Being a lover of both fitness classes and bargains the introductory offer at F45 Training’s new Tottenham Court Road studio, offering a week’s worth of classes for £20, was far too good to pass up.
For anyone not familiar with this fitness phenomenon, F45 is an Aussie invention that has since grown exponentially (1,1150 studios across 36 countries in just four short years). The concept is simple – each class is 45 minutes of high-intensity circuit (or ‘HIIT’) training. Each exercise within the circuit-style workout comes from the database of 3,000+ exercises devised by the F45 head office team; meaning visitors to F45 won’t get the same workout twice.
Not one to turn down a challenge– or as mentioned above, a bargain – I decided to get the absolute most out of my weekly pass, namely completing one class each day, although as the studio doesn’t presently offer Sunday classes this was capped at six sessions (which was probably for the best from a DOMs perspective!)
Day One: Monday
The start of my challenge fell the day after an unseasonably sunny London Sunday, leaving me nursing a hangover as I headed to F45. That queasy feeling only grew when I saw today was a ‘MVP’ class, described on the website as a workout that will “leave you grasping for any form of oxygen you can muster” – eep! Upon arrival, no one else seemed to be suffering from Mondayitis though so I forced myself to echo their enthusiasm and get on with it.
The studio consists of one large room decked out with assorted equipment and a big branded wall that was a familiar site from blogger Instagram posts. Today’s class was Tabata style with three rounds at each station, increasing the duration of ‘working time’ with each round, and continuing on for nine separate stations as we snaked around the room in a slightly chaotic, but surprisingly easy to follow way. Moves varied in intensity but the energy in the room is contagious and I found myself pushing wanting to improve with each round – that was until attempting one particular move saw me knock a sandbag to the face (at least it gave me justification to use ‘blood’ in the blog title!) All in all I left the session exhausted but exhilarated, and eager to refuel with some serious carb loading.
Day Two: Tuesday
Today’s early morning workout was a ‘Panthers’ session – a resistance focused class with a wide range of strength moves. We did three bursts of work at each station with moves ranging from deadlifts, kettlebell swings, bozu ball sit-ups, TRX squats and resistance band crab walks (a surprisingly brutal move!). Screens at the front of the class constantly display how to do each exercise which, for someone who tends to forget exercises as soon as they’re shown to me, is truly a game changer.
We travelled around the room in pairs and my only recommendation would be to try and stand near someone of a significantly different build to you as the instructor splits the group into pairs, to lessen the likelihood that you’ll be battling them for the weights as you move stations!
Day Three: Wednesday
The third day of the challenge and my body seems to have noticed how hard it had been working, stairs are not my friend today. Regardless, I headed to an evening ‘Loyals’ class, defined as a ‘hybrid’ workout this was a mix of cardio and strength moves, and more than a little confusing! There were several puzzled faces as we began working our way around the room but by the end, the group was moving like a finely oiled machine.
Day Four: Thursday
An early morning ‘All-Star’ class saw the class group tackle four pods of activity, completing three rounds of three exercises each time. There were kettlebell rows, weighted squats, chest flys and a few burpees thrown in for good measure.
I was pleasantly surprised that I pushed myself harder than I normally would and – despite my initial protests – really could lift the seemingly huge weights the trainer loaded up for me. By this point in the week, I’m plotting how to win the lottery so I can feasibly keep this up beyond my seven-day trial as it’s definitely addictive!
Day Five: Friday
TGI – owww. Friday’s ‘Athletica’ class proved to be the most brutal of the week, a cardio format class that left me pretty keen to crawl into bed rather than into the office but despite my typically cynical gym persona (much like on the tube, talking to strangers should not be encouraged at early morning classes) I found myself participating in some post-class high fives, but chose to draw the line at the seemingly obligatory ‘woo’-ing.
Day Six: Saturday
Last class of the week! The ‘Hollywood’ session is the longest class of the week at 60 minutes and combines both strength and cardio moves for a bumper finish to the week and energy throughout this session was particularly high thanks to a live DJ set up in the studio. Exercises included bursts of cardio on rowing machines and exercise bikes, strength tests by way of chin-ups and a wide assortment of dumbbell exercises, and punishing tests – namely pushing a ‘sled’ with 40kg loaded on top across the room, then using a tug of war style rope to pull it back to the other side.
What’s The Verdict?
The brains behind F45 really seem to have nailed it, the workouts are tough, the energy is high, and media reports that it has a ‘cult-like’ atmosphere definitely aren’t far off. I’ve finished my week keen to return but at £25 per class it will have to be an occasional treat, not my full time work out.
Interested in hearing how we can help promote your brand? Speak to a member of our award-winning team today to find out more.
