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Gabrielle is a London-based (via Cornwall , Wales and Dorset) journalist who’s been contributing food and restaurant reviews, celebrity interviews, travel and beauty pieces to magazines and newspapers for over six years, a handful of which can be found here. Her No.1 passion is food, spending much of her day eating, cooking or waxing lyrical about it; making sure to offset any resulting plumpness by signing up to charity runs – the 2011 Brighton Marathon is her next challenge. Although she’s approaching 30s-hood rather too quickly for her liking, a joy of the simple things – Earl Grey, penny sweets and playing pooh sticks – ensures she’s a happy child at heart. Follow her on twitter: 
A mix of illness, an overwhelming work schedule and my regular gym closing down meant my regular workout routine had fallen by the wayside, but with a holiday and a milestone birthday coming up at the beginning of March, I was determined to get fit - and fast. Already a well known name in the US among the super fit and super famous, Barry’s Bootcamp – aka ‘The Best Workout in the World’ - seemed like it might be just the ticket. The first UK outpost arrived at the end of January, taking up permanent residence opposite London’s Euston train station, offering a packed seven-day timetable running from 6am to 10pm.
The 60-minute classes are mixed up each time, so you never know exactly what to expect, until you’re just about to do it - partly to ensure you push yourself through every rep or run as if it’s your last, but also to prevent your body from getting complacent. The concept is the same though: interval sessions on the treadmill and floor work with free weights, amounting to an impressive calorie burn of around 1,000 calories, in an intimate space lit only by flattering red light and a soundtrack of pop, rock and dance tracks.
MONDAY: Despite a warm welcome from reception and the on-site trainers, changed and sitting on the wooden bench outside the gym, towel in hand, ready for the 5.30pm start, I felt like the new girl in class. The other participants – approximately a 70/30 female-male split - seemed to all known each other already; a case of camaraderie, built up quickly from shared sessions I later discover, and I too was soon talking to someone who was on class three. ‘I noticed a difference after one class,’ she tells me. ‘I could hardly walk the next morning though…’ With five consecutive classes to go, I was starting to wonder just why I had signed up for this.
After a quick chat with the night’s instructor, the polite and down-to-earth Oliver Truelove, I walked into the dark room and started on a gentle stroll on one of the custom designed Woodway Treadmills. They’re designed to be easier on the joints then the usual running machines, and have fancy functions, such as ‘Dynamic Mode’ where you provide the power, in a butt-busting way akin to pushing a stocked supermarket trolley up a hill.
My debut class - Arms & Abs - certainly didn’t beat around the bush. I jogged; sprinted as fast as my legs would take me (which, disappointingly wasn’t as fast of some of the others) up inclines up to 12% (a steep hill), huffing and puffing to my lungs’ capacity until I was on the brink of falling down. At that moment, treadmill time was up, and it was on to the floor to light weights in various different lifts until my arms turned to jelly, with Oliver ensuring correct technique and offering words of encouragement all the way. Again, just as I was hitting the wall in my exertion, it was back on the treadmill for a seven-minute interval blast; back to the floor for more weights, planks and the like; and so on, until the 60 minutes were up and I was soaked through and ready to drop.
TUESDAY: Surprisingly not too achy and having survived the first class without fainting, I was looking forward to this one: Legs, Butt & Shoulders. The session’s instructor Anya Lahiri, who discovered Barry’s in LA, got hooked and subsequently co-led the move to the UK, chatted to me beforehand and was (just as Olly and all of the other members of staff I met through the week) friendly, unimposing, and very, very toned. The next 60 minutes unfolded with a mix of hill sprints, floor work, heavy weights and more sprints… I was broken by the end, returning home that evening to the sofa with barely enough energy to eat my dinner. I felt like I’d just completed a marathon all over again.
WEDNESDAY: I woke up with a body aching from muscles I didn’t know existed. Mentally and physically exhausted from the first two days and with the awful memories of the night before, day three was the worst for me; the first time I felt the five day challenge might actually defeat me. I made sure to fuel properly with a decent lunch and pre-class banana, and dragged myself there after work, wanting so desperately to head home and switch on a box set instead. Tonight was all about the Chest, Back & Abs. There’s no denying it was hard, but I powered through, gave it my all and finished the class on a proud high; pleased to be over the hump.
THURSDAY: HardCORE Abs with Anya. A whirlwind of seven-minute stints: runs, sprints, running backwards (a bizarre experience the first time), weights, push-ups, kettle bell moves, lots of other ab-ups I’d never tried, until I, and most of my other classmates by the looks of it, were down to zero energy. Walking out, there was a collective ‘that was a tough one!’ from a few of us.
FRIDAY: A mix of excitement at being at the end of a hard week; generally knackered, but feeling positive, I headed to my last class: Full Body Workout with Oliver - challenging all the muscles I’d worked over the week, and then some. The glow I felt surviving another 60 minutes of workout hell, pushing myself to the absolute limit, made the resulting tiredness worth it. Heightened by the end of week treat I’d promised myself, a Yogiberry protein shake from the Fuel Bar menu.
Slurping away through the blueberry, banana, apple and vanilla deliciousness on the bus home, I felt fitter, faster and a little firmer than I’d started the week, and on a high, especially having signed up for another five classes to spread over the next fortnight. Yes dear reader, despite the sweat and (almost) tears, I ended the week officially hooked on Barry’s Bootcamp. Returning to a ‘normal’ gym session is always going to feel substandard compared to how much more I pushed myself here. No shouting, whistles or bullying - as one would expect with anything associated to the word ‘bootcamp’ and the heavy use of camouflage on the brand’s website - just a lovely trainer, with energy and enthusiasm infectious enough to keep you going that little bit longer. Combined with plush changing rooms (decked out with Malin + Goetz toiletries, scented candles and roses, hairdryers and straighteners, and complimentary thick-pile workout and shower towels), Barry’s Bootcamp effective ‘no pain, no gain’ approach, great atmosphere and top-class gym surroundings keep you coming back for more. I urge you to try it at least once.
Barry’s Bootcamp, 163 Euston Road, London, NW1 2BH. A package of five classes costs £90. For more information on individual classes, memberships and bulk-purchase offers, visit the website, call +44 (0)207 387 7001, or email: [email protected]
