Fit: Strong Emphasis

IF MOST PEOPLE were to grab a 100-pound dumbbell, they would fall over. But Jim Bathurst can grip one and push it above his head while smiling. He can also manage clapping handstand push-ups and one-armed chin-ups. If only the strong survive, well, Bathurst will do quite well for himself. But what about you?

» WHAT IT IS: There's more to obtaining beast skills (and, yes, Bathurst's personal Web site is beastskills.com) than just benching barbells. To build students' strength, the class takes a full-body approach, employing a fair number of movements that rely on lifting one's own body weight to target the muscles traditional lifting neglects. And there's a major emphasis on doing stuff right; he constantly hops around the room nitpicking about tucking butts under and keeping elbows in. "You're not going to get hurt when your weight is too heavy," Bathurst says. "That happens when your form is bad."

» MOVES: To pack as much as possible into an hour, the exercises keep coming with few sustained breaks, although he rotates between upper body, lower body and core. Don't even think about wimping out by being tardy, or you'll pay the price in push-ups. You'll probably have to do some anyway, though, even if you're punctual — Bathurst has a seemingly endless supply of modifications, from knee push-ups for the weaker students to advanced tweaks like dive-bombers (think about starting in a downward dog pose, diving into a pushup and then reversing the motion). Squats (while gripping dumbells) and chin-ups are staples, as are variations on plank pose (one arm up, one leg up, one arm and one leg up). And some days, he focuses on just one skill, like deadlifts, a powerlifting style in which you raise a weight from the ground to upper-thigh height.

» WORKOUT: The point of these exercises is to feel the pain, so if anything's too easy, Bathurst will happily make it harder by adding more weight. (He can also tone things down for new students.) So, no matter how tough you think you are when you walk in, prepare to ache the next day. David Benowitz, 38, is no skinny weakling. "I grew up in New Jersey," he explains. But even with his bulging muscles, he says he's gotten more functional strength in eight months of this class than anything he ever did on his own at the gym. "Before this, I had no ability to do anything other than exercise," he says.

» CROWD: Hulking dudes make up the majority of students. But there are women, too, and even though they're smaller than the guys, they're still pumping some impressive iron. "Within two months, I could tell a difference," says Emily Roderer, 35, who's been able to lug doors around her house as it's being renovated. The intimate size (about 10 students per class) lends itself to a supportive atmosphere. Which is good, because these are people you'd want on your side.

» Balance Sport and Fitness, 2200 California St. NW; 202-549-3867. Sessions at 7:30 a.m. Tue. and Thu. Drop-in is $25, and discounts are available with multi-class passes. (Dupont Circle)

Photo by Lawrence Luk for Express