Dance your way to a New You...

Love London

It's January, Christmas is over and it's safe to say we're probably all paying the price for a few weeks of overindulging; abusing the brie/paté/Quality Street in the last month has definitely left my jeans a little snug...

Fear not, help is at hand. If (like me) the idea of pounding the treadmill in a gym bored you to tears (I need a class, group activity or bootcamp to get me interested...) Frame studio in Shoreditch might be more to your taste - if you've ever taken dance classes, or just love the idea of getting fit in a more fun way, you should definitely pay Frame a little visit.

A short walk from Liverpool Street station, Frame is nestled between Great Eastern Street and Shoreditch High Street (an uber convenient 10 minute walk from my house...) and was created as a dance, fitness and holistic studio by some wonderful people who believed (correctly) that getting fit shouldn't be a chore. Classes range from yoga and pilates, to Vibe (power plate), fitness, and all kinds of dance from ballet and street jazz to 80s disco, music video, Hip Hop and musical theatre. Weekend afternoons are dedicated to workshops, so if you've ever wanted to dance like Britney or Rihanna this is the place for you.

Perfect for the new year is Frame's menu of Bootcamps; combining several different classes across the course of a few weeks, there are options such as Kickstart (great for imrpoving fitness and burning calories), The Downsize (best for the time poor) and Dance It Off - ---perfect for those who would rather shimmy than squat, you'll tone up without even realising you're working out.

I recently hauled myself down to Frame for their Frame Method Bootcamp, 4 classes a week for 4 weeks made up of a mixof the 3 Frame Signature classes and a combination of exercises taking inspiration from Pilates, yoga, fitness and dance, leaving you with a long, lean physique. Specially formulated to provide an exciting and varied non-impact workout which moves seamlessly between exercises, the 3 Frame Signature classes include:

Frame-Method: a series of simple isometric exercises that strengthens and stretches every muscle group in the body to create a long, lean and sculpted physique. Aided by a combination of small equipment (ballet barre, Pilates ball, Frame cushion and a yoga strap) and utilising your own body weight it's a vigorous, energetic but low-impact class takes place at the barre and on the mat.

Frame-Barre: an unconventional, fitness and ballet fusion workout. Drawing together exercises from the gym floor to the dance floor, this is high intensity cardio and body shaping class and a complete body workout for your heart, lungs and muscles.

Frame-Work: a complete mix of all Frame has to offer, packed into one hour-long class. A calculated mix of exercises inspired by dance, fitness, yoga and Pilates. Grin and bear it through this low-intensity, but muscle-burning sequence of conditioning and strength building exercises to create a long, lean, toned body and increase your flexibilty.

The combination of the three classes will work your muscles to the point of fatigue - each is a serious workout that you will definitely feel afterwards, but will leave you feeling amazing. At £160 for the four weeks it is probably more expensive than your gym membership, however if you're serious about making a change and want to do it in a fun way, it's worth it.

Alternatively, Frame offers membership or a pay-and-go system, so you can choose to rock up for a class whenever you're free. Plus they have a number of great discount offers throughout January to help kickstart our new year fitness drives!

For more information visit www.moveyourframe.com

Love Laurel x

Posted Date
Jan 8, 2012 in Love London by Laurel