I'm the last person who should be writing about getting fit after having a baby. I don't look fit. I don't feel fit. I don't eat healthy. But I want to, all of the above. KFit might help me do that.
In a nutshell, KFit is an app- and web-based fitness subscription service that allows you to sign up for fitness activities all across the metro. The free plan let's you sign up at a discounted rate (cheaper than the usual walk-in rate), while the premium plan gives you 10 free classes a month. After the 10, you can book more classes and activities at the discounted rate, "ala carte". My first class cost Php30, thanks to a promo code I found online (Here's one for Php100 off your first class). Aside from fitness classes like yoga, pilates, zumba, boxing, TRX, and muay thai, you can also book gym access within a time slot for regular strength training or use of the treadmill or elliptical machines, if a class-based workout isn't your thing. There are even sessions for archery and wall-climbing, which I'm trying to talk my husband into trying as a date day alternative.
This post would not have happened at all if the following three factors didn't happen to align recently:
1) Our gym membership expired. I'd been going to (and enjoying) the dance-type workout classes I'd been going to a few times a month. Ten minutes on an elliptical machine and I'm already watching the clock, but put me in a dance class with some hot music on and I lose track of time. But since our gym membership expired two months ago, my husband and I had been looking at alternatives before signing up for another full year because, in the last two years since we'd joined, we'd never been able to consume all the X number of visits we'd paid for.
2) We'd spent a month in Europe and Korea walking on average 10,000 steps a day. The daily unavoidable exercise highlighted how unfit I was (define "sedentary"), but also showed me that I had it in me to push myself physically if I wanted to.
3) Globe has a promo for the month of August for Php400 off the first month for a premium KFit membership (usually costing Php999). Since I'm both commitment-phobic and broke, I saw this as a sign and signed up.
Before I forget, let me just mention that this is not a sponsored post and I have no ties to either Globe or KFit. I'm just really excited about the possibilities of this program.
Here's why a gymphobic middle-aged mom like myself can get with the KFit program:
1) You can design your own fitness program, commitment-free.
I've been wanting to go back to pilates and yoga, but the steep membership fees for studios have kept me from signing up. What if I can't commit to going two or even three times a week? I mean, let's be honest, there are days as a mom when I can't even commit to taking a shower because so many little unplanned things and seemingly urgent things come up. With a full membership, that would mean forfeiting money that could have been spent elsewhere. With a KFit program, you only pay for the classes you sign up for, and even with a premium membership, you can cancel at any time so you're not tied in to a full year in case you lose interest, need the money for more immediate family expenses, or as was the case for both my yoga and gym memberships, get pregnant (yup, both kids, both times ).2) You're not tied to a single location or city.
As a work-at-home mom, my schedule is both flexible and rigid: flexible because I don't have to go to the office every day, but rigid because I have to make sure my schedule matches up with my kids' and my husband's. This makes sneaking in a workout at one gym rather difficult. With our former gym membership, I'd have to go whenever my husband went, which wouldn't always coincide with the schedule of the class I wanted to take. Now, using the app, I can search for and choose a gym near where his meeting will be or a class in a different city when I happen to be there for my one day at the office.3) You discover gyms and studios you might not have considered otherwise.
When we moved away from the city center, location became one of my biggest excuses for not working out. None of the big-name studios and gyms (except for Gold's Gym) had branches near where we live and I was a bit of a snob when it came to judging the smaller establishments. Blame the lack of publicity and poorly lit social media photos. Through the location search function on the KFit app, I found a small studio 10 minutes away from our house that offered a variety of classes, but which I would never have found through a simple Google search. The reviews on the app from people who had tried the studio were what convinced me to give it a chance—and now I'm one of the reviewers who gave it five stars. Lesson learned: Don't judge a gym by its Facebook cover photo.4) You can schedule fitness dates with friends.
When it comes to gym time, I'm an earphones-on, zone-out kind of girl, but sometimes it's nice to have a bit of emotional support when trying new classes, like Pole Fitness or Zumba. This is where the flexibility of KFit is key. It's easy to invite a friend to meet up and work out, even if she doesn't have a KFit membership yet. With the free plan, he or she only pays for classes "ala carte" (price depends on the class)—and you can even send them a discount code for Php100 off. Since support systems increase your chances of success—in fitness, work, life, you name it—I can see myself phoning a friend when I need an additional push, when my commitment wanes, or when I just don't want the temptation of meeting up for coffee and cupcakes (and gelato, and rainbow cake, and...).5) You don't need to be fit to try KFit.
If you see me or know me in real life, please don't judge this post based on my measurements (Remember when, in the Philippines, they were called "vital statistics"? As if your chest, waist, and hip size defined who you were. Ugh.) I won't be posting fitspiration photos of myself in a crop top with a toddler in one arm and a dumbbell in the other (not yet, at least—haha!). But that's the beauty of the flexible program. You can cross classes off your to-try list and move on, no strings attached, if they're not right for you or they don't yet suit your fitness level. Taking a Barre3 class has been on my mind since I read about it four years ago in a moment of obsessive midnight Google searching "get my pre-baby body back" (and this was before I gave birth!). My husband can attest to being sick of my whining about wanting to take a Barre class as I'd look wistfully in the direction of the beautiful posters at the mall. And then I tried Barre and it was... well, let's just say that I now know why the people in the posters look so damn good. I think I'll shelf it for now, while maybe strengthening my pregnancy-ravaged core first with Pilates or yoga classes. But at least I can finally check that off my bucket list—slowly and with difficulty because my arms still hurt.Of course, a fitness program is only as good as your level of consistency, so let's see how I feel about KFit in a few weeks. But I have Ashtanga yoga, mat pilates, and Zumba classes lined up for week two, so I'd say I'm off to a good start!
For more information on KFit or to view the list of gyms, schedules, and activities, go to KFit.com.
Interested in trying KFit? Here's Php100 off your first class! Just use this link to go to the promo page or enter in promo code ZEXIA from your account page (valid only for your first class). I took my first class for Php30 thanks to a promo code, so I thought I'd pass on the goodwill. (Disclaimer: I get a Php50 credit if you use this promo code for a class. Thanks for that!)
