BLOK Gym | Hackney

On Monday Q Insider was invited over to East London to try out possibly the trendiest gym we have ever visited, BLOK in the hipster heaven of Hackney.

Located in a refurbished Victorian tram depot, you'll find BLOK amongst a selection of warehouses that are currently used as design studios. The interior is a mix of the industrial and contemporary, taking a lot of the original building's features into its design, with exposed brickwork and steel beams. As you walk in there is an impressive cast iron, fossil like, sculpture on the wall making you feel like you have stepped into a gallery space that also happens to be a gym.

BLOK is comprised of two fitness studios, Studio 1 is dedicated to high intensity, interval training, boxing and dance workouts while Studio 2 focuses on a variation of yoga, Pilates, barre and meditation classes. We opted for the Box & Bell class in Studio 1 with Dom and it is definitely not for the faint-hearted. Do not be deterred by the size of the studio, it is small but effective, with Dom easily conducting different workouts to make sure everyone was involved and at ease. After alternating between skipping, boxing bags, kettle bells and what felt like 100 burpees, we finished the one hour session exhausted but strangely elated.

There has been a growing trend for class-based gyms in London and we can understand why; they give you the best kind of workout as the control is out of your hands and you have to get on with it as the trainer has eyes everywhere. Gone are the days of walking on a treadmill, staring at some free weights and then deciding you are done for the day. With such a wide variety of classes on offer, there is really no excuse to not to try one as each is suited to a preferred style of work out.

Another fantastic feature at BLOK is in the changing rooms in the form of underfloor heating, meaning no cold tip-toeing back to your locker. They also use Bamford products which smell divine - you will want to take full advantage!

Once you have finished your training you can head to their unique Bone Broth Bar where they serve products from the Borough Broth Company which are are slow cooked for 24 hours so that 100% of the organic minerals, amino acids and proteins such as collagen are gently extracted ensuring a powerful punch of nourishment. They also provide a long list of smoothies and protein shakes to ensure you leave totally fulfilled.

We enjoyed our class so much, we are already signing up for more!

For bookings please contact your Lifestyle Manager. Interested in becoming a Member? Request more information