Luxe Fitness: Barry’s Boot Camp

Like most people in January I put together a list of New Year resolutions, one of which was to get in shape for summer.

Whilst I must commend myself on the semi-regular appearance I’ve been making at my gym so far in 2014, I started noticing my once hour-long sessions turning into quick 20 minute drop ins with me barely breaking a sweat.  Realising that summer is only a few more coat-wearing months away I decided to grab my equally eager friend and give ‘The Best Workout in the World’ a go. I mean how hard could it be?

So, dressed head to toe in Stella McCartney for Adidas (a motivational January purchase) we headed to Barry’s Boot camp for an afternoon of exercise. The slick member’s club façade filled us with optimism, however once inside, the ‘army’ themed surroundings made it quite clear we were not there for cocktails!

We ordered our post work-out protein shakes and on taking a look around, we noticed everyone surrounding us embodied the fit, beautiful bodies we were there to try and be.

Faisal our instructor introduced himself and took us newcomers into the red illuminated room, where our adrenaline started pumping.

Despite warnings that he could tell when you weren’t pushing yourself and addressed this by yelling, turning treadmills up and increasing targets, we were still keen and eager to impress. He went on to  explain that the hour long class would consist of 4 sets of 15 mins, first the treadmill, then legs with weights, back on the treadmill and finish with abs and arms. Got it, fine, let’s go!

Before this experience, I fancied myself as a bit of a runner; I mean I could do a few kms no problem, but 10 mins into intense interval changing and sprinting at high inclines I realised just how hard I could be pushed.

Even the treadmills were state of the art pieces of technology and level 6 on one of these was definitely not the same as I am used to.  15 minutes of running like an axe murderer was chasing us later, we blissfully switched to the floor where our medicine balls, benches and weight were waiting for us.

Having never worked so hard on a treadmill before, I had to step outside and get some air, as the pumping nightclub atmosphere took over and I felt a little ill.  Like a true trooper my friend continued, and it wasn’t long before I was back in the room doing burpees alongside her.

If I thought the first half of the class was tough, the second half left it for dead.

Back on the treadmill, Faisal, now in full drill-sergeant mode, had not only instructed us to double the speed but had switched our high tech treadmills to ‘dynamic mode’ which essentially means moving the treadmill yourself, a feat not easily achieved.  Annoyingly, Faisal was very attentive and eager to increase the speed of our treadmills and we’d begun to severely dislike him and his encouraging smile.

Another 15 gruelling minutes later, and we collapsed onto our benches to do abs, with weights (of course) and despite being completely exhausted we were able to get through with the loud music and cheers of Faisal keeping us going.

The lights dimmed and the party atmosphere chilled: it was all over. We’d survived the best workout in the world. Just.

Faisal high-fived us and we made our way to the lockers to try and recover our appearances.

After freshening up in the slick bathrooms (towels provided so you don’t have to lug everything with you!) we headed to the Fuel Bar, where our mango protein smoothies were waiting.

One thing I noticed was how friendly everyone at Barry’s was.  Having got chatting to several boot campers about the class, everyone seemed to agree, that although the class will always be hard, you get the results you want and fast, which is definitely motivational.

Sitting, sipping our delicious treats, we were both pretty chuffed with ourselves, and the image of our sweaty, half- dying selves seemed like a distant memory. As we felt our muscles tingling and a dull ache in our legs, our dreams of perfect bikini bodies seemed that bit closer in reach.

Although Barry’s Boot camp is certainly not for the faint hearted, we both definitely testify to the fact it’s the best workout we’ve ever had and being suckers for punishment will be back for more….

 To find out more about Barry’s Bootcamp visit the website here >