Whole-Body Workout at Heartcore

As I type, my stomach muscles are screaming at me. Not just the top or the bottom – all of them. If I stand, I know that my thighs will get in on the banshee chorus. But the odd part is…it’s a good pain.

The cause of all of this aching is a fitness class named Heartcore. I don’t know what I was expecting when I went – some kind of hideous, pumping-it-out-in-the-gym super-cardio session, I suppose – but this wasn’t it. It is a mixture of pilates techniques combined with circuit training exercises – and it is awesome.

I met with owner Jess Schuring in the Chelsea studio for a one-on-one session (you know; those in which you can never hide or slack) and we jumped right into it. Using the reformer machines we worked through a series of exercises, Jess cheering me on all the way. And we stretched everything. Thighs: outer and inner. Stomach: as mentioned, every muscle in there, including some I didn’t know I had. Arms and shoulders: lifting my tea now causes a twinge, I’m not going to lie. And rather than hating it and cursing the ‘no pain, no gain’ philosophy, I loved every second.

It’s an incredibly stimulating form of exercise. You can feel it doing you good. You know you’re going to hurt a bit the next day (or I did, at least) but you don’t care. It honestly is enjoyable. The idea behind it is that it’s good for everybody, of whatever level of fitness and training. Want to push it harder? Just increase the resistance on the machine. And it’s brilliant for your posture and balance: you simply can’t do the exercises properly if you don’t get into the right position and hold yourself there.

The studio at Chelsea is beautiful – I loathe and despise gym culture, and this was a world away. It’s light and airy and beautiful, peaceful but energised, and extremely welcoming. It exudes health, and just being there makes you feel positive. There are three other studios: at Hampstead, Notting Hill and Kensington, and the classes within all of these are small, which is rather comforting.

I had a go at Heartcore’s signature class, but they provide other forms of exercise too, generally incorporating their own style. You’ll find spinning classes, kettle belling and suspension training, all of which can be mixed with the classic Heartcore exercises.

A nice touch is that the first class is always free for new clients, so you can get an idea of what’s involved before signing up. Then you can pay for classes, from single sessions to batches of 40 at a time, with the price varying from £25 to £16 per session depending on how many you go for. A word of warning: I think this may be a rather addictive form of health – I’m in pain but I’d still probably go again today!

Heartcore Chelsea
6 Burnsall Street
Chelsea
SW3 3ST

Heartcore Hampstead
50 Hampstead High Street
Hampstead
NW3 1QG

Heartcore Notting Hill
36 Uxbridge Street
Notting Hill
W8 7TN

Heartcore Kensington
11a Stratford Road
Kensington
W8 6RF

Tel: 020 7435 5078

www.heartcore.co.uk