Only joking about the corner to curl up in afterwards, of course – it will hurt too much to curl up, at least if the session we tried at this new boutique gym is anything to go by. It felt like someone had loaded our coat with bricks when we put it on to leave.
That’s down to The Tone Room founder Sanjay Patel’s focus on free-weight workouts that zero in on body parts. “Most HIIT gyms will do upper body, lower body but we target areas like chest and back, or legs and bum,” explains Patel. “And because there’s not much space in here there’s no cardio – it’s all weight training done at a really high pace so you get a sweat session as well as a strength session.”
If you’re intrigued, but don’t live close enough to the West Hampstead studio in London to try a six-person max class or one-on-one session, get a taste with this chest and back session Patel shared with us.
Warm-up
Neutral-grip press-up
Reps 10
Get on all fours, hands underneath your shoulders holding parallette bars, legs straight and feet together resting your weight on your toes. Your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to your heels. Lower your chest towards the floor, keeping your elbows tucked in to your body, then press back up powerfully.
Renegade row
Reps 10 each side
Get into the top of a press-up, hands underneath your shoulders and gripping dumbbells with palms facing. Brace your body, then raise one of the dumbbells, supporting yourself on the other arm. Row the weight up until your upper arm is slightly higher than your torso, then slowly lower it back to the ground.
Walking plank
Reps 10
Start in a standard plank position, resting on your forearms with your body forming a straight line from shoulders to feet. Push up from the ground, one arm at a time, into the elevated press-up position, all while maintaining your rigid plank form. Reverse the move back to the starting position.
AMRAP Workout
This workout consists of two circuits, with each circuit done three times. Do all of the exercises in circuit one before resting for 1min. Repeat the circuit two more times, then move on to circuit two, following the same format. AMRAP (As Many Reps As Possible) means perform as many repetitions of each move as you can in the time allowed.
1A Press-up
Time 1min Rest 0sec
Get on all fours, hands underneath your shoulders, legs straight and feet together resting your weight on your toes. Your body should form a straight line from your shoulders to your heels. Lower your chest towards the floor, keeping your elbows tucked in to your body, then press back up powerfully.
1B Wide-grip pull-up
Time 1min Rest 0sec
Hold a pull-up bar with an overhand grip, hands wider than shoulder-width apart. Brace your core, then pull yourself up until your lower chest touches the bar. Lower until your arms are straight again.
1C Diamond press-up
Time 1min Rest 0sec
Start in a press-up position, but with your thumbs and index fingers touching to form a diamond. Keeping your hips up and core braced, bend your elbows to lower your chest towards the floor. Push down through your hands to return to the start.
1D Chin-up
Time 1min Rest 1min
Hold a pull-up bar with hands shoulder-width apart, palms facing you. Brace your core, then pull yourself up until your chin is over the bar. Lower until your arms are straight again.
2A Floor press
Time 1min Rest 0sec
Lie flat on your back on the floor, holding a dumbbell in each hand above your chest with straight arms. Lower the weights towards your chest, then press them back up powerfully to return to the start.
2B Medicine ball renegade row – right arm
Time 1min Rest 0sec
Get into the top of a press-up, hands underneath your shoulders, gripping a dumbbell in your right hand and with your left hand on a medicine ball. Brace your body, then raise the dumbbell, pressing down on the medicine ball with the other arm to support yourself. Row the weight up until your upper arm is slightly higher than your torso, then slowly lower it back to the ground.
2C Medicine ball renegade row – left arm
Time 1min Rest 0sec
Repeat the above but switch arms.
2D Narrow-grip pull-up
Hold a pull-up bar with an overhand grip, hands closer than shoulder-width apart. Brace your core, then pull yourself up until your chest touches the bar. Lower until your arms are straight again.
Time 1min Rest 1min
