Have you heard of Payasugym? I used the website quite a lot when I was training for the Brighton Half Marathon last year. I didn’t have a gym membership but wanted to have access to a treadmill for sprint interval sessions. Using Payasyugym I was able to pay one-off prices for the YMCA gym near my office, as and when I wanted to use it. No commitment, no hassle- just a couple of pounds for a code which I gave to the reception and they let me in. It was great!

This weekend I went along to Urban Movement, a fitness event organised by Payasugym as a way to showcase some of the different workouts you can take part in through their flexible system. It was also to launch their new Unlimited membership, where you can pay £59 per month, but still have access to loads of different gyms, pools, and classes. I’m excited to give it a try!

Urban Movement was held in The Village Underground in Shoreditch, a pretty cool venue although one that is used for gigs and club nights so did smell a little of stale alcohol! There were rows of pink yoga mats- each with a bottle of Nuva water (cucumber and mint flavour, yum!)- including a special Reserved area for us fitness bloggers down the front- I felt very VIP, if a little self-conscious, especially with all the photographers and staff standing around!

The workout was led by Bradley Simmonds, ex-footballer and celebrity personal trainer, who kicked things off with a warm-up. We were then taken through six different exercise classes including yoga, Pilates, Capoiera, boxing, twerking and high-intensity interval training (HIIT)! Each section was around 10 minutes long and set to music, creating a club-like atmosphere complete with flashing lights.

All of the instructors teach at gyms which are on the Payasugym list of centres. They all had very different styles of teaching, some better than others, and some more “my thing” – but it was a good demonstration of the variety on offer! People were soon laughing with their neighbours, especially during the twerking session, led by Kelechi in her tiny hotpants – I felt a bit ridiculous and am quite glad there are no photos of me, but it was fun to just let loose and be silly for a bit!

We finished up with HIIT training with Bradley again – lots of high knees, burpees and press-ups – leaving me a sweaty mess, with achey arms. If Urban Movement was anything to go by, I can definitely recommend Payasugym- perhaps as a cheaper alternative to ClassPass, and one which also includes gym workouts and swimming! Ok, so there aren’t as many gyms/studios involved but the range of activities is there, plus flexibility which is a definite bonus for me.

After the session, we were given a great goody bag, and there were a few brands exhibiting to look round while we waited to pick up our bags from the cloakroom. As an aside, all ticket proceeds from the event went to Sport Relief, which I thought was a nice touch.

Have you tried Payasugym? Would you do a “mash-up” workout?

Beki x

NB: I was given a free place at Urban Movement in return for blogging about Payasugym.