A Look at 305 Fitness: What It Is, And Why You Might Like It

Most people love a great dance party, but 305 Fitness has taken a classic way to show off your dance moves and elevated it to a whole new level. You may have heard of this company after they took off in 2020 when at-home workouts reached their peak during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

For many people, dance cardio can be a simple way to incorporate a little bit of aerobic work into their weekly wellness routine (like treadmill dancing). 305 Fitness is appealing to many because their platform allows you to do a dance cardio workout at home or in person if you live in New York City, or they will sometimes have pop-up classes in Washington, D.C.. If you love the feel of a live DJ and are intrigued by the idea of dance fitness, 305 Fitness may be a good fit for you. 

What Is 305 Fitness?

You don’t have to be a dancer or somebody with an extensive knowledge in choreography to participate in this high-energy cardio dance class. Dance can be a great alternative to running for cardio, and 305 Fitness markets itself as an all inclusive, non-judgmental space to “sweat sexy.”

As reported in an interview conducted by the Jewish Insider¹, the program was founded by Sadie Kurzban after she won an entrepreneurship competition hosted by Brown University when she was only a senior in college. Kurzban, who loves to dance at clubs, wanted to recreate a workout environment similar to a dance floor where you lose track of time after dancing the night away. 

The name “305 Fitness” comes from the 305 area code of Kurzban’s hometown, Miami. As a Cuban woman, she wanted to incorporate her heritage and the freeing feeling of dance into a high-energy workout class where people aren’t concerned about what they look like. 

With the variety of high-intensity songs that 305 Fitness plays in their cardio dance classes, you will likely hear a song or two that you know and love. 305 Fitness likes to incorporate famous DJs like Tiësto:

The Class Format

According to the 305 Fitness website, depending on your location, you can participate in these classes in person if you live in New York, or you can keep a lookout for their popup classes in other cities like DC. But for most people, their online classes may be your best bet!

The virtual platform offers a variety of different forms of classes like dance cardio, HIIT/PWR, or full-body workout. All you need to do is reserve your spot for a YouTube livestream class through the 305 Fitness website. 

RELATED: Best Online Workout Programs

The choreography is crafted to be easy to follow and is built in short, repeated segments to create attainable movement goals throughout the class. Each of the classes have their own unique quirk, but for the most part, they flow via an instructor dancing and the audience is expected to mirror the instructor’s dance moves. 

Coaches will keep you energized and excited to keep dancing as you get your heart pumping and feel connected with your other online class members! 

Cost Range

The cost of 305 Fitness differs depending on your income, needs, and location. If you are in person, you will need to purchase classes to attend. 305 Fitness offers a four-classes-a-month option at $99/month, a 10-classes-a-month option at $179 a month, or an unlimited option at $305 a month.

Otherwise, if you are interested in the at-home 305 Fitness cardio classes, the company has created a sliding scale of a monthly cost. This scale ranges anywhere from completely free if you are unemployed or an essential worker to $43.50 a month if you are fully employed or don’t need to work to meet your needs. 

Benefits of 305 Fitness Classes

There are many different reasons why people are motivated to exercise, but one common reason for many is to maintain physical wellness. If you feel stuck in your cardio equipment workout machine routine, you may find something like 305 Fitness to be a new, refreshing way to workout. 

While the explicit goal of 305 Fitness is not to burn calories, their mission is “to empower people to love themselves harder and express themselves louder.” This means that ideally from a 305 Fitness class, you can expect the normal physical benefits of exercise and hopefully mental benefits as well. 

Can You Really Burn 500 Calories Doing 305 Fitness?

The 305 Fitness website states that you can burn 500 calories or more in one 45-minute session. When asked about this claim, Sadie Kurzban stated in an interview that they conducted a study that showed that on average a 150-pound woman would burn anywhere between 500-700 calories according to heart monitors. 
We wanted to know if this was truly a plausible claim. A study conducted by Harvard Health² offers insight about how many calories a 155-pound person would burn completing the following types of exercise for 30 minutes:

According to the results of this study, one can conclude that the average 155-pound person dancing at a high intensity would burn 324 calories in 45 minutes, and somebody completing a high intensity aerobics class would burn somewhere around 378 calories, contradicting information presented by 305 Fitness. 

So to answer the question of if you can truly burn 500 calories in 45 minutes, it is certainly possible when looking at something taxing like running at a 10-minute pace for 45 minutes, which would burn 540 calories on average in 45 minutes. 

Overall, if you are truly dancing non stop for 45 minutes, it is not out of the question to believe that somebody who is completing a 305 Fitness class would realistically burn 500 calories or more in a class. 

You can track calories burned via a fitness tracker, but remember these are not always completely accurate. However, they will give you a general idea of how much effort you are putting into your workout. 

305 Fitness vs Zumba

While both of these types of exercise fall under the dance cardio umbrella, 305 Fitness is different from other workout classes because instructors are not told specific choreo they need to incorporate into a class, and often their classes aren’t planned down to the second. 

Furthermore, 305 Fitness is a little harder to access if you prefer in-person classes. Since Zumba has been around for longer, it is a bit more established and easier to access different classes and studios across the country. 

You can also expect more of a hip-hop, twerking vibe to the classes where zumba may have some more conservative dance moves. After all, 305 Fitness loves to use the #makesweatsexy!

305 Fitness: Q&A

References

1. Deutch G. The Cuban Jewish entrepreneur behind 305 fitness. Jewish Insider. Published July 14, 2021. Accessed October 5, 2023.

2. Calories burned in 30 minutes of leisure and routine activities. Harvard Health. Published March 8, 2021. Accessed October 5, 2023.