Fitness Classes

There are a near-endless number of fitness classes available at gyms across the UK. Some of the most popular include the CrossFit based WOD, HIIT workouts such as Metafit and Tabata, circuits, yoga, spin, boxing, Olympic weightlifting, pilates, barre, and Metcon. Despite its length, ultimately, this list is in no way inclusive of all classes available.

Most gyms and leisure centres list their current classes and according times on their websites or social media pages. If you’re looking for a new class to join, take a look at what your local facilities have to offer! 

Orwell Fitness are proud to offer a carefully designed roster of five core fitness classes.

Whether or not fitness classes are better than a gym session is a personal question, ultimately coming down to your individual preferences, and what exactly you’d like to achieve/get out of your gym visit. For those who prefer training individually, would like to complete a session in line with a custom regime, or simply want to train on their own terms, gym sessions may be ‘better’, however, those who prefer the more social aspect of fitness, are motivated by groups, enjoy instruction, or enjoy structure may prefer classes.

The fitness instructors and personal trainers at Orwell Fitness generally recommend a combination of classes and gym sessions in order to ensure that you’re fully informed with regard to form, technique, and equipment use, and to keep your fitness journey is filled with variety. 

Whether or not fitness classes are worth it comes down to a number of factors including your personal preferences and workout style, the quality of your chosen class, and your objectives. If you naturally prefer to work out in or succeed in an individual environment, classes may not be the best choice for you – however, if you’re motivated by a group environment, work well with guidance, and have found a class type you feel you’ll enjoy, they’re certainly worth a try. 

For many, having an exact class time to show up for, and joining an active community of like-minded people serves as great motivation to consistently attend their sessions.

If you’d like to give one of Orwell Fitness’ classes a go, and are new to our gym, we encourage you to sign up for a free, no-obligation trial, during which you’ll get to ensure the class experience is right for you. 

Fitness classes have come a long way from the days of 80s style aerobics. The list of options available to gymgoers across the UK is growing constantly and features some highly popular, highly effective options. According to Google searches by volume, this year’s most popular include CrossFit, yoga, spin classes, pilates, Zumba, step, HIIT, aerobics, kettlebell classes, and circuit training. 

At Orwell Fitness, our most popular classes include the WOD (CrossFit) and body conditioning. To browse our list of classes or find out more, scroll up. If you’d like to give one of Orwell Fitness’ classes a try and are new to our gym, we encourage you to sign up for a free, no-obligation trial.

CrossFit is one of the most effective methods to improve your overall fitness, lose weight and lead a healthier lifestyle. Drawing the most effective and scalable elements and techniques from weightlifting, gymnastics, and high-intensity interval training (HIIT), this popular fitness discipline works to get you physically and mentally fit for life.

CrossFit workouts can be adapted for anyone and everyone. Your CrossFit accredited coach should be able to scale and customise each workout to suit your ability and experience. No matter what your age, ability or fitness level, this unique fitness program is one of the most effective ways to meet your goals.

Strongman training is based heavily upon the feats seen regularly in Global Strongman competitions – creating trainable and scalable exercises using fun objects such as atlas stones, sleds, and tyres in the place of traditional weights. 

Strongman classes are typically designed to allow participants to develop raw, functional, and explosive strength across a wide range of muscle groups, and are open to both men and women of all levels and abilities. Our coaches believe it’s a great session for a full-body workout and a fun departure from traditional gym routines!

If you’re interested in signing up for Strongman classes, visit our Strongman page to find out more. If you’re brand new to our gym, we encourage you to complete a free, no-obligation trial class to make sure Orwell and Strongman are right for you!

This popular class offers a unique fusion of fundamental CrossFit skills – borrowing the best elements of traditional/artistic gymnastics and applying them to body-weight workouts designed to improve strength, speed, stamina, and flexibility. Whilst there’s no tumbling, vaulting, or beam to be seen in this class, there’s plenty of pull-ups, press-ups, handstands, and ring work. 

Long practised as one of the three cornerstones of CrossFit, Gymnastics is considered by many fitness experts to be a key component in honing and harnessing the power of the body. Its focus on precise movement in favour of external loads quickly improves movement, strength, and general fitness – building a perfect foundation for refined accuracy, agility, balance, coordination, flexibility, power, and strength.

Gymnastics is perfect as a stand-alone workout or as a base for more improved CrossFit performance. 

Weightlifting is generally defined as a sport or activity in which barbells or other weights are lifted. In modern and competitive weightlifting, there are two standard lifts: the snatch (during which the chosen weight is lifted in a single movement from the floor to an extended position), and the clean and jerk (during which the weight is moved from the floor to shoulder position, then into an extended position).

There are a number of ways to train in weightlifting, including both personal training, and weightlifting classes. Orwell Fitness’ inclusive weightlifting class is designed to take your confidence, technique and skills on the barbell to the next level, with a particular focus on the snatch, and clean and jerk. Developed and delivered by British Weightlifting accredited coaches, our weightlifting offerings provide a safe, empowering, and driven environment in which our members are able to progress their lifting ability, strength, coordination, balance, speed and mobility with ease.

You don’t have to be fit to start your fitness journey or attend fitness classes. Whether you’re an experienced athlete, complete beginner, or somewhere in between, there’ll be a class or community out there perfectly suited to your needs and preferences. At Orwell Fitness, each of our programs, classes, and training options – from weightlifting to personal training –  are hand-designed by expert instructors to be scalable for all ages, levels, and fitness abilities, meaning they can be altered to meet anyone’s needs.

If you’re brand new to the fitness world, we’ll take the time to familiarise you with our facilities, classes, and community over a no-obligation free trial, during which we’ll work with you to gauge your fitness levels and goals before making accordant training suggestions. 

We’ll do everything we can to help you succeed, and cheer you on every step of the way. All we ask from you is effort and commitment.

Fitness classes can vary hugely in price according to their location, provider, and even whether or not your chosen class is priced on an individual basis. Classes charged per session can range from anywhere between £4 and £90 – so it’s best to do some research to determine which classes will work best for you within your budget prior to signing up. 

Some gyms, including Orwell Fitness, offer unlimited access to classes as part of their all-inclusive memberships. For those attending classes at the same gym frequently, this is a great way to save money. 

To find out more about our classes, read above.