Class Review: Retrofit

Hey, I’m Theo, I’m one of the Business Development Team at Fresh Fitness Food. Recently, on a rainy September evening, I jumped on my bike to head to Retrofit London. Going anywhere on a bike in the rain is a pretty awful experience, but I was excited for the session which far exceeded expectations! Find out more below:

The Facilities

First things first, upon arrival I was blown away by the gym’s surroundings and the abundance of equipment, all of which looked pristine. Below is a picture of your view once you’ve passed through reception.

The upstairs area is like a boutique studio, but on a larger scale; I imagine it to be the perfect training environment for a solo session or a great space to receive some top-notch 1-1 coaching with one of the friendly PT team.

Moving on downstairs, there are three separate studios where the coaches lead sessions such as Barre, HIIT, Yoga, Metcon and much more! Even the changing rooms at Retrofit were on another level, featuring a built-in sauna! Anyway, you get the idea, the space and the facilities are seriously well thought through, offering the means to achieve great results for a variety of fitness goals.

The Session: METCON (1hr)

I jumped into the 7pm Metcon class led by coach Ben. I was forewarned by another member of the team that Ben was going to put me through my paces (which he certainly did)! The studio had a minimalist vibe, a matted area with a mirror wall (which I found to be really useful to keep my form dialled in during the workout). I was also impressed by the speakers and soundproofing which definitely helped me immerse into my zone throughout the workout!

Session breakdown:

Warm-up:

The warm-up featured lots of stretching and mobility work including exercises such as:

  • Groiners (my all time favourite)
  • Good Mornings
  • Plank Walkouts to Pressup
  • Jumping Jacks

15 Min EMOM:

  • 15 x DB Squat Push Press

My thoughts: I chose the 15kg DBs for this and really struggled through, towards the end of the 15 minutes I was getting little to no rest before resetting which made things pretty spicy. Luckily I had coach Ben to push me through!

15 Min AMRAP:

  • 6 X DB Back Lunges
  • 8 X DB Goblet Squats
  • 6 X Press ups
  • 8 x Burpees

My thoughts: Within the 15 mins I competed the above 10 times through. This section of the workout certainly got my heart rate boosted to the max! At times when I took a short break, Ben would spur me on – I’m always a big fan of a motivational coach and Ben certainly made me push myself and get the most out of this workout.

Auxiliary Work (Abs):

  • 4 x 30s Hollow Holds
  • 4 x 20 Crunch (Variation)

My thoughts: Training abs after an intense AMRAP was certainly a challenge! Ben also showed us a crunch variation which I found really effective which I’ve started deploying within my own training.

Overall Verdict

  • Sweat = 9/10
  • Endorphins = 10/10
  • DOMS = 8/10
  • Pricing: Memberships start from £129p/m.
  • Recommendation = 10/10
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Published by Theo Kilham

Theo takes care of a range of FFF's Affiliate Gyms and Partners across London. Outside of FFF, he is big into cycling, coffee and he's currently looking to diversify his passion for Heath and Fitness through learning CrossFit.

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