Should you book in for stretch sessions or cardio workouts if you have limited money to spend in the studio?
I don’t know about you, but there are two main thoughts that I’m having right now. “I want to kickstart my September fitness routine,” and “Oh my god, I can’t afford anything.” Yet those two things feel at odds with one another, especially as the soaring cost of living means that fitness memberships are on the decline.
So, for the time being, at least, it might be goodbye to gym memberships and time to cut back on the little luxuries we rely on to feel better as we try to save all the pennies we can. But if you want to feel your best while limiting your spending on studio classes, what should you be prioritising?
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It’s tempting to think that you should spend money on classes that get your heart rate the highest or give you the biggest weights to lift or the highest-tech treadmill to run on and do yoga or low-impact activities in your home. I’ll be doing the opposite.
I’m keeping up my mobility sessions with Move classes at BLOK and I’ll be doing barre at The Refinery, but I’ll be taking myself through weighted and cardio workouts at home.
Why? Well, while it’s very easy to fall into the trap of believing that we need to be coached through the sweatiest workouts. And, sure, having someone yell at you through a microphone over a strong beat can sometimes be the difference between you doing the final reps and walking away from your dumbbell.
But, once you have the form nailed and the basics down, it is much easier to perfect a home HIIT workout or take yourself out for a run than it is to work through a 45-minute mobility session with perfect form.
In those low-impact classes, you’ll notice how instructors can move you a centimetre to the left and change the feeling of the entire exercise. With intricate movements, there is much to think about, and the teachers can remind you to tuck your tailbone and tilt your chin down and roll your shoulders back and engage your core and move your leg back an inch and rotate your knee before pulsing.
These are cues we might not remember by ourselves, or might be such small tweaks that it takes an expert to notice what you need.
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To me, mobility and stretching classes are about making your movement patterns better, creating space in your joints and learning how your body works. It’s the foundation of training.
Strength training and cardio are so important to health and are often more exciting, but these workouts are about building on that foundation to move faster or against resistance. To be guided through building a proper base is really worthwhile.
Of course, you can find really good mobility workouts to follow online if that’s all you can access right now. Look for those that are educational and can remind you of proper cues and alignment rather than just saying, ‘Do a downward dog.’ On YouTube, Shona Vertue has lots of well-taught videos, and the Strong Women Training Club has a mobility series run by trainer Emma Obayuvana.
But if you, like me, have ClassPass’s nine-credit plan and can only book into a few sessions, I’d get the mobility done IRL and use YouTube and Instagram for my sweat sessions – and when I do need the extra motivation for my cardio routine, I’ll get my friend to run with me.
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