Offering up yet another option away from signing your life away to a gym membership, south Londoners in or near Clapham, Battersea and Brixton have themselves a treat with WeTRAIN’s relatively new range of small group exercise classes.
The sister organisation to upmysport – which aims to match people with their perfect instructor – WeTRAIN currently operates in venues around Brixton, Clapham, Battersea and Balham, though it’s already expanded somewhat and will probably continue to do so.
If you find the idea (or, indeed, reality) of walking into a room full of Lycra-d up people intimidating, the idea of these classes is to keep it small and intimate, and get your friends along to work out with you. There’s a maximum of eight people who can take part in each class, with an option to book for up to eight people if you want the whole place for you and your mates.
There are a fair few classes to choose from – from vinyasa flow, maternity, sunrise and slow flow yoga, to CannonBarre (ballet moves to a hip-hop soundtrack), Rumble in the Junction boxing and the HiiT bodyweight session that is Primal Workout. Each class is taken by a trained instructors at pop-up venues, and costs are kept refreshingly low – £12 for a 45 minute class, well below many pay-as-you-go classes around London – while you’re sure to get plenty of help and guidance with fewer people.
With classes taking place in the morning, evenings and at weekends, it’s geared up for the many working people in those areas who are trying to fit exercise around their jobs and commutes. And there’s an app where you can book onto classes anything from a few minutes to a week beforehand, where you’ll have contact details for instructors in case you get lost.
To test out the whole idea, I went along to the Pre-Brunch Yoga session held in Brixton on a Saturday morning. Just a 10 minute walk from my flat, and I was at a fitness studio I didn’t even know existed, which had been set up with a yoga mat and blocks waiting for me.
It turned out to be just me, the instructor, and one other girl taking the class, which was fantastic – I didn’t have to worry about lots of people behind me judging my lack of flexibility, there were fewer distractions, loads of space and anything I did do a little wrong could be corrected by the instructor, as she only had two of us to keep her eye on.
And when you’re done, ask your instructor about which local shops and cafes have partnered with WeTRAIN to give you a free treat – in Brixton you can get a free juice from Homegrown, or a coffee from Rosie’s; in Clapham head to Fresh Ground and 2Love for a post-workout caffeine hit. Then you can feel double smug about your life choices.
Take The Lunge 