In this new blog series, our lovely Nikki is taking over to tell us about her experience as a newly qualified physio and to describe the joys, fears and challenges she meets along the way. She'll also share her tips which might be useful to some of you too!

 

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A lthough not a fitness blog, I wanted to share my experience of ClassPass as I believe that as Physiotherapists, exercise is something we are all instinctively interested in. Finding time for fitness when you lead a busy lifestyle can be challenging and I am definitely guilty of using the excuse “I will start on Monday”. For me, exercise needs to be fun and varied in order to keep me engaged. I get easily bored and when things get tough on the fitness front, I can be poorly self-disciplined. 

 

 

London’s gymming scene is becoming increasingly trendy. With the influx of boutique fitness studios offering the latest on trend exercise classes it is hard not to be curious as to what goes on behind these studio doors. However, the main barrier to trying these exercise experiences is the astronomical price tag attached.

Yet, like a magpie, I remain intrigued by the high tech equipment, innovative ways of working out and the luxury shower gels in the changing rooms. Many of these fitness studios specialise in one area, for example yoga or high intensity interval training (HIIT) and for people who get bored easily, this could be problematic.

But with classes maxing their highest capacity, it seems that I am not the only one tempted by this fad. Tragic as it may sound, I am desperate to jump on this bandwagon and see what the hype is about.

 

 

ClassPass offers a way of accessing costly boutique studios for a slightly more affordable price. Perhaps more importantly though, it offers variety. Through buying a monthly subscription, you can choose from tonnes of gyms and engage in a balanced exercise regime.

As December approached and I started to naturally enter hibernation mode (catching my wandering hands in the Christmas tub of Celebrations), I thought now would be a good time to get out there and exercise! Using their introductory offer of £19 for 5 classes in the first month, I trialled ClassPass.

 

I now held the key to hundreds of classes across London...

 

What I liked

Variety - I did a variety of different exercises such as Bikram yoga, boxing, TRX and HIIT workouts. I was able to try different types of exercise that I had never even considered before which kept workouts interesting and diverse.

Studios - It is true what they say, the changing rooms are luxurious and the studios are clean and contemporary. The specialised instructors are professional and appear expert in their field. I felt as though they were truly invested in their discipline and it appeared evident that the gyms had invested in getting the right staff and develop their programmes.

Value - If you pay for a single, one off class, expect to pay on average between £15-£20. With their introductory offer of £19 for 5 classes, ClassPass ensures that these trendy studios are affordable. It doesn’t take a mathematician to work out that this offer is extremely good value for money!

 

 

 

What I disliked

Price - However, once the introductory offer is over, you can choose between the Base package which offers 5 classes per month for £55 or the Core package, offering 10 classes per month for £105. I feel for these prices, you could probably find a decent London gym which would allow you to work out as many times as you like within the month.

Restrictions - If you opt for the Core package, you can only visit any studio up to 2 times. If you choose the Base package, you can only visit any studio up to 3 times. Whilst this encourages you to keep your workouts varied, if you have a favourite class, this restriction means you can only attend it a limited number of times.

 

Overall…

I really enjoyed my experience with ClassPass. It gave me an unique opportunity to try new types of exercise I only ever see models posting about on Instagram. I got a sneak peak into London’s glamorous boutique fitness studios, and yes, I can see what the hype is all about. I had never before been pushed as hard as I was in my TRX class (doing stairs for the next two days after like climbing mountains) and I discovered muscles I never knew existed in Bikram yoga.

Yet, the biggest disappointment for me was the restriction on the number of classes you could attend per month. I am therefore struggling to justify splashing out on a limited number of classes whilst I am earning my Band 5 wage. Sadly, for that reason, I won’t be renewing my membership.

 

If interested, check out ClassPass' introductory offer here: https://classpass.com/get.

 

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About the author

Nikki Anderton

Nikki is a newly-qualified physiotherapist with a previous degree in Human Communication Sciences, currently working in a busy university hospital in East London. She was the first ever to sign up to one of our seminars when we started back in 2015; now a year down the line, she's our first ever resident blogger! Expect to see (and read) more of her very soon!

 

 

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