Tag: Easygym

Behind the scenes – shooting with easyGym

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As some of you may know, in December I was asked to model for easyGym’s new ‘Set to Sweat’ programme, a 12 week guide aimed at beginner to intermediate women to improve their fitness, strength and physique. The shooting was done over 4 full days, filming each stage of each and every exercise.

I wrote this post to share with you some insights into the programme and what it was like to take part in such a big shoot.

But first, a HUGE shoutout to Felix the photographer and Sarah the assist (and fairy godmother/coffee bringer) for keeping the shoot interesting, relaxed and endlessly hilarious!

You’ll be seeing the full results of the shoot on the 8th March when the full guide comes out (also conveniently women’s day!). I’m so excited to see the final product – as you might know, I’m a huge advocate of getting women into the weights room, so it was so good to be able to partake in such an amazing shoot! Watch this space.

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Day 1 – already in need of a stretch

 

The gym:

Our shooting was done at easyGym in Wandsworth, one of their many locations around England. On the first day I arrived and was swiped in by the photographer, Felix up to their first floor (deceptively named, as it was about 7 flights up – thank goodness for lifts)! The gym was laid out almost totally open-plan, with cardio, floor, weights and free weights sections allowing plenty of space. It also meant there was little to no terror whilst entering the weights section because it was a continuous floor plan (no testosterone room, yay!). One entire wall was a huge window, which was really nice on the cardio machines that looked out onto the view (although it left a bit to be desired!). During our 4 days of shooting, there was only one piece of equipment that we couldn’t find (ab wheel) and there were plenty of each of the other machines, which meant no waiting!

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Cardio day

The exercises:

The exercises ranged from isometric holds on the floor, to bodyweight exercises to some quite intense weights-based exercises: after 10 minutes of bench pressing I started to wonder if I was even fit enough to take the photos, let alone actually do the programme! But the range of exercises meant that no one body part got too tired to continue, and over the four days every part of my body was fully worked out!

 

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Final day of shooting

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Day four, outfit two

The modelling:

Fitness modelling does not come naturally to me (or maybe for anyone?). I’m more than happy to workout and for people to take photos, but want a nice face along with that? Reeeeeeally tough! My workout face is probably NOT something you want blown up on a billboard. BUT, with a lot of practise (and some snazzy lighting from Felix), I finally got the hang of letting my face relax while my body did all the work. It’s the little things like licking your lips, scrunching your face and holding your breath that are difficult to get rid of, because you hardly notice you’re doing them.

I was able to choose my own clothes for the workout, but as a classic girl I brought along about four outfits every day to let Felix and Sarah decide which I should wear. Nothing that might clash with the easyGym orange, and nothing with big patterns, so that left basically my entire, mostly monochrome wardrobe.

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It’s always very serious on set

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Over and out

Thanks to easyGym for the use of their amazing gym!

 

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Bodypump – easyGym

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Before I start reviewing this class, I’d like to say some words on easygym – the reason I LOVE the idea of easyGym is that it’s totally affordable and has everything that is needed in a gym. It’s not ‘swanky’ or beautiful, like some of the (much) more expensive gyms in London, but is 100% functional. I attend the gym in Oxford Circus, London, but have also been to ones in Cardiff and Fulham. Easygym has everything needed for a good workout – plenty of floor space, mats, free weights and no shortage of cardio machines for all you cardio bunnies out there!

I was apprehensive about the class, to say the least – I’ve done my fair share of budget classes (hello university gym) and it appears you really do get what you pay for with classes! So whilst I set up my step-up bench and bar, I was half expecting to have to do another full workout after the class to make sure I got in a decent workout.

 

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The class started with a short lightweight barbell warm-up, before going straight into alternating leg and arm exercises. The great thing about this class was that Leo, the instructor, pushed people to use the heaviest weights they physically could. I think a lot of people, women especially, are so scared to use heavier weights, for fear of bulking up. However, the high reps used in this class are known to target both fast-twitch muscle fibres (the ones used for anaerobic fitness, such as weight-lifting) and slow-twitch fibres (used for aerobic fitness, like running). The high-repetition exercises are known to increase toning rather than bulking, so higher weights just means more fat burnt!

Another benefit to this class was that it didn’t just focus on one body part. This allowed for very little rest between sets – leg work was used as a ‘break’ from arms, which, once exhausted could be rested using more leg work.

The class lasted 45 minutes, most of which was spend working out – and hard. The music was thankfully loud enough to drown out my groaning, whimpering and the occasional swear word. In the end I was drenched in sweat, and pleased with how hard I had worked in the 45 minutes. Despite being 12:15pm on a Thursday afternoon, the class was packed – true testament to how good it was!

Good points:

  • No further workout was needed after 45 minutes – this was tiring enough for one day!
  • Cheap cheap cheap – membership is no contract and affordable for everyone
  • I couldn’t walk down stairs afterwards
  • The difficulty of the class could be altered to suit everyone’s ability, using different weights on the barbell
  • High energy, high fat-burning class

Less-good points:

  • The class was very full (although this didn’t seem to hinder anyone at all)

 

Cover photo from the Les Mills website,

For more information on the easy Gyms around the UK, check out https://www.easygym.co.uk