South Street Is Getting an Awesome New Fitness Studio

A Freehouse Fitness Studio pop-up rebounder class | Photo via Freehouse Fitness Studio

You can’t really put the soon-to-open Freehouse Fitness Studio in a box: It’s not a Pilates studio, it’s not a plain ol’ gym, and they don’t have a word for what they’re doing like, say, Lithe Method with their whole Cardio-Cheer-Sculpting thing. But in essence, the new 2,220-square-foot studio, slated to open in a brand new mixed-use building at 1430 South Street by the end of February, will be home to a mishmash of workouts inspired by owner Dana Auriemma’s favorite ways to sweat. Think: Pilates-inspired reformer classes, rebounder (also known as a mini trampoline) classes, and classes using resistance bands.

Auriemma, a trained Pilates instructor, owned a studio in New Jersey for about five years before her husband landed a job in Philly and they moved here. She sold the studio to one of her instructors, and she knew she wanted to open a new studio in Philly at some point, but she also knew she didn’t want it to be strictly a Pilates studio. “I didn’t want to attach myself to one particular workout or method because you have to stick within those rules. I wanted to be able to offer the maximum amount of variety,” she explains. So she sat on the idea for a while.

As she says, in coming up with the perfect schedule of classes for her new studio, she’s spent a lot of time “dreaming of what I like and what I don’t like, and every time I do an activity, I think about how the body is moving and how I would want to tweak that.” In the end, she came up with a set of classes that fall into two categories: Equipment classes and band classes. The equipment classes work in modernized Allegro II reformers (the studio will have eight) and, within that category, there is a mix of purely sculpting classes and sculpting/cardio classes. In her bands classes, using bands that offer upward of 20 pounds of resistance, you’ll have the option to choose from purely sculpting classes and sculpting/cardio classes, which work in — wait for it — rebounders. In other words, it’s your opportunity to get fit while feeling like a five-year-old. Yes, please! Regardless of which classes you take, Auriemma says you can expect lots of full-body movements. And aside from a low- to moderate-intensity intro class, the classes will be moderate-to-high intensity. In other words, expect to sweat your face off.

The studio will have two classrooms, along with one or two showers and a couple of changing rooms. Auriemma says they’ll be catering to the working crowd, so they’ll have a few early-morning classes, then a slew of classes kicking off after 5:30 p.m., when everyone is headed home, then some daytime classes sprinkled in between.

Auriemma is hoping to have the doors to Freehouse Fitness open by the end of February, but until then, you can get a taste of what the studio will be offering at their free (!!) pop-up classes happening all over town throughout the winter. More info about those here. Happy jumping!

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