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Yoga Box London
For research purposes (and to get our sweat on!) we recently checked out the new and exiting workout YogaBox, at La Suite West Hotel and suffice to say we would highly recommend it! We’re yoga lovers here at Hip & Healthy, so we were keen to see how this class would involve boxing at the same time. Run by a retired competitive fighter and a yoga teacher, the class starts with some deep stretching yoga poses to warm up your muscles. You then move on to an intense section of HIIT sequences to really up your heart rate and to make sure you’re fully prepared to get boxing! Speaking of that, boxing was next and we got paired up with a partner to fight our way to a full on sweat! Concentration and co-ordination are both key here, but once we got the hang of it, we were on fire! Finally the class ends with another yoga sequence to ease out, stretch and restore your muscles. This class combines an intense fat burning workout, with the emotional and restorative benefits of yoga, meaning we left the class on a real high.

 

Functional fitness at BLOK!
Blok is a really exiting new gym in Clapton, with a great variety of classes. The gym is located in a furnished Victorian Tram depot, with two beautiful studios. Think exposed brickwork, state of the art changing rooms, showers and a healthy food bar, called Blok, which is known for its bone broth bar, a selection of nourishing soups as well as shakes, juices and coffees. Yum! We really benefited from the Functional Fitness class with Caroyln, as it was a small class so we got a lot of attention with regards to our form and technique. Functional fitness is about teaching the muscles to work together, rather than in isolation. We did a series of circuits that included exercises like press ups, deep squats and plenty of core work. If you’re in to HIIT, you’ll love this class! There were breaks added strategically which is actually proven to burn more fat and keep your metabolism high.

Blok tries to bring to its classes, a focus on building skill level, improving their client’s technique and helping them progress further to better fitness. It’s hard to tell with only one session under our belts but we did feel more toned and strong the day after and would definitely go back to try out some other classes they offer like Barre, Primal Movement, Pilates, HIIT, Dance Fit, and Power Yoga!

 

Heartcore Studio, St. Johns Wood
A beautiful new Heartcore studio has opened in St. Johns Wood. Situated inside a renovated church, the setting is simply stunning, containing two boutique studios, just a short two minute walk from the tube station. Heartcore offers a number of classes, from TRX, kettlecore, dynamic pilates, Barre and much more. We were lucky enough to try out a Barre session, and absolutely loved it! It covers a variety of exercises to really tone your overall body. We did many toning sequences of isolated micro movements, some mat work and bar work; all with an up beat playlist to keep us motivated. We could really feel it toning our limbs, waistline and perking up our bottoms! This was made evident in our achey muscles the next day –  always a good ache though. It was a low intensity lesson but with a focus on building long, lean muscle to boost our metabolisms and tone our bodies head to toe!

Heartcore also offers TRX classes, kettle core and pilates too with many studios all over London (Kensington, Notting Hill, Hamptead, Chelsea, Fulham, Park Lane, City, and St. Johns Wood)

 

Other workouts we love…

Classwork at Workshop Gymnasium
Classwork takes place in the basement spa of the Bulgari Hotel in Knightsbridge, where you’ll be put through your paces with primal movements, resistance work and foam rolling. Created by Lee Mullins, the brain-child behind Workshop Gymnasium, the classwork sessions consist of about 6-10 people so you’ll receive a good amount of attention from the instructor…Slacking off won’t be tolerated here! Expect high intensity moves – think pushing and pulling, crawling, circuit work, using your body weight and band work to strengthen and tone every inch of you, creating a stronger, leaner, and more defined body. This will be combined with foam rolling at the end to lengthen out your muscles, and even boost your collagen levels, Lee himself claims! “There’s a reason why yogis always look so young,” explains Lee… “it’s because they’re continually stretching to ensure muscles stay loose and supple, keeping collagen levels high.”

 

Dan Roberts
Having over 20 years experience teaching elite athletes, Victoria Secret models, and celebrities preparing for film roles, the amazing Dan Roberts will whip you into shape with his expertise knowledge and training, which will be tailor made to your body and goals. Dan and his team also offer personal training online, for those who like to train at home or are short on time, with their Methodology X programme. His training brings together influences from martial arts, yoga, pilates, strength and conditioning to form an incredibly unique and ‘holistic athleticism’ as he describes. You can expect therefore, a mixture of strength and conditioning mixed with holistic and mindful principles inspired from his studies in martial arts, yoga and meditation.

Read up on our Fitspiration interview with Dan here!

 

 

Tonan by Tiffany Watson & Lonan O H’erly

A true Made In Chelsea workout, clients will be put through their paces in this fitness bootcamp style class founded by MIC star Tiffany Watson and her trainer Lonan O’Herly. Hosted on Monday’s and Wednesday’s at The Budokwai Japanese Martial Arts Club in Chelsea, it’s the perfect place to pop in to on your lunch break if you work around the area and fancy a lunctime sweat! Think how good you’ll feel with your first workout of the week complete by lunch time! What to expect? 45 minutes of circuit style cardio and strength exercise; the best way to burn fat and send that metabolism soaring! Circuit training is constantly challenging your body and every single muscle is guaranteed to be worked. This is followed by a rejuvenating, 15 minute stretch session to ease out all those muscles, lengthening, toning, and preventing soreness the day after!

words by Flora Crichton

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