I usually have an early morning meeting on Tuesdays, but it was canceled this week. I was thrilled because that meant I was finally able to try Core Fusion Yoga with Kayleigh. I love any opportunity to get Core Fusion Yoga into my life, and it has been hard for me to get there on Sundays lately.

Class was at 7 am in SoHo, and I had no idea how long it would take me to get there. Me being me, I got there very early. So early, in fact, that exhale wasn’t even open yet. Oops!

I wasn’t waiting for long though, and I had the luxury of being the only person in the studio for awhile. I got ready, spread out my mat, got my props and stretched. Kayleigh arrived and I introduced myself to her and then three other students arrived as well.

When a Dave Matthews Band song came on a few minutes into the class, I smiled; I was so happy! Any teacher who plays DMB during an exercise class is a great teacher. This only happened to me once before, in a spin class. The song (Stolen Away on 55th and 3rd) was peaceful and relaxing and great for the beginning of class. (I’m going to see DMB for the 12th time in July!)

While it might have started slow, the rest of class was a major workout. The room was heated and the flow was nonstop. Every stretch felt so great after my long run over the weekend. We did a very long and intense set of planks mixed with side planks, without stopping. I was so proud of how well I did during this! I felt strong.

Core Fusion Yoga is seriously an amazing cardio session. I was literally dripping with sweat and my heart was beating fast. While I could get away with wearing cotton during Core Fusion, I wouldn’t do that in Core Fusion Yoga because there is just so much sweat! If anyone is considering joining exhale but concerned that they won’t get enough cardio in, trust me: between Core Fusion Yoga, Core Fusion Sport and the new Core Fusion Cardio, there are more than enough cardio options. And for me, Core Fusion Yoga is such an incredible way to get cardio in because you’re also getting deep stretching and strength training at the same time.

Kayleigh is a fantastic teacher and I felt so comfortable doing all the yoga moves, even though I am not much of a yoga person. We did many sets of 4 pushups throughout the class and I did all of them long form, not on my knees. I felt so strong! Kayleigh even complimented me on my pushups. She also corrected my form throughout the class which helped me experience each pose in the best way possible.

The class moved so quickly. It was all nonstop, and having just four of us there helped ensure we got a lot of special attention. I rarely felt limited by my inflexibility. I was able to do almost everything with no issue, and had the yoga blocks there for when I did need some extra help.

The most challenging part of class was these planks we did where we twisted to the side (working our obliques/waist) and bent one leg inward while keeping the other on the floor. We did a bunch of these on each side and it was so hard to hold this position. We held the last one on each side longer than the others, and during the last one Kayleigh noticed I was struggling. Her words of encouragement pushed me through and I finished the exercise strong.

We did something I hadn’t done in other Core Fusion Yoga classes that was really interesting. Kayleigh had us sit on the floor and hold on to the yoga blocks and we did a sequence of lifting ourselves up by pushing down on the blocks and stretching our legs forward and back in this way as well. It was so hard and I really felt it in my abs.

Speaking of abs, sigh. The curl. We held the yoga block between our thighs which I prefer to holding with our hands above our bodies, so that was good. The movements were so hard and toward the end I was really struggling. By the last 10 seconds I was doing my best with my arms off my legs, but right before we were about to be done I lost it and had to hold onto my legs with my hands. I quickly took my hands off to finish abs strong. Sometimes I feel guilty when I don’t finish something full out when I know I could have worked harder, but this morning I know I did the best I could so I felt great about it.

Towards the end of class, another great song that I love called Winding Road came on. Such a perfect song for unwinding (pun not intended!).

As we relaxed at the end of class, Kayleigh came around the room and fixed us. For me, she pushed my legs down further against my mat and pressed down next to my shoulders to make sure I was as relaxed as possible. I really needed that! I carry so much tension in my shoulders and have a hard time relaxing them myself. Kayleigh explained to me after that she is also a yoga teacher so she is able to get more into the yoga aspects of class. Core Fusion Yoga is a great class to take with any teacher, but I did like the variation here.

Wonderful music and an incredible class. Core Fusion Yoga first thing in the morning is the perfect way to wake up and start the day. I felt so rejuvenated after and in a great mood for the rest of the day! I’m sad I can’t go every week because of my early meeting, but luckily next week my meeting is canceled again. I will be back then – and I’ll be bringing friends!

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I know I’m behind on some Core Fusion posts, and I promise I will get to them. I just need to skip ahead and tell you all about Core Fusion Cardio right now!

First, I want to reveal something. The first time I took Core Fusion, I almost walked out within the first 10 minutes. We were doing the planks and pushups in the beginning of class, and I very clearly remember thinking, “This is not for me.”

That was it. “This is not for me.” I thought this based only on planks and pushups (ironically, one of the “easier” parts of the class for me now).

But I didn’t quit, I decided to stick it out, out of curiosity and also because I feel embarrassed walking out of a class. I’d only done it once before, in an extreme situation.

So I stayed. I stayed through burning thighs (did NOT know to expect that, wow), glutes, and abs. After abs I thought, “Anyone who does this workout regularly will have the best abs ever.” And then class was over and as we stretched to a Joshua Radin song I felt so at peace and so happy I stayed in the class. And I could not wait to go back.

Now that I rambled long enough and set you up with the background, let’s get to the meat here: Core Fusion Cardio.

Core Fusion co-founders Fred DeVito and Elisabeth Halfpapp listened to what their students wanted and set to work to create it. As wonderful as Core Fusion classes are, people also wanted some fat burning cardio thrown into the mix. And while Core Fusion Sport and Core Fusion Yoga will certainly give you that, people wanted more – especially since Sport and Yoga are not for everyone. I happen to love Core Fusion Yoga with an intensity that shocks me, but you might have noticed after reading my experiences for almost two months that I don’t take Sport. I tried it and decided I would rather spend my time on Core Fusion or Core Fusion Yoga.

That said, when I found out that Core Fusion Cardio was being debuted I jumped at the chance to try it out as soon as I could. And try it out I did, on Monday night. I brought two girlfriends with me; one, a seasoned Core Fusion veteran (Missy!) and the other my friend Jackie, brand new to exhale, just two classes in to her unlimited week pass!

From the website:

Core Fusion® Cardio is a calorie burning, sweat inducing, body sculpting, power-packed fitness experience, masterminded by the co-creators of Core Fusion®, Elisabeth Halfpapp and Fred DeVito. Merging cardio with intense strength and flexibility moves, this 60-minute class generates maximum calorie burn, resulting in defined abs, sculpted legs, and high, rounded glutes.

I had no idea what to expect. That was the worst part. We got to class and set up a yoga mat on the floor along with light hand weights. Again, I had no idea what weight to use. I asked Fred and he told me 1 or 2 pounds. I took both because I didn’t know what I’d need.

Before class began, Fred spoke to the class for a minute and explained he they developed this class. He also informed us that the class is conducted at a fat burning level – meaning no more than70% of your max heart rate. As Fred explained, we should be able to hold a conversation at any point during class. When you work out at higher intensity, like in a spin class, you are burning carbs and sugar. At this lower intensity, that is how you burn fat.

And class started. I don’t remember specifics about the warm up but before I knew it we were holding a plank, doing some pushups and doing mountain climbers. I was familiar with this exercise from when I did Jillian Michaels’ 30 Day Shred last year and it is a hard move. Even harder is how many we did in a row. We started by doing 16 in a row, and kept increasing the amount throughout class. By the end, we were doing 64 mountain climbers in a row without stopping!

Let me describe a mountain climber: you hold yourself in a straight arm plank, with your weight over your hands. Push one knee forward, off the ground, to your chest. Put your leg back and immediately push your other knee forward, all the way to your chest and switch again. And switch. When you are doing this correctly, your abs will be pulled in and your weight will be above your wrists. Your feet will be light, barely even touching the floor. We did these quickly and repeatedly throughout the class.

I do have to say, by the end, the first few sets became easier. But as we added on more and more, it was very hard to keep up. I would say I held my own pretty well considering it was my first time!

I was struggling. This was hard. I didn’t know what to expect. The thoughts that went through my head were very similar to that very first CF class: “This is not for me. I’m glad I tried it, but I won’t ever be back here again. How much longer until this is over?”

But we all know I’ve said those words to myself before, and look at me now, taking Core Fusion all the time.

I guess I just wasn’t used to this nonstop fast movement. I wasn’t used to sweating like this. The class was entirely strength moves, I need to add. Don’t think for a second that you are skipping a strength day to do Core Fusion Cardio. Um, NO WAY. We did planks and pushups, of course. As I said, we did countless mountain climbers. I’m going to have to ask Fred for the total number of mountain climbers done during one Core Fusion Cardio class, because I am curious and because I want to tell people how hardcore I am, supported by statistics.

We did leg moves such as lunges, plies, squats, warrior 1 and warrior 2 – all while holding hand weights and doing upper body work. I LOVED this. My favorite section of Core Fusion is when we use the hand weights and work on our arms, and it made me so happy to be able to do this exact thing throughout the entire class. Did I mention that I got complimented on my newly toned arms the other day?? Love it! I used my 2 lb weights throughout most of this, but had to drop down to 1 lb a couple of times.

Interspersed throughout everything was, yes, mountain climbers. There were many brief downward dogs, which is one of my favorite stretches. We also did some punching and boxing moves that I absolutely loved. And we did more of the punching holding our hand weights. Awesome. And the longer class went on, the stronger I felt and the more I loved it. My thoughts of never returning faded and I found myself realizing that this class is going to be insanely popular, and I wanted to be a part of that. I started loving the entire class. And then I saw one of the Core Fusion teachers, Erin J. taking class too and I waved to her and she said “Hi Dori!” It was great seeing a teacher learning the class!

By the time we did 64 mountain climbers in a row, I was feeling both tired and awake at the same time if that makes sense. And I felt SO GOOD. Fred counted in sets of 8s, which really made it seem bearable. When we were adding on 8 more, we were really just adding one more set of 8 and it seemed attainable!

Towards the end, we did the curl. As I got into my position, Fred looked up at me and commented on how much I’ve improved. That was so great to hear! Back in January, Fred had to really help me get into the correct position and I struggled a lot. I have noticed improvements myself but it is always nice to hear validation for my hard work. It’s still not perfect, but I am so proud of my improvements. Fred said, “Don’t worry, we will only be in this position for 4 minutes.”

HA. 4 minutes is brutal in the curl. Luckily, the time really did go quickly and I was able to keep up. We actually held hand weights during this. I used my 1 lb weights and eventually I had to put them down and use no weights. Hard stuff!

I was dripping with sweat. The entire class was dripping with sweat. As I looked around, I saw so many people – older, younger, men, women, all getting the workout of their lives. All keeping up, too. I was impressed! When I had looked over at my Jackie who is new to Core Fusion, I was worried about what she must be going through if I was working so hard to keep up. And she looked incredible! Punching and squatting and looking totally in her element. As soon as class was over, she turned to me and said “I LOVED IT!” She plans on going back again this week. Her exact words were: “I’m excited for it, and I’ve never been excited for anything exercise-related in my entire life.”

I loved it too, and afterwards I talked more about class with Missy, who is a CF regular. She felt just like me – a new obsession! We both love it. We both think that this class is the perfect complement to Core Fusion Open classes. And now that we know what to expect, I am sure the class will feel a whole lot smoother. We both plan to go every single week! In fact, I will be missing my favorite show House to attend class, that is how much I love it. And missing House is a very big deal. (Sorry live-tweeting House friends!)

I was on a high for the rest of the night. I couldn’t even fall asleep! Taking this class made me feel amazing. Don’t trust that voice that tells you “this is not for me” – always give it a chance. Imagine I had walked out of that class the first time after 10 minutes? I would still be slaving away on the elliptical and spin bike, trying to see results that just weren’t there. Core Fusion on its own did so much for me, but if you want cardio too? Here’s your class. Fred and Elisabeth are in the process of training more teachers in Core Fusion Cardio, and then more classes will be added to the schedule in NY and the class will begin popping up in the other locations as well!

And really, what it comes down to is this:

Anyone who takes Core Fusion Cardio regularly will be in the most amazing shape ever.

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