instructors recommend different numbers and combinations of springs for beginner, intermediate, and advanced clients. Silver springs, exclusive to Boost, offer the least amount of resistance, followed by yellow, blue, red, and green. Coaches are quick to encourage you to alter the workout based on how your body feels: If your quads are exhausted from a weekend on the slopes, swap out your red spring for a blue. Haven’t broken a sweat halfway through class? Up the difficulty by adding resistance or taking on a more advanced movement modification.

And while Pilates might have a reputation for being painstakingly slow, don’t expect a leisurely pace at Boost. “We’re more of a HIIT-style Pilates, because we use weights, we use props, and we have cardio bursts,” says Karen Hunt, who launched the Boost brand in Houston in 2017. (Co-founder Nathan Allan brought the concept to the Mile High City in 2021.)

You’ll lunge with dumbbells, light up your inner thighs with a Pilates ring, and tone your arms with the help of a weighted ball. And while all these fun accessories add variety to Boost’s format, instructors also incorporate traditional time-under-tension sequences sure to make your muscles quake. So, if you want to slow down time, take a Pilates class. Thirty seconds has never felt longer. —JG