THE BASICS: Slice Urban Fitness offers a huge timetable of classes from it’s neat, bright little studio next to Parson’s Green. It’s in the same building as Cupcake Family Club- so if you’re a mummy, there’s a creche option which is just great! For those of us sans sproglitts, it’s completely separate from the Cupcake Club, although you walk through the cafe area to the studio upstairs. (this class £10, £40 intro membership deal and regular membership packages start from £49 a month).
THE HB: Carly
THE CLASS: I’d been invited to try a class at Slice to review the studio which I was really grateful for! I chose Fighting Fit, it was at the perfect time on a Saturday morning and I do love a good old boxing sesh.
I decided to Boris Bike to the studio which is a 10k ride from where I live. I arrived with wobbly legs and like I’d just had a fight with the wind- I was left wondering if I had the energy to lift up a drink, let alone complete 45 minutes of Fighting Fit.
I found Slice down a little road a bit like a mews. Reception desk is through the door, to the left- a person behind a welcome desk in a cafe/children’s club area on the ground floor. There were lots of families and tiddlywinks buzzing around and generally having a raucous Saturday morning.
I was directed through the door at the back of the cafe, and up the stairs, where people were waiting in the bit outside the studio. Changing rooms were to the left (you need to get a key from reception). There’s also a water dispenser in case you forget to bring a bottle.
We were called in by teacher Ade. The studio’s long lengthways and thin widthways, so we roughly formed two long lines behind her, like linedancers. Mirrors along the whole front wall meant we could see Ade and also ourselves to check our form.
The music went on and it was fast from the word go. Ade had to shout instructions due to the loud music; I found it easiest to work out what move came next by watching her in the mirror.
The best way to describe the class would be… fighting aerobics! I’ve done boxing and boxercise- it wasn’t quite like either. More like a choreographed aerobics class based around boxing moves. I’m going to name it Boxing Dancing! Boxancing? Er, no, that didn’t work.
Our bodies were constantly moving and weaving, and we kept the punching stance for a lot of the class.
A few moves were tricky to put together in a sequence unless we’d watched them once or twice, but it definitely didn’t feel like one of those classes where you are an outsider if you go wrong (which I did- a lot).
The fun and friendliness and energy were all down to Ade’s skill at leading the class. At one point, she had us running from one side of the studio to the other, doing flying air kicks! As an all-women class, it felt pretty cool when we really got in the zone and were slamming squat-kicks into the air in front of us.
It probably wasn’t the sort of class that you’d go to if you wanted to specifically work on boxing form- but you could see everyone was putting power and focus into their moves, so it was still a tough class in that respect.
THE VERDICT: Great teacher, fun class, nice, friendly group and a sweet, neat, clean studio. Power and choreography over form- but half way through the class you’ll catch yourself in the mirror with a focused face and basically looking like Rocky. This is the only class I’ve ever done where we didn’t have a specific break. This is 45 minutes of being a non-stop bad ass!
THE EXTRAS: Instructor Ade is a competitive athlete through UK Bodybuilding & Fitness Federation- and I was absolutely in awe of her abs. All the inspiration you need to do your weight training, ladies!
