It’s funny how time gets away from you sometimes. I have been working out with Jessica Bass James since 2013, and it somehow seems like I just started yesterday! Jessica is local to the Knoxville, TN area and first started her workout classes as a certified Zumba instructor. She taught classes at her home church, then expanded to a larger facility to accommodate crowds. As she has grown in popularity, she’s been able to rent, and then build out, a couple of her own studios. Now, she is based out of her own location here in Knoxville! Don’t let the title fool you either, Jessica does a lot more than just dance classes! Although the dance classes are definitely her main event, she also offers HIIT and barre classes. Continue reading for all the details on the awesome program Jessica has built and made readily available to everyone!
Fitness Classes
Dance Fitness
The dance fitness classes are how Jessica got started with her empire. She became extremely popular in the Knoxville area teaching a spin off type Zumba class with popular, fun music and exciting, original dances. Then, she decided to record and post one of her most popular dances to YouTube, went viral, and the rest is history! Jessica’s popularity exploded seemingly overnight, and she started teaching bigger and bigger classes until she finally needed her own studio space. These dance fitness classes are a fun middle ground between a traditional Zumba class, and a twerk session. Jessica uses fun, up to date music that you would hear on the radio or Apple Music playlists and creates her own original dances. She has multiple in person class options ranging from 60-90 minutes, and you are guaranteed to leave dripping sweat! This is hands down the most fun cardio workout I’ve ever done, which is why I’ve continued to take her classes for over 8 years.
The dance fitness classes only cost $5 per class if you’re taking in person, which is awesome! Jessica also has a handful of excellent certified instructors who teach here in Knoxville on her off days. Leslie, Lauren, and Valeria are all amazing and I would highly recommend their classes along with Jessica’s! Here’s a link to Jessica’s Instagram page for a sneak peak into how much fun we have at class.
HIIT 2 Fit
If you think Jessica’s program only includes dance, think again! A handful of years ago she started incorporating HIIT workouts into her class schedule for variety. Not surprisingly, people love them! These classes are set up in a traditional HIIT style with timed work and rest. Jessica teaches these herself, and has another instructor named Jaclyn teach a lot as well. Jaclyn is a friend of mine, and I highly recommend taking her HIIT class along with Jessica’s! If you read my YogaSix review, Jaclyn was the instructor for the Sculpt & Flow class that I loved so much.
Normal equipment for these classes includes hand weights of varying sizes, a yoga mat, resistance bands, and your body weight. Movements include squats, lunges, pushups, bicep curls, burpees, etc. These classes are shorter than the dance fitness classes, at around 30-45 minutes. Usually if there is a HIIT class before a dance fitness class, it is included in the $5 price! Again, plan on finishing this class a full sweaty mess!
Barre
During quarantine in 2019, Jessica reached out to see if I wanted to teach barre classes to add even more variety to her program! Of course I was happy to, and we started these virtually in her studio as a live stream option (I’ll go more into live stream down below). These classes are now a pop-up style option, and obviously I love having the opportunity to teach them. Clients seem to enjoy them, and it’s another great option all under Jessica’s fitness program umbrella! Just like the HIIT classes, barre classes are usually included in the $5 price if they are happening before or after a dance fitness class.
Livestream
Ok, here’s the real gold! Years ago Jessica decided she wanted to design and build a live stream option so she could reach clients all over the world. It has truly taken years, but she’s got livestreaming down to a science. The best part? She had the market on this at least 2 years before COVID hit. Although not being able to teach classes in person certainly impacted her, the livestream option she worked so hard to build was already in place and an easy pivot. While most boutique style fitness programs were scrambling, Jessica was able to keep it moving easily!
Jessica’s livestream app that can downloaded on your iPhone, Android, Roku, Apple TV, etc. and is called Dance Fitness with Jessica. If you follow that link, it will take you to her website where you can sign up to be a livestream client for only $19.99/month! That’s not only a steal just because of the price alone, but what you get for $20 a month through Jessica is just heads and shoulders above most programs. You get unlimited access to live AND archived dance, HIIT, and barre classes. Jessica also has recorded dance and HIIT program workout DVD’s on the livestream app you can go back and do. I’ve not tried every single livestream program that exists, but this is an excellent deal regardless!
More!
Fit Booty Apparel & Southern Fit Boutique
Throughout the last 5-6 years, Jessica has been able to continue to expand her brand into apparel and nutrition. She has 2 different apparel lines, Fit Booty Apparel and Southern Fit Boutique. Fit Booty apparel is her workout line that includes leggings, sports bras, and tops. Her size ranges are all inclusive and she has continuous releases of patterns and colors seasonally. Southern Fit Boutique is Jessica’s boutique where she sells true boutique style clothing. She has a brick and mortar store along with an online shop for Southern Fit. Her clothing for this boutique includes basically everything you can think of including jeans, rompers, dresses, tops, skirts, etc. Here is the link to the Southern Fit Boutique website where you can shop both her boutique clothing and Fit Booty Apparel!
D2Fit Nutrition
More recently Jessica was able to design, develop, and release some of her very own nutrition products! These products include protein powder, women’s specific pre-workout, and a 4 in 1 kickstart supplement. The best part about these products is that they are readily available for purchase on Amazon! I have linked the D2Fit Amazon store here so that you can easily check out these products.
Final Thoughts
If it’s not abundantly clear, I am a huge fan of the fitness program that Jessica has built and developed. But, even more than that she has created a strong, welcoming, all inclusive community for both men and women! Jessica has designed her program to be easily accessible for everyone with both in person and easy livestream options. Her pricing is super reasonable, making it affordable for almost anyone. Whether you live in the Knoxville area, or over on the West coast, I highly recommend trying Jessica’s dance fitness classes and more!