Back to the gym: the new classes and studios to book now
The best way to soften the blow of the end of summer and return to the office? A shiny new gym membership.
Tacking on an endorphin-boosting fitness class to the days that you are in the office will make you feel like you’re taking on the commute for yourself as well as your employer.
And despite current temperatures, summer is basically over, so it’s the perfect time to get back into some semblance of a back-to-school routine.
From face yoga to roller discos and jumpboard Pilates, it’s time to embrace London’s fitness scene once again.
The snazzy new gym
Like a side of bold interiors and banging beats while you work out? Enter John Reed, a gym-cum-club from the Berlin-based fitness brand that has outposts from LA to Istanbul. The new space is spread across 2000 square metres in the heart of Broadgate. Expect live DJ sets while you sweat, bright graftti’d walls, over 50 classes a day spanning barre, Pilates and HIIT, a boxing arena, PT area, hot yoga studio and Finnish sauna to unwind in after a gruelling sesh. Doors open on September 20.
Membership starts at £100/month, johnreed.fitness
Heavy (Metal) lifting at Roar
Three-times Olympian Sarah Lindsay, founder of Roar Fitness, is behind some of the most impressive body transformations in the city. Nick Grimshaw, Henry Holland and Vogue Williams are just a few of her satisfied celebrity clients. If you can’t commit to one of her eight-week programmes, try one the new Roar Metal classes available at the Kensington studio. Choose from The Mosh, a full-body workout, Baseline, a lower-body focused sesh or The Shred, a core-focused class, all taking place in a pink-lit room with zebra print walls, obvs.
From £25/class, metal.roar-fitness.com
Jumpboard Pilates and 90s Fonda at Frame
Frame is kicking off September with two fun new classes. For 90s fans, there’s Your Mum’s VHS, which takes fitspo from Jane Fonda and Cher and gives a full-body workout incorporating ankle weights, resistance bands and bodyweight. Meanwhile, Reformer aficionados should try Jumpboard Pilates, which combines classic Pilates moves with low-impact cardio and intervals to raise that heart rate.
Two classes for £20 under an intro offer, moveyourframe.com
Meet the new micro gym
Still not totally comfortable working out in a shared space? Enter the micro gym, the latest fitness concept to be born out of the pandemic. Elysium is a collection of private bookable studios in Aldgate and Seven Dials, which are kitted out with SkiErgs, rowers, dumbbells and kettlebells, and all the equipment you need for a full-body workout. This is an ideal space for small group workouts with friends or co-workers, which can also be used by PTs to train clients. Download the app, book your spot and you’re good to go.
An hour’s hire of the space costs £25, elysiumgyms.com
Lace up your skates at Gymbox
Skating boomed in lockdown and now you can brush up on your skills with Gymbox’s newest class, Watch My Wheels. The eight-week crash course is set to banging 80s beats and is running at Gymbox’s Farringdon site. Meanwhile, if you feel your home workouts are lacking that healthy dose of competition, book into Group Sets, a new strength training class that will teach you to synchronise and strategise with a team while swinging logs and the like. Finally, eye strain getting you down? Carve out some time for eye yoga, a digital class that will rejuvenate and revive tired peepers.
Membership starts from £84 per month and gives you access to all 11 Gymbox sites and the Out the Box digital platform, gymbox.com
Kick ass at Kobox
Missed pelting out your pent up frustration on the bag? Get yourself down to Kobox, the original “fight club meets nightclub” boutique boxing gym, which has just unveiled its fourth space in the capital at Waterloo. The boxing/HIIT hybrid class is adored by the likes of Jourdan Dunn for good reason. Expect to get shredded fast and leave with a giant endorphin boost.
Enjoy two classes for £25 until September 13, koboxboxingclub.com
The golden Gympass
If you’re desperate to get back into some semblance of a fitness routine, Gympass could hold the answer. Ask your employer, pretty please, to reward your newly reinstated commute by signing up to Gympass, which is a bit like a corporate Classpass. It offers access to boutique gyms, health clubs and wellbeing apps. Barry’s, F45, Frame, Rowbots and Victus Soul are just some of the premium studios you’ll gain instant, unlimited, access to with a Gympass membership, for which you’ll pay a subsidised monthly fee.
Platinum membership gives you access to 1500 gyms and studios and costs £109.99/month, gympass.com
Get mingling at Core Collective
Master the power of seduction as you sweat (and speed date) your way through a 45-minute HIIT session at Core Collectives Singles’ Night on September 30. The 45-minute class will be led by head trainers Paddy Colman and India Bailey before a post-shower feast of plant-based treats and organic cocktails all served to a DJ set. Then it’s on to The Phoenix for anyone who wants to keep the party going.
Tickets cost £45 (including all the class, food & drink) and everything kicks off at 6pm, core-collective.co.uk
Box! Box! Box! at Camden Boxing Club
If you like your boxing classes to be as close to the real deal as it gets - but still be in a boutique setting - then get yourself, your wraps and gloves down to Camden Boxing Club, the sister site to Fitzrovia’s Rathbone Boxing Club. Practice your tekkers on the punchbag and polish up on your jabs and hooks in Box! Box! Box! or learn to fight your corner in Cornerman. You’ll feel like a pro after just a few rounds with head coach Greg White.
Receive two credits and a buddy credit for £30 under the intro offer camdenboxingclub.com
Face Yoga at Compass Chelsea
Founder Alexandra Baldi is introducing a face yoga booster at the end each mindful flow class at her brand new studio Chelsea Compass. The movements are designed to ease tension deep within facial muscles, stimulate lymphatic drainage and clear emotional blockages. Turn that frown upside down in no time.
Try a two-week unlimited trial for £45 compasschelsea.com
