This Jaybird review is part of Class Action, FLEETSTREET’s workout review series. We get sweaty to give you the low-down on what the workouts are really like.
The Studios – Jaybird Yorkville & Queen
If Jaybird is trying to be my third space (that must-go-to communal spot, in addition to work and home), then its designer made a good attempt. The Toronto studios are gorgeous. With its emerald and clay walls, whimsical murals, chiaroscuro lighting, grid tiles, marble counters and cove ceilings, Jaybird is suggesting I move in.
I first go to Jaybird Queen (located at Queen and Palmerston) to take a lower-body class. Unlike any gym I’ve ever been to before, it reminds me more of an urban hotel bar. I half-wanted to see a waiter carrying long-stemmed glasses of champ, but of course it’s a fit, Alo-clad staffer giving tours to newbies like myself. But like the speakeasy I’m dreaming of, the VIP room (ahem, the heated studio) is roped off. I grabbed one of the last lockers available. There doesn’t seem to be enough, but there’s a class already happening. And as a rule follower, I show up to class with 15 minutes to spare. But savvier members figure out the timing to arrive just in time for a locker. This location offers heated and unheated classes for mat workouts. I take an infrared-heated mat class here.
The Jaybird Yorkville location (near Bay subway station) feels much more spacious than its Queen spot, with two locker areas for two rooms (one infrared mat, one reformer). The decor, by designer Ali McQuaid Mitchell, follows the same theme but with more earthy pink tones of rust and terracotta and backlit lighting in the ceiling and walls. This is where I take a reformer class.
Both locations offer showers, lockers, mats and towels. Sticky socks are required for reformer classes, and a non-stick mat cover is required for floor classes (you can bring your own or rent theirs, which is free for first-timers).
But long before Jaybird flew into Toronto, it originally nested in Vancouver’s Yaletown neighbourhood back in 2019. Founders Barbie Bent and Ariel Swan have solid CVs for Pilates and fitness. They created the space to make movement part of motivation: “Workouts that leave you feeling yourself on a deeper level. A space to be unashamedly yourself, naked as a jaybird.”
One thing my FLEETSTREET colleague Danielle Goguen tells me to make note of is the studio’s signature scent. It’s a mix of lemon, bergamot, black fig, rose, cedarwood and amber. Even the description of it ties nicely with moody decor. It hints at an exclusive spa but sexier.
The Workouts – The Burn Reformer & The Booty
Jaybird offers nine classses. The names read like chapter titles of a novel: The Build, The Bird, The Bass, The Breath, The Balance, The Booty, and The Burn (which is available for heated and unheated mat, and reformer). And there’s something writerly about the descriptions, too, like “Feel the burn and embrace the shake” and “Get out of your head and into your booty.”
The Booty is a 55-minute mat class that focuses on, well, the booty. The class begins and ends laying on the mat for the warmup and cooldown, which is refreshing for a strength class. The are 35 minutes dedicated to strengthening, and the remaining 15 minutes are for stretching and ball rolling. (My body was appreciative of that last part. I’ve been to too many classes that rely on the members to stretch on their own. Spoiler: We don’t.)
The infrared heated studio is dark and candlelit (lights, not real candles so you’re not getting burned). And the music is blared (earplugs are available if needed) for an immersive experience.
The Burn is a reformer class that isn’t your typical Pilates class. According to Jaybird, the class uses breath and movement together to improve strength and mobility, which is very Pilates. But the burn and the shake are how it’s different. Again, this class is done in the dark by candlelight and music. This reformer class is only available in Yorkville, Toronto.
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We Tried It
I did two classes at the two Toronto Jaybird locations: The Booty at Jaybird Queen, and The Burn Reformer at Jaybird Yorkville.
The Booty at Jaybird Queen
I’ll start with my experience of The Booty. Going into the class, I had no idea what to expect. I’ve done classes that paired the glutes with another body part for a class focus, ended with a derriere finisher, and certainly included AMRAPs (as many reps as possible) of squats, burpees and other backside exercises. But I had never done 45 minutes of peach-crushing, cheeky bottom exercises. Admittedly, I thought this could go one of two ways: one, too much, too hard, leaving me unable to walk after; or two, a too-easy, unchallenging way just to “say” I worked out for 45 minutes.
Turns out, I was wrong on both fronts. Instructor Leora had a strategy to work the lower body with compound-like movements and ensure she worked the muscles in a way that allowed me to challenge the glute muscles throughout the class. We started on the floor and worked our way up to standing, alternating targeting the gluteal muscles. We used weights, balls and bands, and she snuck in a few ab moves (it is Pilates, after all). So, you can expect bridges, clamshells, lunges (with pulses, duh), donkey kicks, hydrants, squat jumps, step-ups, you name it.
I did feel the room was tight, with mere inches between mats. I’m 5’7″ and worried about my hands and feet for swimmers. So, I snagged a spot in the back row and inched my body to the back of my mat when I had to stretch out. For moves that had arms out or side-to-side movements, the instructor got us to stagger as to not accidentally hit each other.
The one thing I didn’t I notice about the studio was the no-mirror policy in the mat workout rooms. I didn’t even realize it was sans-looking glass until I did a deep-dive on Jaybird website. The reason? It’s to help clients focus on how they feel, not how they look. Turns out, I didn’t miss the mirrors at Jaybird Queen, as I didn’t even know they weren’t there! That policy also means no phones and no selfies either in the mat room.
I walked out sweaty, tired and with a bit of DOMS anxiety (delayed-onset muscle soreness), but I was still able to walk. And yes, I felt it the next day.
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The Burn Reformer at Jaybird Yorkville
The room, of course, is dark. And the reformers look to be placed into two connected rooms, but somehow am able to clearly see the instructor, Bianca. Impressive design solution, considering I, again, place myself at the back of the room. I was grateful that she explained every step and walked around the room to correct us. The reformer isn’t exactly intuitive, and I could see immediately who was a beginner in the room. But it’s dark, and those embarrassed by singled-out corrections likely weren’t self-conscious.
The reformers, though, remind me very much of the machines at Studio Lagree on King Street West. (My spidey senses were right. Bent launched Lagree in Canada.) I know immediately that this isn’t a typical Pilates reformer class. I know there will be shakes, holds and movements where I have to balance my body. We used the carriage to make planks, pikes/downward dogs, lunges, and other Pilates moves, even more demanding on the body. The ropes came into play for exercises to target the biceps, triceps, quads and hamstrings. I liked that the moves weren’t just about being unstable and that they were strengthening, too.
Again, that DOMS anxiety hit. But to be honest, the class flew by. Just as I was feeling the intensity of a movement (meaning nearing failure), we moved seamlessly into the next move.
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The Verdict
If you want to escape the fluorescent lighting at your downtown Toronto job or just turn off that performative vibe of being on Zoom, Jaybird Studios might be the answer. While I’ve never had trouble with being present or getting into my workout zone, I did get the extra nudge to focus on the moment with the dark room and music you’d hear in a club or spinning class. It also made the minutes there just slip by. Starting and ending the class calmly also separated my day from my time there too, which I loved.
With learning anything new – yes, you learn when you take mat and reformer workout classes – set yourself up for success. Snag a spot near the instructor’s spot. (Hint: at Jaybird, that’s the one highlighted with the most candles in the room.) And those, though, wanting a bright room and the ability to course correct with visuals may want to take a few private sessions or maybe reformer classes elsewhere. That could help familiarizing yourself with moves, so when you’re in the dark at Jaybird, you’re not entirely in the dark.
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Jaybird has three locations, two in Toronto and one in Vancouver, $32 for a mat drop-in class, $42 for a reformer drop-in class, packages range from $150 to $720.