Taryn Toomy’s, The Class Digital Studio, is an on-demand exercise option in the ever-growing list of paid streaming workout library memberships for home exercisers. The Class style of exercise is kind of like Tracy Anderson’s Method combined with Misty Tripoli’s Body Groove–a taste of yoga, Pilates and free style dance all rolled up into one fun and interesting workout. I’ve tried just about every on-demand library on the market right now. Here’s my review of The Class and how it stacks up against other options in the crowded on-demand workout space.

What is The Class (by Taryn Toomey)?

“The Class is a cathartic workout experience that guides you to strengthen the body and notice the mind to restore balance.”

from The Class dot com

Ok…so, what else?

“(The Class) is mat-based and music-driven. We repeat one move per song to create sensation in the body and observe our thoughts. In any given Class students can expect guided instruction and a carefully curated playlist to lead them through exercises they are familiar with….The result is a mental clearing and emotional release.” — from The Class dot com

What you can expect to see and do in one of The Class workouts

As I mentioned in the intro of this review, The Class feels like a beautiful blend of Tracy Anderson’s Method and Misty Tripoli’s Body Groove style of exercise but if you’ve never tried either one of those then that description won’t mean much.

So, here’s a list of elements you’ll see/experience over and over again in the routines inside The Class Digital Studio library…

• placing one hand on your heart and one hand on your belly (this is kind of like ‘home base’ in The Class–you’ll do this in every workout)
• heel taps to a good beat
• jumping jacks 
• burpees
• good music that takes you somewhere else if you let it
• squats
• lots of repetition
• ‘heart clearing’
• ‘intentional releasing’
• optional yelling at times (Who doesn’t need to release a good loud ‘hah‘ every now and then? I encourage you to try it!)
• a unique workout experience with one of the expert leaders of The Class 
• breathwork
• dancing
• jumping/hopping
• tempo changes (these workouts are a roller coaster ride of fast and slow)
• low impact and high impact exercises

Who is Taryn Toomey?

Taryn Toomey hasn’t always been a celebrity trainer to people like Jennifer Aniston, Naomi Watts and Gisele Bündchen.

“...While working in corporate fashion as a young adult, Taryn felt compelled to make a change and eventually enrolled in a yoga teacher training program. She taught yoga for two years and while she loved it, she felt that the grace received through yoga’s steady, rhythmic breath, and movement could be paired with the expressive fire of calisthenics and plyometrics to create an entirely new feeling in the mind and body.

Taryn started moving her body in a way to engage her mind and witness thought from a non-judgmental perspective, and experienced great relief at the end of her cathartic practices.

Taryn taught the evolving method for almost two years with no name until “The Class” was born in 2013. She rented a room out of a children’s dance studio where she taught The Class for several years, during which time many told her the method could only be taught by her.

Taryn believed the method was scalable and she carefully grew the team, eventually opening the Tribeca studio in 2017.

In October 2019, The Class became global with the launch of The Class Digital Studio…”

Program Layout (number of routines, titles, phases, workout calendars, etc.)

The Class is not a 30-day (or any other number of days) program but a practice of stand-alone workouts that you can do in any order with a number of different pro instructors trained in this unique method of exercise.

The Class started as an in-person experience but now you can access hundreds of The Class routines on-demand and live with a paid membership to The Digital Studio.

There is no workout calendar or progression of routines (although there is a category/collection called The Beginner Series that you can use if you’re new) so you can just dive in and get started using the filters in their library.

Navigate to your account through the website (not the app) to use all of the filters available in your membership:

Are there Live workouts? (Or only on-demand)

Yes! You have a lot of options for live workouts every day.

The format for the live workouts is not like many of the other options on the market. You do NOT log in and interact with the instructor as the live workout is recorded in The Class.

You can participate (follow along) from your home as the live recording is taking place but the experience is really no different than doing it on-demand.

How many workouts are there?

There are hundreds of stand-alone workouts in the on-demand library and new ones added daily (after they’re archived from the live recordings).

Equipment you’ll need

You won’t need anything except a mat unless you do the sculpting workouts. Then you can (optionally) add 2 lb. ankle or wrist weights.

Nutrition plan

There’s no nutrition plan with your membership.

Will I need a lot of space to do The Class routines?

You’ll only need the space a large yoga mat takes up.

What you need to know about the instructors and classes…

It’s just you and the instructor most of the time so don’t expect a group experience (I did run across one workout that was recorded during a group class but that’s not the norm) but honestly, that’s kind of the point with The Class method.

It’s meant to be a unique solo adventure. You’re encouraged to close your eyes a lot and get very focused on yourself and the way you feel when you move and breathe.

There’s a great diversity of ages, colors and sizes in the group of instructors. They all stay true to The Class style, but they’re each different, too. Try as many of them as you can.

The music is different for every class. I think the instructors create the playlist for their classes (but I could be wrong about that). But music is a big part of The Class so if that’s important to you when you exercise then you’ll love this.

There are workouts inside the library that are as short as 15 minutes or as long as 60+ minutes. You can use the filters on the website to find a routine based on length, instructor, body part or style (recovery, meditation, etc.).  

My favorite routines in the program

My favorite routines in the library are the classic 60+ minute routines following The Class method. I definitely recommend you do a workout with Taryn (‘TT’) Toomey (the creator of The Class method).  

I also recommend you do/watch a workout with Taryn and her kids.

Is The Class hard? Who is it for? Men? Women? Beginners?

In my opinion, The Class routines are primarily for women (but not exclusive to them).

There are a few male instructors.

The Class is for beginners to advanced home exercisers.

Cost and how you sign up

Go to the website on your computer to sign up so you can read all the fine print and see what you’re paying for on a big monitor.

There’s a free trial period and then a membership is $40/month (or $400/year).*

*Prices and promotions change over time so make sure you check The Class website for the current pricing and free trial period.

Best things about The Class

The class is a fun experience. I love that it’s unlike anything I’d ever tried before.

The fact that you don’t need equipment to do the workouts is a pro (and a con).

The Class is the ideal on-demad membership for people who are looking for a home workout library and don’t have a lot of space to work with.

Great music makes every workout better.

What you’ll need to get used to…

The Class is probably different than anything you’ve tried before…that’s not a bad thing…keep an open mind, leave your ego at the door and go on an adventure with the instructor.

The quality of the voice audio (mircrophones) from the instructors isn’t great (it’s actually pretty muffled) but you’ll quickly get used to it.

What would make it better

More diversity in the library would make it better for me personally. I can’t see myself doing The Class every day. It’s something I’ll add to my workout calendar once (maybe twice) a week.

As I mentioned above, the quality of the on-demand workout audio (microphones of the instructors) and video could be better but it’s not a deal breaker. 

At first I couldn’t hear the instructor and it bothered me as I was trying to learn the moves.

But after I got familiar with the exercises (which happens pretty fast because you’ll see a lot of the same moves over and over)  I began to appreciate the loud music (that overpowers the instructor’s voice) because it’s how you lose yourself in the movements.

Is it worth the purchase?

Yes.

And there’s a free trial period so you’ve got nothing to lose.

My recommendation?

Sign up for the free trial period.

Try as many classes (and instructors) as you can during your free trial period and have an open mind. You might be surprised at how much you like it by the 3rd or 4th time.

Similar workouts you should try if you like this one…

Pvolve

Body Groove

Tracy Anderson Method

If you love good music in a workout then check out Les Mills on Demand