Everyone knows someone who has converted to the cult of F45, a Sydney-born, now-global chain of specialty gyms where instructors lead 45-minute sessions of high-intensity interval training that’ll leave you knackered in the best possible way. Somehow both at once incredibly gruelling and impossibly fun, the workouts will have you rotating between stations across the gym floor with a mixture of high-intensity interval training (HIIT), cardio training and strength training.
The Little Collins gym is tucked away below street level and provides all the basics: cubby holes for belongings, toilets and showers (though these are limited, so if you’re after a shower post-workout, prepare to wait in line). There are about 20 participants signed up to every class, and the F45 Athletics Department have developed 31 different 45-minute workouts, so it’s likely you’ll never do the same workout twice. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, sessions are cardio-based; on Tuesdays and Thursdays, sessions are resistance-based; and on Saturdays, it’s a hearty mix of the two. There’s a new workout every day, which is repeated at two early morning sessions, a lunchtime class, and two afternoon and evening sessions.
Instructions come by way of gifs on screens throughout the gym, with two very enthusiastic trainers coming around to encourage you and check on your form. The goal of the workout is to get your heart pumping as soon as possible and for as long as possible, so if you’re the kind of person who likes to take their time with each exercise you might feel a little whiplash thanks to the sheer speed of it all.
But the camaraderie of F45 participants is what will have you coming back. The clientele is mostly nearby office workers and it’s about 50/50 male to female. Lots of the sessions make you pair up with someone, so if you’re too awkward to grunt and sweat within a metre of someone else, this might be a challenge.
There are three membership options with no joining fee. The Flexi has no lock-in contract and is $69 a week, the Lifestyle is a six-month contract and is $64 a week, and the Champion is a 12-month contract and is $60 a week. Members can suspend their memberships for up to six weeks per year if needed, as well.
F45 is also open in Chinatown on Tattersalls Lane and on Exhibition Street at the top end of the city.
Best for: the time poor
