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Blast your body ahead of party season at Best’s Bootcamp

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By KATIE ANN LAMB

It is the final countdown to Christmas which means copious parties, rich foods and lots of champagne- everything to help pile on the pounds. Some of us may have exotic overseas plans for the New Year or just prefer not to enter 2018 looking like Santa’s twin. So when I was asked to come and try ‘Best’s Bootcamp’, whose moto is Time to “BE YOUR BEST”, I was intrigued by what differentiates them to others.

Best’s Bootcamp currently has two locations Charing Cross and South Kensington offering bootcamp and spin. I popped down to the South Ken branch on a Saturday morning to try the ‘lower body’ class – 60 mins of torture for my bum and legs! All the sessions focus on one type of movement; push, pull or core/total body, ensuring that in every class, you move through all three planes of motion front to back, side to side and rotational achieving functional training.

Now I thought I was quite fit, but I am questioning that now! I can confidently say that I have never been to an exercise class as hard. No wonder the clientele all look liked Victoria’s Secret models. Best’s like to cover everything enabling you to go from studio to street without a suitcase of appliances. The spacious changing facilities have lockers with secure mobile phone charge points and free codes, so you don’t need to bring a padlock!

They are stocked with fluffy towels, GHD appliances, hairdryers and high-end Khiel’s hair, beauty and skincare solutions, ensuring that you have everything you need. There are fridge/freezers in the changing rooms so post work out you can grab a bottle of water, Ice lolly and best of all a lavender-scented iced sweat towel.

Everyone is allocated a specific numbered treadmill and floorspace, so you can swiftly move from one to another. The way the studios are laid out enables the instructors to have total visibility on your every move and you have a 360-degree view of them demonstrating each exercise.
After the ‘newcomer’ introduction, the lights go down and the class begins. Warm up was 10 minutes on the Free Motion Treadmills which are the only ones of their kind in Europe. They have pre-set speeds and inclines which saves time and ensures you get more from your time on the tread.

Once the sweat has commenced, you are moved back on the floor where the boxes are custom-made and unique to the studio, featuring soft padding, two different height options and a modular incline attachment. Here you work with kettlebells, ranging from 8kg to 24kg, and dumbbells, from 2.5kg to 15kg but there’s no slacking. This is all about achieving your best after all and there is constant encouragement to increase the weight and achieve the most out of each press, squat and lunge.

Throughout the class you alternate between the floor and treadmill whilst the intensity builds – pushing a sleigh and running with a parachute before you return to the floor and finish with an intense ab workout. The music really helped motivate me with good old Spice Girls amongst more modern-day tunes. Every day Best’s resident DJ mixes fresh tracks whilst they are regularly visited by some big names artists.

As hard as it was, Best’s really does deliver. When I stopped sweating and looking like a tomato I felt great and actually cant wait to go again! So if you want results you have to try out Best’s before the festivities begin.

The first timer session gives you a two for one session costing £20. Find out more at https://www.bestsbootcamp.com/