KORE Wellness — Attraction in Columbia

KORE WELLNESS has been my wellness home since Thanksgiving morning 2009. On November 4th of that year, I completed 33 radiation treatments after a brief bout with breast cancer. I had chatted with Elise Matthews, owner of Kore, when she worked out with small groups in our neighborhood park. I had already left another gym where I had worked out for more than 10 years. I thought a fresh start would be good for me and what better way than to begin on Thanksgiving Day? After all, I was thankful to be alive and healthy. And that was my beginning with Kore.

Elise sets a very high bar. She educates us about proper nutrition and healthy eating as well as exercise that works for each individual. And there is a positive and encouraging “vibe” at Kore—from the trainers as well as from the clients. The staff and trainers are so knowledgeable and always ready to listen and help. Many times, a well chosen “one word” is all it takes to make that necessary correction in our form. And proper form is stressed in all we do. The attention to detail there is enviable!

Elise and her staff work together to keep the workouts (kettlebells, boot camp, cardio, boxing,) fresh as well as challenging. And speaking of challenges, there is always something fun underfoot at Kore. We might have a 21 day nutrition challenge, a 2 or 3 day sugar challenge, March Madness challenges that vary week to week (food and exercise), preparations for the Leatherneck Mud Run (I have done 3!) as well as other runs, etc. Notice how many times I used that challenge word!!

I am always so comfortable going to Elise and her wonderful “family” of trainers for advice about food, drink, supplements, pain management, exercise. Well, you get the picture by now, yes? I am grateful to Elise and her incredible staff for being there for me. Kore Wellness will always be the best fit for my health and fitness. But don’t take my words for this. Experience the Kore Wellness motto for yourself: LIVE WELL! Not only will your health and well-being improve, but you will meet some delightful folk who are genuinely concerned for you. This will be you becoming your best and...

I started at KORE Wellness in the spring of 2011 by chance as its location is so convenient to me. Prior to KORE, my gym workouts were 20-40 minutes on an elliptical/treadmill, followed by free weights, and stretching--usually spending an hour to an hour and a half at the gym to maintain basic fitness.

I was drawn to KORE by two major things: the efficiency of the kettlebell workouts and the folks already working out there. There were a number of women in their 50s and 60s who were handling an impressive amount of weight and bonus, looked fantastic (some have lean/strong figures that a lot of college age women would covet). The kettlebell workouts combine cardio and strength training and I love that I can get a great challenging workout in about 30 minutes. I also enjoy cardio conditioning and functional training to mix things up during the week. And the yoga class is a great restorative balance to these workouts for me.

Besides the workouts, the staff is key. I have received so much support and guidance when I have shared my goals with them, short and long-term. The KORE staff has helped me reach long-standing goals/bucket list items, like doing a pull-up on my own and doing the Camp Pendleton Mud Run (in CA) and the SC Mud Run (twice!). I look forward to setting new goals--5 pull-ups in a row? a muscle-up? complete all 10 Tarzan ropes at the Mud Run?--and reaching them with KORE. In the meantime I can tell I'm getting stronger/fitter the more push-ups I can do, or the easier flipping tires or working the ab dolly feels.

Bottom line, KORE is the only gym I belong and I've become my strongest version of myself, so far. KORE is a great fit for me in that it is efficient, challenging (but doesn't burn me out or injure me), and has an educated and supportive staff. I highly recommend KORE for anyone wanting to get stronger/healthier, no matter what your current level...

I’ve waited a while to post this review so I could really digest the experience I had here. I wanted to love it, but was disappointed when the website’s description and the in-person experience did not align.

I recently moved here from across the country, and was excited when I found KORE’s website. It talks a lot about community, meeting you where you're at, and the key ingredient that they have that all other gyms are lacking—hands-on coaching.

Hands-on coaching is not what I experienced in my free-trial week (trying out the group class setting). The coach who oversaw our group frankly seemed rather disinterested in coaching at all. He would show us the initial exercises and forms that we would rotate through, and then do nothing else for the rest of the class.

As someone who hadn’t been in a class setting for quite some time, I would get confused between similar moves, or not be quite sure about the form. It was only after floundering for a while on my own, and then physically walking across the room to ask for help, did I get slightly more guidance. I even had a regular attendee scoff at me when I was struggling with a certain move.

It didn’t seem like the staff was at all interested in helping a newcomer feel welcomed. They had no interest in convincing me to give them my money! I wanted to love it, I wanted it to work, but they didn’t return that sentiment.

For a such high price tag for a 30-minute class, I hope that KORE can take an introspective look at their attentiveness to new potential clients, and better align what they advertise online to what they deliver in person. I’m better off designing my own workout split...