Resistance at Core Collective

What they say

Our 45 minute TRX class. Stamina meets strength. Work your whole body with hundreds of exercises. By your body, for your body.

From the outside

What I say

Having received a lot of press as one of London's leading luxury gyms, Core Collective opened in summer last year at Holland Park in the borough of Kensington, and I was delighted to be trailing out their well renowned Resistance TRX class... which certainly lived up to expectations!

The class in action!

What we did

"We're going to begin with abs," we were told by the instructor as soon as we entered the studio. Great, I thought to myself, he's going to ease us in nicely with some gentle ab work. Ha - I'd be lucky, as what came was the most intense fifteen minutes of abs I'd ever experienced! With our feet in the TRX, arms on the floor, we went straight into full body planks, before rolling onto one side for side planks, adding in dips to work deep into the obliques. 

Next up was TRX pikes, lifting our feet into the body and keeping the core strong, followed by TRX oblique crunches, great for working the smaller stabilizing  muscles in the core. Double leg raises, body slaws, mountain climbers, ab roll outs.... the fun continued!

Ab roll outs

"Most routines would finish with abs, however by working the core first and exhausting these muscles, all the remaining exercises will continue to work your body extra hard", the instructor explained. 

No pain, no gain, as we continued with the remainder of the full body workout. Piston squats, lateral raises, chest presses, atomic push ups, TRX rows - this is my excuse for looking so bad in the photos below...I was working too hard to look graceful!

Chest presses

Side Squat

Instructor 10/10

Our trainer, Ben, was just what you would expect from a top end luxury gym. Very experienced, the workout he had put together had muscles working that I never knew existed.

Our trainer

Intensity 9/10

As the class isn't a cardio one, I didn't expect it to be too intense.... but boy, was I wrong! With the music blaring, feel-good endorphins were pumping, and I left exhausted, but buzzing!

The professionals - looking slightly better than me!

Amenities 10/10

The amenities at Core Collective could not have been more impressive. As you enter you walk into a large cafe/lounge area, with teas, coffees, snacks, and comfy sofas with a selection of magazines. 

Seating area

Post workout fuel!

Water galore - you'll need it!

Everyone is given a free bottle of water from the fridges  before going downstairs to the changing rooms, where there are a selection of modern, and decent sized, lockers to choose from, all that can be locked by entering your own passcode. No more forgetting to bring your padlock/ pound coin to operate them, or cramming all your things into a tiny little space-  my pet hate!

Lockers

Meanwhile, the large waterfall head showers are kitted out with Bamford organic shampoo, conditioner and body wash.

Shower

Yay - nice toiletries!

And it didn't stop there! Going well beyond the token crummy hairdryer you'd find in some gyms, Core Collective offer powerful GHD driers, straighteners and, being curly haired, to my delight they even had the GHD curling wand. And to make sure your look stayed in place, there was GHD hairspray, heat protector, styling cream and balm. Having looked absolutely awful leaving the class red faced and dripping with sweat,  I left feeling like I was walking out of a top notch hairdresser, not a gym!!

GHD stylers

Salon worthy beauty stations

Would I go back?

Most definitely! With 5 classes in total (see below),  each class runs approx 8 times per day, so you're never struggling to fit in your favourite! Aside from returning to Resistance, I'm looking forward to also trailing out Accelerate and some Power Yoga!

Watch this space, hopefully some more reviews to come!