Barry's Nashville — Local services in Nashville-Davidson

Barry's has a cult following and gives you a great workout if you put the work in. There's no denying that. I'm giving Barry's 4 stars because there are a few areas that could be greatly improved. (Note: some of the things that I dislike, may be the things that others love.)

It's way too loud. If you need to provide ear plugs at the front desk, it's too loud! But thank goodness they DO have ear plugs.

The instructor is 'teaching' two classes at the same time - floor, and tread. It's hard to hear what they are saying half the time, and hard to understand which class they are talking to. This makes it difficult to follow along, especially for newer folks. And of course, because there are so many people to just one instructor - who's teaching two classes in the dark - there's a lot of room for poor form and injury. Recommendation: lower the music and increase the instructor's mic volume. Have a set structure for tread for people to self-follow, and focus on instructing people on the floor.

It's SO DARK. It's hard to see anything, and when you have to go back and forth between floor and treads, and put weights away in between, it makes it unnecessarily difficult to get around. At the very least, add some lights near the weights so people can see what they are picking up & can put them back safely.

Chaotic - with the Barry's setup, in theory, it shouldn't be hard to put a process in place to make the transition from floor to tread simple. To put it bluntly - it's a hot mess when people are moving. Sometimes weights need to be returned. Then folks find their area. People wait around. Everyone crashes into each other. There's no organization at all and it's frustrating and probably cuts off an extra minute or two of class. It would be easy to add a tiny bit of structure to reduce this chaos when...

I know that Barry's Bootcamp is very popular and increasingly so. I can see the lure of it - very nice space, very fit instructors who are naturally very inspiring, and great interval training work outs. The studio is located in the Gulch, the heart of Nashville. Despite being in such a coveted neighborhood, the studio is very spacious and clean. I never checked out their amenities because I knew I wasn't going to be a regular there. The instructors are friendly, energetic, and gives good cues. They're all in fantastic shape, which I think is one of the selling points of Barry's, although I don't think you can assume they are testaments to its effectiveness. Anyway, the workouts is why I think it falls short of being a perfect five star. The class alternates between cardio (running on the treadmill) and weights. The latter is where the variability of the classes come from (focus on different body parts). Typically, you'd start with 10 minutes on the treadmill and then hop off for weights on the bench and then back on the treadmill. I really do love this type of interval training, it gets the sweat and the heart racing. However, this is all done in a very dimly lit room and I just can't imagine the instructors being able to check your form especially in a class of about 50 people. I think it caters to younger people who are resistant to injury even with bad form and excludes people who need more...

One of the best workouts that there is! I can't say enough about the staff, amenities, and system as I believe that everything is top class. If you're young with no lingering issues/injuries and you're familiar with basic weightlifting form this is the best that there is. If you're not then I really would be a little hesitant to recommend this system (hence 4 stars). As much as the trainers are knowledgeable and helpful and try their best to accommodate, they're limited as to what they can do with this exercise system. The room is very dimly lit and the exercise is very fast paced, and classes are usually pretty full of around 40-50 people. So as far as a trainer being able to check form or offer modifications it really is impossible. Also almost every workout that they offer is pretty heavy on the core/ab area, so if you have lower back issues I'd definitely stay away. In summary, if you're young, in moderate shape (able to do any HIIT style), and already know proper form then I'd highly recommend this place/system! Otherwise go at...