The Sunday Times Style 55 54 The Sunday Times Style Style Fit “Hellooo, Monday,” the instructor Megan Roup says merrily while mop- ping sweat from the floor of the industrial-chic Manhattan studio with a towel. I’ve just completed her 50-minute morning Sculpt Society class — a perversely fun yet punish- ing dance workout — and my body’s in a slight state of shock as I join the 31-year-old trainer and a few classmates for a complimentary iced nitro coffee (only in New York). Although everyone — Roup included — is drenched in sweat, her fans can’t seem to get enough of her class, even if their compliments could, out of context, be miscon- strued as insults. “No matter how many times you come here, it’s still really hard,” says one class-goer, a business- woman with her own fashion label. Roup, a former dancer, is one of a small group of train- ers selected to teach at the new Project by Equinox, a lab-cum-studio in NoLIta (north of Little Italy) dedicat- ed to discovering the next big thing in fitness. It’s the exercise equivalent of a tech incubator — or workout factory — giving instructors a regular studio slot to test and tweak their programmes on fitness guinea pigs pay- ing $35 (about £26) per session for the honour. Other new concepts that have come out of the studio WELCOME TO the WORKOUT FACTORY include Namaste Strong (a take on yoga that targets strength and focus, with the aim of improving upside- down poses), Babes & Bands (a resistance-band workout for “glute sculpting”) and the circuits class #TMI (“tempo, metabolic, isometric”). Anyone willing to pay can attend, but it’s especially popular with models and fitness influencers who want to keep abreast of the new- est workouts. If you’re wondering who to thank — or blame, depend- ing on your tolerance to #fitspo and the wellness world — for the emergence of spaces like this, look no further than social media. Now that photographing and filming classes is the norm, and even the most seemingly grounded people can’t resist sharing their workouts on Instagram, the demand to stay ahead of the curve with fresh content is insatiable. And because fitness devotees can follow trainers’ every move online — whether it’s in London, New York, LA, or Surbiton, in the case of the Body Coach, Joe Wicks — there is prestige in taking classes with certain instructors. Project has a video-capture system so instructors can film social-media content, as well as colour-shifting studio lights and USB ports in the lockers — great for ’grammers. But the studio cares about more than just its online follow- ing; it takes its classes and building a community seriously , too. It has a start-up feel, where trainers attend each other’s sessions and look to one another for support and inspiration. Roup has spent years working on her class, but still considers it a work in progress. She says the premise was “to create a class that was under an hour where you could get everything you needed”, and since joining the studio a few months ago, she has been constantly honing her programme. She listens to feedback from clients, tweaking sessions as she goes, and has designed customised “sliders” (for gliding legs and arms around on the floor) to use in the class. In line with the hyper image-conscious nature of workouts in 2017, the design has been adapted not only for the specific needs of her class but also to feature her personal branding. “I never want to get to a point where ‘This is it, this is the best class.’ There needs to be an ever-evolving aspect to constantly make it better,” she says. According to the studio director Vanessa Martin, 32, clients come to the space for the “experience” as much as a workout. “They know the backstory behind this space is complete innovation. So you’re not just getting to take a class with a trainer, you’re getting a piece of Megan’s mind.” Martin’s hope is that this class could get picked up and rolled out across Equinox gyms. “I know it will,” she says, and when that happens, “people will remem- ber when she was teaching classes at Project and they were a part of that process or gave feedback”. Project is part of a big shift in the fitness industry. In a world where even a stroll in the park can be monitored with little more than a swipe, and DNA analysis is readily available by post (I once did one, only to have it confirmed that, alas, I have no untapped extraordi- nary sporting potential lingering in my chromosomes), people increasingly want to be at the cutting edge of fitness and expect visible results. This, com- bined with ever cheaper technology, is giving rise to a whole range of services — such as Bodyspace, which recently opened at the Corinthia hotel in central London — that are geared to provide mere mortals with access to elite treat- ment formerly the preserve of athletes and the very wealthy. This mindset also applies to fitness. People no longer want to rock up to class, get their workout done and then vanish; they want to be part of commu- nities leading the next fitness trends; then, ideally, spend the rest of the day taking selfies and proudly stewing in their fitness gear. Whether or not you subscribe to any of that if, like me, you are easily bored by repetition, the fact that no class is the same is a huge draw of the fitness start-up scene. A word of warning: be careful what you wish for in the post-workout feedback session — it might just become a reality in your next class. Forget spinning — at Project, the fitness version of a tech incubator, trainers test new ideas on the public. Miranda Bryant heads down to find out what’s coming to a gym near you soon GO PRO ATHLETE LAB The London-based cycling studio sends clients ride data so they can analyse their performance after every session. Because of the equipment used, it’s comparable to any real outdoors ride. You can track your progress with physiological and biomechanical testing using the same markers as the pros. athlete-lab.co.uk THE MANCHESTER INSTITUTE OF HEALTH & PERFORMANCE Used by top athletes and sports teams, the centre does everything from environmental chamber training to 3D performance capture. While targeted at pros, anyone can use its facilities if you’re prepared to pay. mihp.co.uk SPEEDFLEX Participants use lifting machines and do other high-intensity exercises for a full-body workout wearing monitors that show their heart rate on a screen. Studios in Newcastle, London, West Byfleet and Cork. speedflex.com GO PRO EAST
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The Sunday Times Style 5554 The Sunday Times Style
Style Fit
“Hellooo, Monday,” the instructor Megan Roup says merrily while mop-ping sweat from the fl oor of the industrial-chic Manhattan studio with a towel. I’ve just completed her 50-minute morning Sculpt Society class — a perversely fun yet punish-ing dance workout — and my body’s in a slight state of shock as I join the 31-year-old trainer and a few classmates for a complimentary iced nitro coffee (only in New York ).
Although everyone — Roup included — is drenched in sweat, her fans can’t seem to get enough of her class, even if their compliments could, out of context, be miscon-strued as insults. “No matter how many times you come here, it’s still really hard,” says one class -goer, a business-woman w ith her own fashion label.
Roup, a former dancer, is one of a small group of train-ers selected to t each at the new P roject by Equinox , a lab-cum-studio in NoLIta (north of Little Italy) dedicat-ed to discovering the next big thing in fi tness. I t’s the exercise equivalent of a tech incubator — or workout factory — giving instructors a regular studio slot to test and tweak their programmes on fi tness guinea pigs pay-ing $35 (a bout £26) per session for the honour.
Other new concepts that have come out of the studi o
WELCOME TO
theWO
RK
OU
T FACTORY
include Namaste Strong (a take on yoga that targets strength and focus, with the aim of improving upside-down poses), Babes & Bands (a resistance-band workout for “glute sculpting”) and the circuits class #TMI (“tempo, metabolic, isometric ”) . Anyone willing to pay can attend, but it’s especially popular with models and fi tness infl uencers who want to keep abreast of the new-est workouts.
If you’re wondering who to thank — or blame, depend-ing on your tolerance to #fi tspo and the wellness world — for the emergence of spaces like this, look no further than social media. Now that photographing and fi lming classes is the norm, and even the most seemingly grounded people can’t resist sharing their workouts on Instagram, the demand to stay ahead of the curve with fresh content is insatiable. And because fi tness devotees
can follow trainers’ every move online — whether it’s in London, New York, LA, or Surbiton, in the case of the Body Coach, Joe Wicks — there is prestige in taking classes with certain instructors.
P roject has a video -capture system so instructors can fi lm social -media content, as well as colour-shifting studio lights and USB ports in the lockers — great for ’grammers. But the studio cares about more than just its online follow-ing; it takes its classes and building a community seriously , too. It has a start-up feel, where trainers attend each other’s sessions and look to one another for support and inspiration.
Roup has spent years working on her class, but still considers it a work inprogress. She says the premise was “to create a class that was under an hour where you could get everything you needed”, and since joining the studio a few months ago, she has been constantly honing her programme. She
listens to feedback from clients, tweaking sessions as she goes, and has designed customised “sliders” (for gliding legs and arms around on the fl oor) to use in the class. In line with the hyper image-conscious nature of workouts in 2017, the design has been adapted not only for the specifi c needs of her class but also to feature her personal branding. “I never want to get to a point where ‘This is it, this is the best class.’ There needs to be an ever-evolving aspect to constantly make it better,” she says.
According to the studio director Vanessa Martin , 32 , clients come to the space for the “experience” as much as a workout . “They know the back story behind this space is complete innovation . So you’re not just getting to take a class with a trainer, you’re getting a piece of Megan’s mind.” Martin’s hope is that this class could get picked up and rolled out across Equinox gyms. “I know it will,” she says, and when that happens, “people will remem-ber when she was teaching classes at P roject and they were a part of that process or gave feedback”.
P roject is part of a big shift in the fi tness industry. In a world where even a stroll in the park can be monitored with little more than a swipe, and DNA analysis is readily available by post (I once did one, only to have it confi rmed that, alas, I have no untapped extraordi-nary sporting potential lingering in my chromosomes), people increasingly want to be at the cutting edge of fi tness and expect visible results. This, com-bined with ever cheaper technology, is giving rise to a whole range of services — such as Body space , which recently opened at the Corinthia hotel in central London — that are geared to provide mere mortals with access to elite treat-ment formerly the preserve of athletes and the very wealthy.
This mindset also applies to fi tness. People no longer want to rock up to class, get their workout done and then vanish ; they want to be part of commu-nities leading the next fi tness trends; then, ideally, spend the rest of the day taking selfi es and proudly stewing in their fi tness gear. Whether or not you subscribe to any of that if, like me, you are easily bored by repetition, the fact that no class is the same is a huge draw of the fi tness start-up scene. A word of warning: be careful what you wish for in the post-workout feedback session — it might just become a reality in your next class.
Forget spinning — at Project, the fi tness version of a tech incubator, trainers test
new ideas on the public. Miranda Bryant heads down to fi nd out what’s coming
to a gym near you soon
GO PROATHLETE LAB
The London-based cycling studio sends clients ride data so they can analyse their performance after every session. Because of
the equipment used, it’s comparable to any real outdoors ride. You can track your progress
with physiological and biomechanical testing using the
same markers as the pros .athlete-lab.co.uk
THE MANCHESTER INSTITUTE OF HEALTH &
PERFORMANCEUsed by top athletes and sports teams, the centre does everything
from environmental chamber training to 3D performance
capture . While targeted at pros, anyone can use its facilities if
you’re prepared to pay.mihp.co.uk
SPEEDFLEX
Participants use lifting machines and do other high-intensity
exercises for a full -body workout wearing monitors that show their
heart rate on a screen. Studios in Newcastle , London , West
Byfleet and Cork . speedflex.com
GO PRO
EAST
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