Editor’s Note: This is a personal review from 2012. Classes, rates, and your experience may vary.
Beautiful.
Light.
Airy.
Open.
This doesn’t usually describe a gym.
Balanced.
Peaceful.
Focusing.
Addicting.
Aren’t how most people would describe a workout but all of these and more describe The Dailey Method, Lake Forest.
The Dailey Method, Lake Forest is a fitness studio that teaches the methods of Jill Dailey. A unique combination of ballet barre work, core conditioning, stretching and orthopedic exercise with elements of yoga and pilates. The Dailey Method works to exhaust a muscle group completely and then stretch it out creating rapid results that leave you looking longer and leaner as well as improving your posture. I started seeing results after just three workouts.
I was given an opportunity to spend a month trying out The Dailey Method and I was both intrigued and skeptical. My skepticism was in the thought that this was going to turn out to be one of those trendy exercise programs that’s more style than substance.
I haven’t taken a group exercise class since I was young and svelte. To say I was intimidated walking in late to a class filled with great looking fit women in perfectly coordinating Lululemon outfits was an understatement. Less then 5 minutes into the first class I fell out of a pose and thought “what the heck am I doing here”. 40 minutes later at the end of the class, I was sold, addicted, and couldn’t wait to go back. Seriously.
Owner/Instructor Tina Anderson was introduced to The Dailey Method when she was working in San Francisco after college. She quickly started to see changes in both her mind and body and was hooked. Anderson became an instructor in 2009 training under the creator Jill Dailey and teaching classes at the Bucktown location.
Anderson opened the Lake Forest studio in December 2011 after teaching classes in Bucktown for three years while also working full time. She now no longer has that job and The Dailey Method Lake Forest has become her career.
Anderson’s dedication to the practice of The Dailey Method is evident in every aspect of the club. From the skilled instructors to the neatness and order of the studio. You will often find Anderson in the studio even if she is not teaching greeting members as they enter and signing them in herself.
What I love about The Dailey Method is that it’s really a workout for everyone. It may not seem like it when you first walk in and everyone is seemingly toned and slender, but it really is. I started doing The Dailey Method after not doing any serious workouts in about a year. Other than chasing a toddler, I was doing yoga a few times a week. I usually went to class with a friend who works out regularly. We both would walk out of class feeling like we got a great workout and were pushed to our limits.
According to Anderson, the routine is modifiable to account for both age, injury, and even pregnancy. Several of her instructors actually kept up with The Dailey Method through their pregnancies and one said it made recovery easier. Whenever you are new to an instructor they will chat with you and make sure you don’t have any injuries and if you do they offer you modified movements. However, since The Method is low impact there are really only slight modifications that need to be made.
Don’t think you can fit in a workout because you have little kids at home? The Dailey Method Lake Forest has a kids room available for most classes Monday-Saturday. The room is in the basement (so you don’t hear your little ones!) and is stocked with toys, a crib, books, and more. My kids all enjoyed their time there, even my youngest who has some major separation anxiety.
The kids’ room does have a limited capacity and seems to fill up quickly. The Dailey Method does have an online system for scheduling both your classes and your kids’ room time to avoid overbooking or being turned away because it’s full. While I found the system easy to use and super convenient for scheduling my own classes getting the kids signed into the kids’ room was a bit harder and more confusing as each child has to be scheduled individually. There is an additional fee for childcare, please see their website for current rates.
In the month that I have been taking classes, I have lost almost an inch off my waist and have totally fallen in love with the routine. If there was a studio in northern Lake County (where I live) I would quickly become one of those with a “cult-like devotion” because really the time it takes me to get to Lake Forest is the only thing keeping me from going daily.
While the classes my seem expensive at first glance, I did compare them to similar classes and other studios all around Lake County and they are very much in line with what most gyms charge for this type of class. What I like most about the pricing system is there are no joiner fees, membership fees, maintenance, fees, etc. You are paying per class and that’s it. It makes it easier to budget when you don’t have to account for a yearly fee or a fee to start.
If you are looking for a low impact, rapid result workout in a beautiful (and clean!) studio then you need to try The Dailey Method Lake Forest
The Dailey Method Lake Forest
188 E. Westminster, Lake Forest, IL 60045
(847) 283-9000
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Find more reviews of classes and gyms at Fitness in Lake County.
Disclosure: I was given a 1-month unlimited membership to try out the method and share my results All thoughts and opinions are my own. Interested in having your business featured? Contact us today.
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