Legion Fitness and Development

Let me start out by saying that I’m not a boot camp sort of girl. I prefer spin classes to pushups. But I lived right across the street from Hermann Park and got a great deal on a Living Social deal for Legion Fitness so I decided to give it a try. I loved it! Well, loved it as much as you can love running, buries, and jumping jacks. The workouts were challenging and the instructors modified them so the same hour-​long workout could present a challenge for almost any workout level. The instructors were motivating while being friendly and personable. They really encouraged everyone to get to know one another and I was able to quickly make friends with the other members. I recently moved, but if I hadn’t I undoubtedly would have continued working out with Legion Fitness. It was a great experience.

I found out about Legion fitness through one of the Groupon deals (not actually Groupon, but one of the copy cats). I had done the Navy Seal body camp before and wanted something similar at a better price. So when the offer came up I grabbed it.
The cool thing about Legion is that they meet at Herman Park rather than at Memorial where everybody else goes.
Even though I had been to Herman Park a few times, I never knew how nice it was and what endless possibilities it had in terms of exercise (hills, and several tracks). Additionally there is a parking garage not too far away that we can go to if it rains. The running course can be tailored from 1 mile to 4 — always a different venue is what makes Legion not only challenging but also fun.
The basic concept is a military style boot camp without the yelling, lots of running and calisthenics. The instructors are great, always coming up with new things in order to keep it interesting. Fred, one of the owners, is ever present and very personable — he makes an effort to learn your name and make sure that you are doing the exercises correctly.
Legion is a great boot camp type venue — unfortunately it hasn’t quite caught on in the morning and the participants are few (between 2 – 5) — undoubtedly it will catch on in the future.

I picked up an awesome deal for boot camp classes with Legion on a groupon site. $ 20 for two months of unlimited classes with the Garrison program (a «maintenance» program with classes three times a week; usually costs $ 45/​mo.). Sadly enough, that meant I paid $ 20 for one session, because I could only bring myself to show up once.
The early morning class met in the morning, and the instructors were very friendly. When I’d emailed saying I wouldn’t be able to make a session, they said they could extend my morning session or I could attend a PM session. It’s pretty rare that you’ll find a fitness place that will let you make up a class solo. An effort’s made for everyone to learn each other’s names. For the workout, an instructor would demonstrate basic moves, like push ups and burpies, then do them with us. Then he/​she would demonstrate another move or pass it on for the next instructor to lead. While this happened, one person would run a short distance, and when he/​she came back, would have the next person run a short distance. This meant that the exercise wasn’t continuous, as the instructor would have to explain or pass on to the next instructor.
Though it was very personal and friendly, I didn’t get much of a workout, so buying the groupon wound up killing the exercise groove I had going (excuses, excuses, I know).