Walking in to your first Barry’s Bootcamp class can be intimidating. The workout, beloved by celebrities and commonfolk alike, is rigorous but if you commit to putting your best effort into it, it won’t matter if you’re a fitness expert or a newbie to the gym.
The class is typically broken into four 15-minute segments (but some are broken into six shorter segments): two parts cardio, two parts strength training. When you register for the class online, you can choose whether you start with strength on the floor or cardio on the treadmills.
While it may seem like two groups working out simultaneously would make the room feel overly full, the crowd grants anonymity. The space is kept in red low-light to help assuage your fears that everybody can see you dripping sweat. Don’t stress—they’re dripping sweat, too.
If you’re just starting your fitness journey, the cardio portion of the workout might seem a bit out of your depth, but take the instructor’s suggested speeds with a grain of salt. Nobody will fault you for going at your own pace so long as you keep moving.
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With that in mind, the key to succeeding at a Barry’s workout is to check your comparisons at the door—it sounds cheesy, but it’s true. No peeking at your neighbor’s treadmill to see how fast they’re going, no eyeing someone else’s weights to see how strong they are. Doing your own thing is key to leaving the gym feeling accomplished instead of discouraged.
When you do leave the gym, the facility includes showers stocked with shampoo and conditioner, hair dryers, hair spray and anything else you may need to transform from sweaty mess to regular human.
Barry’s has two Chicago locations: River North (11. W Erie St. 312-202-0840) and Lincoln Park (1937 N. Halsted St. 773-857-0901). A single class is $30 to drop-in, but packages are available for up to 30 classes a month that lower the price per class—if you have the cash up front.
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