The best gyms in London to know for 2022
Finding a great gym or workout class in London is like deciding which restaurant to eat at in the West End: there are your go-tos, the ones with five-star reviews, the lucky finds and the hidden gems, there are the ones where you have to sign up months in advance to get a specific time slot and those that come highly recommended from so-and-so at work... You get the point – we’re completely spoilt for choice, and it can be overwhelming. Especially, if you haven’t stepped foot in a gym in a while.
After months of virtual yoga and burpees in the garden, some gym-goers have cancelled their gym membership altogether – there’s nothing quite like a global pandemic to make you reassess how you spend your free time. But others are crying out for a return in routine (and their weekly spin class). So even though digital fitness (hello: Zwift) is here to stay, online-only workouts can’t replace the much loved traditional brick-and-mortar facilities – not in London, anyway.
Here are the best gyms and boutique studios to visit in the capital – offering everything from lifting weights and HIIT (high-intensity interval training) to reformer Pilates and gentle yin yoga. Namaste.
Miller HareBXR City at 22 Bishopsgate
Best for: taking your workouts to new heights
Found on the 25th floor of the City of London’s flagship commercial development, 22 Bishopsgate, this is London’s highest gym and offers – as you’d expect – the most incredible 360-degree views across the city. Brand new for February 2022, BXR City features the highest climbing wall in London. Alongside the members-only gym floor, BXR City will also be offering its boutique pay-to-train concept; Sweat by BXR. Expect sweaty Versaclimber classes, boxing, CrossFit-style strength and conditioning and even Pilates. Up for a challenge? Step into one of Jo-Leigh Morris’ TXR classes – which is pretty much all core, all the time.
Insider tip: Book the climbing wall at dawn to watch the sunrise across London.
Address: BXR City, 22 Bishopsgate, London, EC2N 4BQ
Price: from £2,250 per year
Website: bxrlondon.com/gym/city
Heartcore
Best for: reformer Pilates
There’s something pretty special about Heartcore. With seven studios across London in Bayswater, Chelsea, Fulham, Hampstead, Kensington, Notting Hill and St John’s Wood – each has its bespoke look and feel. The Chelsea studio, for example, has a huge gallery wall with an enviable collection of artwork, the St John’s Wood studio is housed in a restored church and the Fulham studio (my favourite) has bare brick walls that remind me of some cool Brooklyn apartment. Promising increased flexibility and fast muscle toning, reformer Pilates is often cited as the go-to fitness class of celebs – with the likes of Adele, Meghan Markle and Kate Hudson all raving about the benefits – but don’t let the word Pilates fool you into thinking it’s easy. Oh no, the reformer bench looks like a medieval torture machine for a reason. Luckily, the trainers at Heartcore have a way of floating you through the one-hour class, so even when you’re gritting your teeth through some variation of a side sit-up, you’ll be unwinding (read: probably flailing your limbs) into a full-spine stretch in no time. If you can, book yourself into one of Sam’s classes – she practically glows with infectious positivity. An hour in one of her classes will leave you feeling ready for anything.
Insider tip: Bring your own grippy socks to prevent yourself from sliding all over the machines.
Address: Heartcore, 723 Fulham Road, London, SW6 5UL
Price: from £20 per class
Website: weareheartcore.com/en-gb
Third Space
Best for: boutique health club
If I could magic a gym membership for free at any gym in London, I’d choose this one. With seven beautifully designed clubs across London – in Islington, Tower Bridge, Soho, City, Canary Wharf, Marylebone and, most recently, Mayfair – all featuring outstanding fitness spaces and luxurious changing rooms filled with cowshed products and fluffy towels, Third Space is so much more than a gym. It’s a destination. Most have swimming pools, steam and sauna rooms and all have a huge range of group training classes. Some offer individual perks that make them stand out from the rest, like Soho’s hypoxic chamber or Canary Wharf’s ‘The Yard’ (which consists of an expansive 8,000 square foot gym floor with custom built multi-functional rig) – it’s impressive and also rather intimidating. Their newest gym, which just opened in Mayfair, doesn’t even require membership cards – instead, it taps into facial recognition tech to let users in and out. I recently tried their fast-paced bodyweight HIIT class – which included far too many burpees for my liking – and upon leaving I was handed a lemon and verbena chilled towel to cool down with. It’s next-level luxury – a true fitness lover's playground.
Insider tip: If you’re new to lifting weights, try out the ‘Lift’ class for improving both your form and technique.
Address: Third Space, 22 Clarges Street, London, W1J 5FA
Price: membership rates start at £180 per month
Website: thirdspace.london
1Rebel
Best for: those with a short attention span who want a varied workout
Nothing quite sums up 1Rebel like the neon-lit signs they have dotted around their various studios. ‘Sore today, probably sore tomorrow,’ reads one. ‘Burpees don’t like you either,’ reads another. High paced, sweaty fun – 1Rebel is the King of transporting you from gym to nightclub with LED strobe lights and banging playlists. With studios dotted around the city in Victoria, Holborn, Hammersmith, Oxford Circus, Angel, Southbank, Bayswater and Liverpool St, 1Rebel offers four different workouts; Ride (check out their 80-seat spin studio ‘spaceship’ in Victoria), Rumble (a mixture of HIIT and boxing), Reshape (treadmill and weights), Rig (functional fitness) and, most recently, Reformer (based at their Oxford Circus flagship studio). I adore their treadmill sessions – it’s usually the first studio I go to when I’m in the mood for beating myself up (read: pushing my body to extortion) and offers an amazing hit of endorphins. Their Reformer class, which only launched this year, has had unprecedented demand and has been pretty much fully booked since officially opening. I tried the class last week and it isn’t reformer as you know it – expect sexy mood lighting, bass-heavy music and a gruelling abs finisher.
Insider tip: They provide you with boxing gloves and Ride shoes so you don’t need to bring anything but your A-game.
Address: 1Rebel, Market Hall, 9 Holles Street, London W1G 0DB
Price: from £23 per class
Website: 1rebel.com/uk
G BaxterFrame
Best for: dance classes and not taking yourself too seriously
Founded by friends Pip Black and Joan Murphy in 2009, the pair launched the first Frame studio in Shoreditch with a single mission – to make fitness fun. They wanted people to leave their insecurities at the door and instead of working out just to burn calories, to move their bodies simply because it made them feel good. Today, they have seven studios and more classes than I can count. There’s pretty much a class for every kind of day and mood – yoga to chill out, kettlebell classes for when you’re feeling pumped, rave and rebound to put a serious smile on your face, and there are classes with names like ‘ass and abs’ and ‘bend it like barbie’ that just scream positive vibes only. Inclusive, accessible and female-friendly, Frame has a feel-good approach. The sign as you enter Victoria reads: ‘If you’ve been bad, we’ll make you feel good’ – and it’s true, I’ve never left a Frame studio without feeling like I could take on the world.
Insider tip: Frame doesn’t provide towels for the showers, so you’ll either need to bring your own or hire one for £1.
Address: Frame, 25-33 Berners St, London, W1T 3LR
Price: from £16 per class (Intro Offer 2 classes for £20)
Website: moveyourframe.com
Core Collective
Best for: strength sessions that will leave you feeling empowered
With locations in High Street Kensington, Kensington and St John’s Wood, Core Collective is a boutique fitness studio that offers everything from yoga and stretch-specific classes to TRX, Pilates, spinning, circuits and – my personal favourite – rowing and weights. With convenient class times, swish and spacious changing rooms – complete with pristine showers stocked with dreamy Malin & Goetz products – and a lovely café at HSK for post-class refuelling and relaxing, there’s lots to like about Core Collective. But the standout feature has to be their trainers. Heloise, Joe, Carl and Paddy are honestly some of the best in the business. They’ll push you hard, call you out by name in class and be your biggest cheerleaders. They’re also really strict on form, so if you’re lifting a dumbbell without perfect technique, they’ll be sure to correct you (in a non-condescending way). This, I think, is invaluable. In so many strength classes across the city, you could be swinging a kettlebell (you know, those things that look like small metal handbags) or *trying* to master a split squat, but damaging your lower back. I’d so much prefer to be corrected and taught properly than unknowingly have bad form. Expect to leave feeling physically and mentally stronger.
Insider tip: Pretty much everyone here wears head to toe Lululemon, so dig out your best fit kit in the lycra drawer.
Address: Core Collective, 45 Phillimore Walk, London, W8 7RZ
Price: from £18 per class
Website: core-collective.co.uk
Barrecore
Best for: feeling the burn
If you want to strengthen your core, build lean leg muscle and work on your flexibility like never before, then it’s time to step up to the barre. Not just for ballet dancers, barre classes are essentially a fusion of moves from Pilates, yoga and, you guessed it, classical ballet. Barrecore is the original barre studio in London and offers eight different types of classes across 10 studios. Their most famous class, BarreSIGNATURE, uses a combination of bodyweight resistance, deceptively light weights and high reps to exhaust pretty much every single major muscle group (your glutes will be screaming at you to stop, and if they’re not quivering, then you’re probably doing something wrong). The Form class takes on a slightly slower pace – perfect for beginners, those recovering from injury or pregnant women – but still incredibly challenging. The last time I went I was practically hanging onto the barre for dear life – one leg in the air, pulsing and circling, while my standing leg (supposedly the supporting one) was shaking non-stop, begging me to straighten my legs and give up. This class tests your mental strength as well as your physical.
Insider tip: If you want to get in a little extra practice at home, you can do so via the on-demand platform (with no equipment needed).
Address: Barrecore, Ground Floor, 6 Cavendish Square, Lower, London W1G 0PD
Price: from £28 per class
Website: barrecore.com
duncan nichollsPsycle
Best for: spinning
Inspired by New York’s cult Soul Cycle, Psycle is, without a doubt, one of the best (and most fun) spin studios in London. Founded in 2014, what started as a single studio on Mortimer Street is now a four studio, multi-faceted global health and wellness brand. The Mortimer Street studio also offers strength, yoga and barre classes – but the spin classes, featuring disco lights, nightclub soundtracks and jargon you’ve never heard of (tap backs, what?), is really what Psycle is all about. The atmosphere is unbeatable, and it’s a great calorie-burning, high-intensity workout. Plus, it’s low-impact, so it’s ideal for anyone who can't – or, rather, prefers not to – run. If you’re feeling particularly brave, why not try “doing the double” and taking on a sweaty spin followed by yoga?
Insider tip: Brand new for January, try out the ‘Psycle with your Cycle’ programme, which has been created to help women ‘period-proof’ their workouts.
Address: Psycle, 76 Mortimer Street, London W1W 7SA
Price: from £22 per class (Intro Offer 3 classes for £40)
Website: psyclelondon.com
Barry’s Bootcamp
Best for: getting a serious sweat on
Barry’s Bootcamp – also known fondly as the ‘Red Room’ – is a vibe. Switching between treadmill-based cardio and floor-based weights, Barry’s is known for creating one of the most gruelling (but effective) 50-minute HIIT workouts around. So much so, they’ve actually dubbed it ‘The Best Workout in the World’ – claiming you can burn from 700 to 1,000 calories per class. With seven studios in London (and a new studio opening later this Spring – location yet to be announced), the format doesn’t ever change (why fix it if it’s not broken?) I’ve long been a fan of Barry’s workouts – mainly because I like having an instructor to hold me accountable – and those at Barry’s shout at you if you slack off, or come over to the treadmill and turn up the speed if you’re not working hard enough. It’s not everyone’s cup of tea – and certainly not for the faint of heart. Expect to leave rosy-cheeked, gasping for air and projectile sweating out of your pores.
Insider tip: Sign up for Hell Week, and take classes for seven days straight at a discount.
Address: Barry’s Bootcamp, 163 Euston Road, London, NW1 2BH
Price: from £24 per class
Website: barrysuk.com
Triyoga
Best for: yoga teachers in the making
Triyoga has established itself as the destination for yoga in London. So if you’re reading this and still feel like yoga just isn't your thing, or you think you prefer throwing weights around the gym to flowing on the mat, then maybe you just haven't tried the right kind of yoga yet. This is where Triyoga comes in. With studios in Camden, Chelsea, Ealing, Shoreditch and Soho, Triyoga offers so many different styles – dynamic classes, hot yoga, restorative yoga, yoga for beginners… the list goes on – that there is something for everyone. They also offer one-off workshops and teacher training – so if you’re thinking about becoming a yoga teacher, this is the place to do it.
Insider tip: While they do provide mats, if you have you’re own, bring it – especially if you’ve signed up for hot yoga. There’s nothing worse than the smell of someone elses’ lingering stale sweat.
Address: Triyoga, Unit 2, 10 Cygnet Street, London, E1 6GW
Price: from £18 per class
Website: triyoga.co.uk
KOBOX
Best for: venting frustrations
I won’t lie to you, I don’t like boxing. I have no coordination and the jab, cross, hook, duck, dive, whatever, confuses the hell out of me. But for the people who do actually like boxing – then you’ll love KOBOX. It has a disco feel – a fight club meets nightclub vibe – and follows a 50/50 formula where you spend half the class on the bags, following six-punch combinations that are projected on the walls, and half the class working up a sweat with HIIT exercises (think: burpees, mountain climbs, bicycle crunches). It’s dark and loud and sweaty, but the teachers are kind and know their stuff – making the classes work for beginners and pros alike.
Insider tip: Invest in wraps (to go under the boxing gloves) before your first class.
Address: KOBOX, 107 King's Road, London, SW3 4PA
Price: from £22 per class
Website: koboxboxingclub.com
FLY LDN
Best for: an escape from the city
This studio in Aldgate is all about immersive workouts – the Pilates and yoga classes are played out alongside powerful playlists and videos of mesmerising mountains and tumbling waves. Attacking all your senses, the immersive surroundings help you to relax and enjoy the low-impact classes more effectively. If you can’t get out of the city, then the next best thing is doing a downward dog while imagining you’re somewhere else entirely.
Insider tip: It’s hidden down a side road and is a 10-to-15-minute walk from most Tube stations so leave enough time to get there.
Address: FLY LDN, 24 Creechurch Lane, London, EC3A 5EH
Price: from £17 per class
Website: flyldn.co.uk
KX
Best for: luxury gym for the rich and famous
KX is a high-end members club located in the heart of Chelsea, with a spa open to non-members – and it’s by far the swankiest gym on this list (thanks to its eye-watering membership fee). It feels a lot more like a five-star hotel than a gym and with an emphasis on one-on-one personal training – it’s next-level bespoke. When you join, each member undergoes a ‘Wellness Assessment’ – which includes a lifestyle consultation (covering all aspects of your diet, exercise, sleep and general wellness), a body composition test (looking at skeletal muscle, body fat, visceral fat, waist circumference and BMI) and also a cellular blood test, so the PTs on standby can give you a truly tailored training plan. KX gym runs up to 80 group gym classes every week, but what impressed me the most about KX wasn’t its fully equipped gym or even the cutting-edge studios – it was the red fit cardio lab, which allows members to combine photobiomodulation therapy (PBM) with exercise. The idea is that you train at a low intensity under the red lights and your body should become fitter, stronger and less stressed. Sign me up.
Insider tip: Try out the new classical Pilates class, which is a bespoke one-on-one session.
Address: KX, 151 Draycott Avenue, London, SW3 3AL
Price: membership rates start at £615 per month, with a joining fee of £2,000
Website: kxlife.co.uk
FLEX
Best for: practising your sun salutations
With sun-draped, light and airy studios, Luxury boutique studio FLEX, located in the heart of Chelsea, is the opposite of the dark, nightclubby workouts that frequent the London fitness scene. Offering various types of yoga – from chill yoga to help align your body and breath, to Dharma yoga for practising those arm balances and inversions and even CBD yin – FLEX also offers spinning, barre, Pilates, 'FLEXi Beast' and ‘Peach for the Beach’. The owner, Chatty Dobson, is a ray of sunshine – she beams positivity and it’s honestly infectious. Last summer, FLEX offered yoga in the park (when Covid rules tightened), but it was such a success, I’m hoping they bring it back again this year. Because who doesn’t want to start the day with a downward dog in the fresh air? They’re regularly coming up with new concepts – self-defence classes for women, kids yoga and even cancer rehab for those who’ve had a cancer diagnosis or finished treatment but don’t know where to start when it comes to getting back to exercise.
Insider tip: If you’re new to the studio, you can get your first 3 classes for half price.
Address: FLEX, 293 Fulham Road, London, SW10 9PZ
Price: from £22 per class
Website: flexchelsea.com
The Foundry
Best for: functional fitness
Is there any better use of 45 minutes in the pursuit of health than dragging yourself down to The Foundry? I think not. Boasting three gyms – Vauxhall, Old Street and Bank – The Foundry is, quite literally, where the strong belong. And, because of that, it can feel a little intimidating to walk into for the very first time. But, with some of the nicest coaches around, you’ll soon feel at ease (well perhaps not while flipping a tyre or pushing a sledge, but you know what I mean). Founded by Ben Gotting and Dave Thomas, The Foundry offers a mix of strength classes and semi-private personal training – and the classes are hard. Get yourself booked into one of Laura’s (also known as ‘Biceps’) classes. Her utter, unwavering belief in you rubs off – and you’ll start believing you can lift the ‘heavy’ weights and break through your endurance barriers, too.
Insider tip: Don’t wear running trainers, you’ll end up slipping everywhere while pushing the prowler.
Address: The Foundry, Beaufoy Walk, off Black Prince Road, London, SE11 6AA
Price: from £20 per class
Website: foundryfit.com
Gymbox
Best for: expert programming
Arguably London’s boldest gym chain – with clubs in Bank, Covent Garden, Ealing, Elephant and Castle Farringdon, Holborn, Old Street, Victoria, Westfield London and Westfield Stratford – Gymbox is constantly launching new class ideas to keep its members entertained. It’s latest? ‘Tumbling’ – a class dedicated to teaching you holds, rolls, cartwheels and flips to up your tumbling game. It's easy to see why Gymbox has built a cult following; with resident DJs, a seriously creative studio timetable, Olympic sized boxing rings, combat cages and world-class free weights sections. There’s no other gym quite like it.
Insider tip: You’ll need to bring a padlock for the lockers – opt for a combination lock if possible, to avoid carrying a key around whilst using the gym.
Address: Gymbox, 12a Leather Lane, London, EC1N 7SS
Price: Memberships start from £84 for 12 months or £105 per month to pay-as-you-go
Website: gymbox.com