About Time: You Tried SpeedflexBy Alicia Grimshaw

Just a heads up. This gym will push you to breaking point. This gym will make you shout expletives at the trainers (all in good fun, of course). This gym will make your t-shirt damp with sweat. Friends of the internet, it’s about time you discovered Speedflex.

I’ll be honest; I’m one of those people who goes to the gym, throws a few dumbbells around, checks various social media sites for way too long, sweats a little bit and then decide that’s enough for one day. After enjoying a love-hate relationship with my gym for far too long, enough was enough. The gym floor didn’t love me, and to be honest, I didn’t love it. The gym made me lazy, I was more interested in what songs I wanted to add into my ‘project getting sexy’ playlist than actually undertaking any physical exercise. It was then I decided to go out in search of a gym that I couldn’t get away with any of the above. Speedflex is very different to other gyms in London, and while the rise of weird and wonderful gym classes are on the up (side note: doing yoga on a surfboard is neither fun, nor practical), Speedflex isn’t crazy, it does what it says on the tin, and ultimately, you see results.

Speedflex: The Run-Down 

Speedflex is a high intensity resistance training gym in Bank. The concept is simple: there are a number of the same machines dotted around the room, and on these said machines, you undertake different exercises (squats, shoulder press and clean and press – you get the idea). But there’s something very different about these machines. The system allows for a professional athlete to train alongside a pensioner as the machines respond to your force as opposed to the addition of weights. It doesn’t matter if Mo Farah is on the machine, or your 90 year old grandmother – the harder you push, the more resistance you face.

The 45 minute sessions should be named ‘let’s see how much you can sweat’, because you do. A lot. The sessions combine cardio and resistance training to maximise your heart rate, and build muscles. For instance, 30 jumping squats is followed by kettle bell swings, and you’d repeat this for the allocated time, before moving onto the next two exercises. No two sessions are the same, with the trainers changing the exercises week to week. It’s not just movements on the machines that you can sink your teeth into; slam the battle ropes, squat with a power bag or throw around medicine balls.

During your session, don’t think you can slack off because you can’t. Why? Because everyone wears a My Zone belt. These specially designed belts allow you to track your heart rate and see how many calories you’ve burnt in your class. You can compare your results with your last session and see how far your fitness level has improved. All Speedflex sessions are high in intensity, low in impact and short in duration (and they go super quick). The combination of Speedflex machines and traditional exercise modalities, guarantees a total body workout. The added bonus is that due to the machines being low impact, you don’t suffer from the uncomfortable muscle soreness the next day.

Speedflex: Why

Because your fitness levels will go through the roof. When I first started at Speedflex I couldn’t event get through the warm up. Fast forward six months, and now I’m undertaking a silly amount of burpees.

The sessions contain no more than 14 people, and if you can visit during 0ff-peak hours, the number of people in the class is considerably less. This means in the quieter classes you can improve your form, and work on any muscle groups that need a bit more TLC.

The gym trainers are a great brunch, and thankfully, don’t take themselves too seriously. Their Spotify playlists puts my own carefully curated song choices to shame.

Speedflex: The Verdict 

Each session at Speedflex doesn’t feel like you’re at a gym. You build a close rapport with the trainers, and can ask to target different areas, but mainly, you have fun (using that term lightly) whilst doing so. I visited Speeflex on a two week free trail which is available to all, after the trail finished, I signed up immediately and now I’m a fully fledged member. If you visit, I’ll be the one in the corner with a bright red face, furiously sweating.