When time is short, a high calorie burning class can be just the ticket. London is bursting with sweaty options, from sprint training to cardio blasts, with some promising calorie burns of up to 1,000 per class.
But you can’t get a complete snapshot from looking at calories alone. PT Rachael Sacerdoti, founder of Its So Simple, advises looking for a workout that combines cardio and strength training. “Cardio is great for so many things, including heart and lung health, but it’s not the only thing to consider when you’re trying to lose fat: you need to do weight training to preserve muscle and avoid weight plateau as increased muscle mass increases your metabolism.”
Here are some of the best high-burners around the Capital.
Barry’s signature, multiple London locations
If you go all out, you can burn up to 1,000 calories in a Barry’s signature workout – which goes some way to explain why it’s attracted such a cult following, including celebrity fans like David Beckham, Naomi Campbell and Harry Styles. The sweaty magic happens in its trademark “Red Room”, where short bursts of running on a treadmill (advanced fans get up to speeds of 12.5mph) are combined with resistance training. “Interval training on treadmills combined with strength training with free weights means not only do you burn calories during our classes, but your body will continue the ‘afterburn’ for hours afterwards,” Barry’s UK co-owner and master trainer, Sandy Macaskill, says.
Single classes cost £26 (new clients get 50% off); weekly memberships start from £54 and monthly memberships start from £160. barrys.com
Reformer Barre + Jumpboard, The Reformery, east London
Pilates is just lying down, right? Not when you add in reformer machines, barre moves and a “jumpboard”. “When you combine Reformer Pilates with the jumpboard you get the added benefits of a calorie burning, low impact cardio workout that builds endurance and all over strength and conditioning,” Rachel Stephenson, Pilates instructor and owner of the chic Reformery studio in east London, says, estimating a calorie burn of around 300 calories per class. “I've seen the transformative power first hand,” she says. “The results are amazing.”
Single class £23, 3 sessions for £55; thereformery.co.uk
Hyrox, Gymbox, multiple London locations
The tough Hyrox class at Gymbox incorporates cardio, resistance and high-power circuits to really torch calories and build strength: Firas Iskandarani, master trainer at Gymbox says you can burn up to 1,500 calories. It’s not for the faint hearted. “The purpose of the class is to enhance performance in Hyrox competitions, training your body to utilise energy in multiple ways. It’s a hard class, but there’s a real sense of community,” he says.
Day passes from £20; monthly membership from £90; gymbox.com
Sprint sessions, ONE TRACK, west London
Sprint sessions are not only the best way to torch calories (up to 500 calories per session), but also improve your pace. The next gen running app Onetrack Club provides sprint sessions on a track in Chelsea and Barnes. “Sprint interval training (SIT) typically involves sprinting at a high speed for 10 and 30 seconds and with long recoveries,” head coach and co-founder Anthony Fletcher says. “Over the next 24 hours calorie burning has been shown to be higher with SIT when compared to HIT (High Intensity training).” For those who can’t make it IRL, the app also has virtual sessions.
From £5 per session, onetrack.club
PACE, KXU, west London
The 50-minute treadmill-based workout at KXU in Chelsea combines endurance runs on an incline with sprints at 80% effort and even faster 90-second runs, which can lead to up to 600 calories being burned during the class. “The variation keeps your heart rate fluctuating, triggering the "afterburn" effect, which means you continue to burn calories long after the workout ends,” Luke Bailey, KXU GM and coach, says. “It improves your overall fitness level, making you more efficient at burning fat even at rest."
£35 for single session or 3 classes for £45 for new clients, kxu.co.uk
FIT AS____A BOXER, FIT AS, east London
You only need to conjure up an image of Rocky to know that boxing delivers a body fit for the ring. At Leyton’s FIT AS____, a professional boxer guides you through the correct boxing techniques, while delivering a calorie-busting boxing workout, that will increase your physical endurance and mental agility while burning up to 800 calories an hour. “It's amazing cardio as the 'rest' periods are used skipping or other cardio so it's constant movement throughout,” founder and PT Ed Conway says.
Single class £17, or from £11 for block bookings. Unlimited classes, £80 per month, fitasf-ck.com
FRAME STRENGTH, multiple London locations
FRAME’s upbeat strength class encourages you to use increasingly heavy weights each set with a cardo finisher at the end of each set. “Because muscle uses more calories than fat, building muscle in a strength training class, using medium-heavy weights, will turn you into a more efficient calorie-burning machine, long after your class has finished,” FRAME co-founder Pip Black says, who estimates up to a 450-calorie burn per class. “It also really boosts your mood.”
Single class, £16; memberships from £80 per month. moveyourframe.com
Challenge, Metabolic, north London
The goal of The 45-minute “Challenge” at Metabolic in Camden is to try and finish the combo of strength, endurance and intensity within the time limit and get to the top of the leaderboard. There’s a mix of heavy weights, sleds, ski, bike, runner and rowers. The classes are small – it’s “coached group training” rather than a big impersonal class, which means there’s nowhere to hide – some clients have burned up to 900 calories in a session. “The idea is to keep the body guessing which we find is a great way to achieve a high calorie burn,” Lawrence Hannah CEO and founder of Metabolic says.
