Bank Holiday Banter - Flex in the City with The Third Space Soho!

What they say

Using pilates/athletic dance based conditioning to build core and upper body strength. This new style of physical training will take you from the glass floor of the gym to the streets of Soho specifically using lamp-posts, doorways and walls. 

Class details

What I say

Amazing fun!! I signed up to the class not really knowing what to expect.... I didn't realise we would be LITERALLY going out to the streets of Soho! Luckily Nikki (our instructor) had already sussed out the best areas to go, taking us to a quiet back street and teaching us some very interesting moves...

Wall side plank

Headstands

"Running Man'

Pencil

The beauty of this class is that really anything goes... it's all about taking inspiration from the streets and using your surroundings. Never again will I be able to look at doorways and lampposts in the same way.... even walking home I was assessing which ones would be good for climbing!  

Intensity: 7/10

Initially a bit apprehensive due to my injured leg, I explained the  story of my stress fracture to Nikki, and that I wouldn't be able to do anything impact based. As it turns out, Nikki actually created this workout after suffering a knee injury herself, therefore it has been designed to be very easy on the joints. So in terms of cardio intensity, it was very light, however the muscular intensity is a different matter. As I'm sure you can imagine, all that gripping onto lampposts, shoulder stands into walls etc requires incredible core and upper body strength!

Instructor: 10/10

Having designed the workout herself, Nikki was clearly very passionate about what she does, and says she is inspired more by creating artistic shapes with the body than an actual physical workout... it just happens to be a nice secondary benefit! Because of this, she made the class enjoyable - as she said herself, there were no right or wrongs, it was really just about having fun and creating. 

Value for Money: N/A

At the moment, this class was just a one off workshop put on for members at The Third Space Soho (membership for which is £150 per month). Nikki has previously done workshops independently, but at the moment is trying to get The Third Space to make the class a regular occurrence, which I really hope they do! Otherwise, hopefully Nikki might put on some workshops in the future.... and I'll be sure to let you know if she does :-)

Would I go back?

Most definitely! Here's hoping I get the chance - call out to all gyms to pick up on the class and add it to your weekly timetable  :-) You won't regret it, I promise!

Visit Nikki's website at http://cityismyplayground.tumblr.com/ to see some more