Feel the Burn

MTHD

I know very little about sports, so I’m often baffled when people tell me that a certain football player or other is “the best of all time.” How is it possible that athletes can keep getting better? Surely there must be a saturation point. But with new gyms like MTHD springing up that incorporate science into their routine, it’s not difficult to see why athletes keep topping those of former generations. We now have science and data on our side.

MTHD, also known as “METHOD,” uses that science and data to consistently review workouts and improve so that their members are always getting the best possible workouts when they visit.

“Utilizing heart rate monitors, we are not only able to track specific cardiovascular data, but we also record every muscle group that is activated during the workout to provide true athletic performance reports which are accessible to all MTHD athletes in WeChat,” says Juddy, Chief Coach at MTHD.

At the start of the class, each member is given a monitor to wear conveniently on their arm that tracks this data. I have to say, it was certainly motivating to see my heart rate soar while I burned off pesky calories. Besides our own personal data, the screens mounted at each station also played continuous videos of the workouts we were meant to be doing. Each of the 12 stations had two workouts that were completed at intervals of 30 seconds with a 10 second rest in between, and both workouts at each station were completed twice before moving on to the next station.

Despite their top of the line equipment and technology, MTHD maintains an approachable attitude of teamwork and collective improvement.

Juddy says, “There are no egos. There is no ‘top athlete.’ It does not matter how fast you run or how much weight you’re lifting. We at MTHD fight as a team and we collectively improve our lives one workout at a time.”

MTHD will soon have locations around the city, with two more opening in People’s Square and Xintiandi.

Follow MthdFitness Wechat Account, where you can book the first free trial lesson for both fitness centers.

Address :

> 307, Tower B, No.98 Jiashan Lu, near Yongkang Lu, Xuhui

> 1F, Phase I, Ocean Commercial Bld, 588 East Yan’an Lu

Official WeChat Account: MthdFitness

WeChat Account Assistant: Mthd_PS

WeBox

WeBox is not just a name, it’s a motto, and when they say “we box,” they mean it. After all, they claim the largest boxing community in all of Shanghai. Quite impressive!

“We want to be the window for people to learn to love boxing,” says founder, Shane. They accomplish this by providing classes for all levels of boxers, and a large variety of training styles. You can come in for personal training sessions, group classes which emphasize boxing technique, or a 10 round HIIT boxing circuit which focuses more on cardio. Besides these offerings, WeBox gets their members excited about boxing with their official WeChat account, and their two WeChat communities where their members share boxing-related information and boost each other up.

WeBox also has a system of monitoring and data collection so you can easily see how hard you’re working and how many calories you’re burning while you sweat. For their 10 round HIIT classes, they also provide instructional videos at each of the workout stations to keep you on track as you move through the circuit. In this class, which is the one I trialed, you move through 10 stations (as the name suggests) doing two minutes of interval workouts. This is especially helpful if you’re new to boxing and you’re not quite sure about the punches you’re supposed to be throwing. And, if you’re like me and you’re still struggling to get that left jab just right, the coach is right there to correct your form.

One of the best and most convenient things about WeBox is their lax attitude toward schedules. I don’t know about you, but one of the biggest problems I have with class-centered gyms is making the class schedule fit my work/life schedule. But at WeBox you can come by and drop in for a 30-minute boxing HIIT class any time of the day.

And if you’re skeptical that you can get a good workout in 30 minutes, Shane reassures us that with their outstanding coaches and fitness plans, you can sweat hard and efficiently in just half an hour.

Address :

> 9 Donghu Lu, near Huaihai Zhong Lu

WeChat: webox_fit

SWEAT&CO

I have to say that when I joined the Body Combat class at SWEAT&CO, I didn’t know what to expect. Certainly many of us are in a constant combat with our bodies in a never-ending attempt to get them to be the shape we want them to be, and this is where SWEAT&CO comes in.

To get that desired figure, SWEAT&CO offers a wide variety of group classes that range from cycling to yoga to Muay Thai, and more. In fact, Alex, a coach at the gym, calls it a “one stop solution for your fitness training.” And, as the name suggests, these classes are meant to make you sweat.

In the Body Combat class that I trialed, we began with what I would describe as “air boxing”: a series of boxing combinations striking at the space around us. Like most things, you really get out of it what you put in, so the more enthusiastic I was about my air punches, the more I sweated. Throughout the hour-long class, we rotated through boxing combos, kicks, squats, jumps, and core exercises, and then put these moves together to create mini routines, almost like we were inventing a dance. And with the instructor’s infectious enthusiasm, it wasn’t difficult to get swept up in the routines, nearly forgetting that this was actually exercise.

To try the Body Combat class, or any of their other classes, you can sign up on their official WeChat account.

Address :

> KG CITIC Square, Room 401, No. 1168 West Nanjing Lu

> Jing’an Gymnasium, No. 99-2 Xikang Road

> No. 15, Lane 498 Dongchang Lu, Lujiazui

> The LAKEVILLE REGENCY, B1, Bld 10, No.168 Shunchang Lu, Xintiandi

> Room 202, Bld 2, No. 2570 He Chuan Lu, Minghang District

> CITIC Plaza, F3, Bld 4, No. 859 North Sichuan Lu, Hongkou

WeChat: Sweat_Co