Frame Queen's Park

I kept on hearing about Frame gyms (the original one is in Shoreditch), so it was only a matter of time before I figured I should give their NW London outpost a try - luckily, the Queens Park branch is literally 15 min walk from home. It’s not a bad gym but I won’t necessarily share in everybody’s excitement. I used to be a Gymbox member, and in my mind Frame definitely falls within the same category: multiple high intensity classes with the nods to all the latest fitness trends, small groups, chatty and fun instructors, lively soundtrack. There’s boxing, there’s barre work, HIIT, TRX. Pilates is, of course, on the menu too. The same classes are being taught by different instructors, so you need to find the one who works for you and keep an eye on the schedule, as they seem to be on rotation. To be honest, I don’t quite get their big selling point - the top up card. The way it works is: you get the card, you then top it up and use it to book classes with a discount. It’s supposed to provide an option for those among us who don’t want to commit to a monthly membership but do want to exercise quite regularly. Now, the minimum top up amount is £50 and there’s an expiry date too. Go to pretty much any other class-oriented studio, and you can get packs of 5, 10, etc. classes with a discount, and yes, you need to take them within a specified time frame. So is it just me or there is no real difference between the class pack option and the much lauded Frame top up card? The changing rooms are also subpar: no lockers to keep your things, not enough showers. All in all, 3 stars from me, only because I genuinely enjoyed some of their classes (boxing is fun and a great stress reliever!), it is the closest studio to home offering multiple class options where I don’t need a monthly membership, and I really like their web-site name - moveyourframe.com. Smart!