It might just be that getting sweaty in a roomful of strangers is currently the closest thing we can get to clubbing, but we're feeling (very unexpectedly) utterly thrilled about gyms being open again. Want to use specialist equipment, take advantage of expert instruction, or just work up a sweat in the company of others? These are a few great class-based gyms, with locations across London, and no membership requirements.
1Rebel — for boxing, spin, and HIIT
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Classes: Ride (a spin class, music-centric, no public stats tracking), Rumble (boxing-centric HIIT sessions), and Reshape (mix of treadmill, weights and bodyweight sessions). 1Rebel pitches itself as a clubby, music-driven space, particularly their spin studios — dark, loud, beatz-heavy, and the instructors shout motivational stuff at you over their mic. A very love-it-or-hate-it way of working out, but the classes are good at accommodating adjustments to whatever level of intensity makes it survivable yet seriously challenging for you.
Location: Several studios around London, including Victoria, Liverpool Street, and South Bank.
Details: Prices start at £23 for one class, with various package deals, and a monthly membership — cancel when you like — for unlimited classes at £250 a month. Offpeak deals are also on offer.
Newbie offer: Three classes for £45, and classes have to be used within a month.
Rowbots — for rowing and interval training
Classes: Rowing and floor intervals, 50 minute classes. The training aims to make 'mental health conditioning' a fundamental part of the classes — with mindfulness techniques incorporated into the workout sessions to develop psychological and physical strength at the same time.
Location: Fitzrovia, Broadgate.
Details: Prices start at £22 for one class, with monthly packages going up to £200 a month for unlimited classes. You can cancel the packages when you like — no minimum length.
Newbie offer: Three classes for £25, and classes have to be used within a month.
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Miguel's Boxing Gym — for boxing, weights, Muay Thai and PT
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Classes: 'London's Friendliest Gym' announces the banner on the website, though that doesn't mean they'll go easy on you in training sessions. They run a huge range of training options, including eight week white collar training programmes, personal training, Muay Thai, and boxing for over 60s, with an emphasis on maintaining mobility. Sparring's an option when the instructors deem you ready for it, but not a requirement if you prefer to stick to a punchbag. Unlike most of the places on this list, Miguel's also offers kids' classes.
Part of the local community for more than 40 years, the gym offers Fit To Work sessions, open exclusively to people seeking employment and aimed at helping develop transferable teamwork skills to support reentering the workplace — those classes are charged at £1 a session, and they provide gloves.
Location: Brixton.
Details: There are a lot of ways you can train at Miguel's, including packages for white collar boxing (with access to 3 training sessions a week and unlimited access to the gym) for £60 a month, and personal training for £30 a session.
Newbie offer: No specific offer, but plenty of ways to try out classes.
Digme — for HIIT, spin, and yoga
Classes: HIIT, spin, and yoga — sometimes delivered as part of longer programmes, if you want to sign up to 8 or 12 week schedules.
Location: Several studios around London (and they recently acquired boutique spin studios Another Space), including Blackfriars, Covent Garden, and Fitzrovia.
Details: Prices start at £22 for one class, with various packages for bulk buys, and special offers if you want to stick to only HIIT sessions or just yoga. You can also try various virtual classes for free from home. Fiddly website, as the studios all seem to operate slightly separately.
Newbie offer: Three classes for £30, classes have to be used within the month.
Frame — for dance, yoga, and pilates
Classes: A big range of classes, with dance sessions like Cher-obics and Rave — and HIIT, boxing, and more. Studios are mostly bright, loud, and cheerful, and classes range from equipment-focused — like Reformer pilates, and Rebounder trampolines — to bodyweight HIIT and yoga.
Location: Several studios around London, including Victoria, and Kings Cross.
Details: Classes start at £16 for studio sessions, with cheaper offers for their livestream and on-demand workouts.
Newbie offer: Two classes for £20, to be used within a month.
Sweat BXR — for Versaclimber, boxing, and strength work
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Classes: Sweat BXR promises 'boutique-sized' classes, suitable for beginners to the world of Versa — a cardio machine along a tilted, almost vertical rail, with pedals and handles — as well as dedicated Versa fans. They also offer boxing, yoga, and strength and conditioning classes at the two London studios. Facilities are sleek and pricing is as steep as your Versa goals.
Location: Marylebone, and Canary Wharf.
Details: Classes start at £25, with various packages for bulk buys, or monthly packages.
Newbie offer: Three Versaclimber classes for £30, to be used within a month.
GRL gym — for Tabata, yoga, HIIT, and PT
Classes: This Hackney studio aims to redefine fitness as a joyful, inclusive practice for all bodies. 'A safe space', the website reads, 'for queer, trans, POC, QTPOC, non-binary, genderqueer, big bodied, thin bodied, differently-abled, the shy, lonely, recovering and all allies (men included).'
Their point is, fitness should be fun, and inclusive, and when done in the right space and community — an unintimidating and respectful environment that welcomes all bodies and abilities — it should be hugely life-enhancing. That translates for GRL into a small but varied set of classes per week, less elitist pricing than a lot of London gyms, and community activities
Location: Hackney.
Details: Classes start at £15, with various packages for bulk buys, or memberships — cancel when you like — with unlimited classes for £100 a month.
Newbie offer: No specific offer, but plenty of ways to try out classes.
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MoreYoga — for yoga, pilates, and meditation
Classes: A big range of yoga styles, from breath-focused practices to the dynamic and spine-focused Backbend Flow, and Forrest, using props to develop your practice. There are studios across the city — and the fact they don't all have the same offering or facilities makes it a fussy UX for the website. We'd recommend trialling one or two of their studios in good locations for you, with the £10 introductory offer, before exploring the various packages and memberships on offer, which require you to commit to a home studio and have some quite rigid conditions.
As part of their aim to make yoga accessible and inclusive they offer a £3 a class price (same classes, just a lower charge) for people currently jobseeking or claiming benefits, with a guarantee that your access will be dealt with sensitively and your details kept private.
Location: Walthamstow, Croydon, Victoria, Soho — and studios across London.
Details: Classes start at £10, with various packages and memberships at good savings if you want to sign up for a chunky length of time.
Newbie offer: Three classes for £10, to be used within a fortnight.
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