REVIEW: PIES Fitness Yoga (Alexandria)

PIES Fitness Yoga, 374 South Pickett Street, Alexandria, VA

Chesti:
I LOVE PIES!  If you live near Alexandria or it’s easy for you to get there, this place is awesome!  It’s a great price, there is a ton of variety, the instructors are encouraging and helpful, and their workouts are terrific.  Are you sold?  I don’t know how I stumbled upon this place…I’m pretty sure it was a livingsocial.com deal (it’s back by the way 5classes for $25!) but I’m glad I did. 

PIES: Physical, Intellectual, Emotional, Spiritual Fitness Yoga is a terrific place in the “west end” of Alexandria.  It's less than a mile walk from the Van Dorn Metro Station and has a ton of free parking (just off Duke Street- exit 3b on 395).  I’ve taken almost every class they have to offer and have enjoyed all of them except for two classes that had substitutes from other studios. 

First, the place.  For me, it’s incredibly convenient to where I live, but if you don’t drive or never travel down the blue line, it’s probably not for you.  The studio is in the Home Depot shopping center.  You wouldn’t know it was a fitness studio. 

The space: well, aside from the lobby and back bathroom, it’s really one giant room with mirrors and padded floors.  I like both of these.  WHY?  Well, I’m already a mirror slut as you know from previous posts, and the padded floor is terrific for the jumping we do in cardio/xfit/dance/zumba classes and also gives you extra cushioning in yoga (I refer you to Fudge's Equipment corner post on yoga mats).  They keep the place clean and the mats sanitized.  Bonus.  (Trust me, I’ve been to several places across the country where those mats never get disinfected.  Ring worm anyone?)  PIES has cubbies for your goodies right in the main room where you workout.  Like we’ve noted in other posts, it’s great to keep an eye on your stuff, but can be slightly annoying when people are late or go to get items/water during class.  PIES does not have water fountains but does sell cold water for $1. 

The price of class is terrific.  Yoga and cardio classes can be taken at a deal through living social or buying a package.  The drop in rate is $15.  However, here is the super awesome part- ALL zumba classes (which is their crème de la crème) are only $5!  FIVE BUCKS PEOPLE.  Even for a drop in.  And if you buy a pack of 10 (and you will get hooked and want to) they come out to $4.50 a class.  Insanity.  I feel like an infomercial right now.  But wait, it gets even better.  Sunday yoga at 10am (75 minutes) is only $5.  Every Sunday…except the first Sunday of the month WHEN IT’S FREE!  So right there, “I heart PIES.” 

Now for the classes.  Zumba is great.  Unlike other studios, the instructors, especially Krishna (girl crush!) points out every step and wears a microphone headset so you can follow along.  She has a nice mix of pop, zumba/latin, and hip hop.  She offers modifications for each move.  And you can go as fast as you want or as slow as you want.  You can jump or march.  I always jump.  It’s too much fun not too.  Kimberly is also great as an instructor.  This past weekend she had a student range from 18 years old to a woman who I would have to guess was in her 70s.  And I still got a GREAT workout.  (It’s all about me after all.)  I also have to give credit to the students in all of the classes.  They are welcoming and encouraging.  My only gripe here is that because it is such a great class and terrific price, the Saturday 9am class in packed.  PIES needs to offer two Saturday classes.  Fingers crossed. 

Yoga is also terrific here.  Obviously, First Sundays Free yoga is crowded, but they make room for everyone and you get a real nice mix of poses.  Kristen in the instructor- she teaches hot yoga and yoga fit along with various types/styles of yoga.  She’s pretty deep into her own practice but she’s not intimidating.  She is not as hands on as instructors at other studios, but she definitely does correct you if you are in left field or need assistance.  I’ve also taken “not so hot” yoga here with Erika and that is what launched me into Bikram (110 degree) yoga (more to come on that in another post).  It’s 85 degrees and introduces you to a newer environment for yoga.  Try it.  If you don’t like this, and don’t see your body flex better and feel detoxed, then hot yoga may not be for you.  I couldn’t think of a better way to dip your toes in the sweaty goodness of hot yoga. 

PIES also offers Belly Dancing.  I’ve watched a few of these classes before and after my other classes and everyone looks like they are having a ton of fun.  And working!  It’s next on my list.  Cool thing about PIES is that they provide you with the little skirt with bells on it (yeah yeah, I’m sure it has some great name but I like to refer to it as the trunk-junk jingle skirt).  The only class I didn’t like at PIES was tae-bo but that’s because it was in place of kickboxing one night.  I didn’t like the sub’s annoying motivational scripted talk and I just don’t like tae bo.  Sorry Billy Blanks.  No soup for you. 

I’m hoping to bring a pilates or core barre class to PIES by sweet talking the owner (MARSHA IS A DOLL) into adding one to the schedule.  A great class they offer is “Half and Half” which is a cardio workout for 30 minutes and yoga workout for 30.  I like this because I have a tough time some days deciding which I want to do.  I also like that the studio has classes at NORMAL PEOPLE TIMES: I can go BEFORE work (ummm who is taking these 9:30 am Tuesday classes at other studios????) at 6am or take one of several classes offered after work. 

PIES has three locations, but one of them, EOS, is only for Archstone residents only.  They also offer classes in FoxChase, but I haven’t been there.  I always stick to the “Studio Schedule.”  I don’t take Spiritual Yoga that they teach there because I don’t like religion mixed with my shallow “trying to get in shape to look hot” time.  But they do offer one class like that if it’s your thing.  PIES is also one of the few places in DC/VA that offers Mommy and Me Yoga.  I have absolutely no interest in this except my 3 year old nephew loves to imitate me when I do yoga so I’m trying to encourage his mom to go with him.   All in all, I adore PIES.  I almost want to keep it a secret, but because I’m a good person I will share the love.  And because Fudge told me to.

Fudge:
My specifics:  I too love PIES.  Sadly, the locations are not super convenient for me, but that does not stop me from going.  It really is a great studio.  The only classes I have taken there (so far) are zumba.  I just purchased the living social deal Chesti mentioned above and I’m looking forward to trying out their other offerings.  On that note, living social is currently offering $10 off any voucher $25 or more (promo code AUG10), so if you’re interested you can grab the deal for $15.

The space/location:  It is off the beaten path (at least the beaten path of studio locations) just slightly.  The main studio is on S. Pickett (off of Duke Street) sort of half way between Van Dorn metro and Landmark Mall.  It is not, however, a bad walk from Van Dorn (a little over a mile) and there is a ton of parking.  As Chesti said, it is really one big studio room with a slightly padded floor, which I love.  I think that is a great idea for zumba as it makes it slightly lower impact (and bouncy!).  Also, the staff and management are great.  PIES really seems to have struck a good balance between running a business and catering to its customers.

The classes/instructors:  The zumba classes I’ve taken have all been with Krishna, who is wonderful.  She’s another reason that I’m more than happy to go out of my way to attend a class at PIES.  She has a wonderful and infectious energy and enthusiasm and she wears a headset/microphone which is incredibly helpful.  Krishna’s zumba classes incorporate a variety of music so you never get bored and the hour just flies by.  My only complaint mirrors Chesti’s: the Saturday class is too crowded.  They would definitely do well by adding a second zumba class on Saturday mornings.