Some days we feel tighter that a crowd of One Direction fans and a morning stretch just ain’t touching out crunchy limbs. In a bid to gain some flexibility we hit trendy fitness studio Frame in Shoreditch for a class that promised to give us moves even Jagger would be jeal of.
What is Frame?
Situated in hipsterville Shoreditch (there’s another studio in Queen’s Park), Frame built under railway arches. The reception and studios have open brickwork, huge windows and exposed piping to give it a cool warehouse-y feel. There are 5 studios in total, each different in design. Classes vary massively and range from lolz dance workshops, sassy ass ‘n’ abs sessions to kettlebell cardio and reformer pilates. The changing area is open plan with hot showers, REN prods and hairdryers.
The Class
A Bend It Like Barbie class sounds like you might trot around in sassy pink heels working a bend ‘n’ snap to rival Elle Woods, right? Think again. This class is one tough mudder but it is for all levels, whether it’s the splits or just touch your toes. Deep stretches might not sound scary but for the inflexible it’s HARD. That said the instructor was patient and attentive, providing blocks and straps to enable our tight bods to release a teeny bit further. Expect to contort your body into deep flex positions, holding until legs tremble and your butt starts to scream. We sweated, cursed (under out breath) and smiled when we actually managed a crab.
Overall
Though we struggled to do even the most basic of stretches, by the end of this class the need to learn to do the splits was major. Beware: when doing the deep groin strecth, if you're not used to it HOLD BACK. We hobbled for a few days after. That said, we’ll definitely be back and (hopefully) able to bend and touch our toes…