We’ve heard a lot about Barry’s Bootcamp, most of which terrified us. Which is why when we received an invite to try out one of the full bod workouts at the new East London location we jumped at the chance. Or should that be trembled…
Loved and relied upon by celebs such as Ellie Goulding and Victoria Beckham to get figure to die for, Barry’s promises to give your whole bod a blasting with HIIT workouts and resistance training.
**Barry's East **
Situated in Shoreditch, the new Barry's location takes up two floors of a fancy art deco building and looks like a slick hipster warehouse. The changing area is roomy and high tech with ghd hairdryers and straighteners available for you to defrizz your post-shower ‘do. Complimentary towels, digital lockers and Malin+Goetz products make things feel uber luxe. Forget your sneaks? No problem. Barry’s can provide 3 choices of trainers from the latest Nike running range to spare your blushes.
The workout studio is huge and bathed in red light, which instantly makes you feel tough. Like you’re going in for a Rocky-style workout. Each class lasts 60 minutes and targets specific areas of the bod. 25 monster treadmills line one wall in front of mirrors (so you can see how sweaty your red face is) with 25 workout benches on the other side of the studio.
** The Workout**
We’re instantly put to work on the treadmills by Sandy, building up to a light jog before moving on to sprints. Sandy shouted out speed amounts, encouraging you to shift your speed up to a certain number, depending on your ability. It’s TOUGH, especially if you’re not into treadmill running. And then when you have to punch the incline and run speedy fast UP A HILL… Ouchie. After 15 minutes on the ‘mills we move to the benches where we grab a pair of 4KG weights. 15 minutes of squats, lunges, planks and chest presses later we’re back (even sweatier) on the treadmills for another gruelling round of runs, this time taken by Bootcamp trainer Anya. Who warns she isn't "as nice" as Sandy, waaaaaah. 15 minutes later we hit the benches for ab-crunching moves and butt-lifting workouts, all the time being pushed and encouraged by Anya to give it our all. Which we really try to do because we want to look as buff as Anya.
**Review **
This workout isn’t for the faint hearted. The runs are vomit inducing for the run-shy and we swear we nearly fell of the treadmill more than once. But the need to beat your personal best speed/incline number is so great, by the end of the 2nd round of runs we were already making progress and our heart was racing. The weight work is perfect for toning up arms, legs, bums and abs and the pumping music makes it all so much fun. Oh, and the post-class Simply PB protein shake from the Fuel Bar in reception made the whole thing SO worth it. We’ll be back.
Class prices vary between £14-£20, depending on the class package.