The class: Studio 60

With small studios dabbling in dance, CrossFit, and functional training popping up all over the capital, honestly, there’s no reason not to move.

Like a lot of people I know, I’ve always hated gyms. Hated the go-nowhere plod of the treadmill, the tedium of waiting to finish sets at the too-crowded weight station, and I’ve always hated just how not fun they’ve been. Just hated… all of it. Luckily for me, the treadmill factory gyms as we know it are slowly being replaced by a slew of boutique fitness studios that are trainer-led, with hybrid workouts that mash up HIIT-spinning-circuits (and more) into fun, personalized classes that are more an experience than a chore.

I lucked out and found this place, the single most fun place I’ve ever worked out in Delhi. If you’re looking to really beast it out, Studio 60’s team of trainers will squeeze that (and everything else you have) out of you with casually sadistic sets of planks, sprints, push-ups (still can’t, goddamnit), squats, lunges, and else they decide to dabble in that day.

Co-owner and trainer Zoe is usually around, either leading a class or in training herself. She connects with almost everyone who walks in the door here, as do the studio’s other trainers, who, after a few sessions there, will know your face, your name, your injuries, your goals, and will have gleaned a good sense of how far they can push you without breaking you.

Studio 60 is compact – there’s a large room for the group fitness classes, a smaller spin studio, and one communal area outside where the personal training and small batch training sessions take place. They have a solid bunch of regulars, and it feels like a community-driven fitness studio that encourages bonds driven by sweat (there’s nothing like getting through a particularly brutal set of circuits together to cement relationships). It’s not massive, but it gets the job done. There are heavy ropes, sandbags, TRX thingamajigs, and Bosu balls, in addition to weights, sliders, skipping ropes and an assortment of other bits and bobs, and at some point you’ll have used all of them.

These exercises are not fun. No one (sane) willingly volunteers to do fifty burpees in a row, and there’s absolutely nothing about running up and down three flights of stairs that says ‘good time’. But once you embrace the inevitable soreness and the sweat-from-every-orifice stuff that makes daily loads of laundry a thing, you’ll find that the satisfaction you garner from your own progress is just much stronger than any excuse you can conjure up to stop.

If you’re injured, a total noob, or an athlete – sign up for personal training. All the trainers have a slightly different style, so you might want to shop around until you find the one you click with, but I’ve done classes with almost all and I can vouch for every single one. What they’re best at is staving off those two enemies of a consistent physical practice: injuries, and boredom. If your form is shitty, you can expect injuries to follow, but you won’t get away with that sort of slacking here. And if you’re bored, you’re going to stop coming, but again, it’s hard to deny the rush of visible results, and the genuine sense that you’re growing, moving toward something, and feeling really great while doing it. There’s very little chance you’ll be bored here.

This is also why classes fill-up fast, so use the Whatsapp booking system to put your name down for the ones you want. My top pick is probably Max60, which combines weight training, cardio and isometric and plyometric exercises to deliver a 60-minute sweat session that will, I promise, deliver results in three classes or less (but try them all to see which ones you rate best). The class schedule is diverse and includes spin, HIIT, weight-based classes like Body Pump, kickboxing, yoga, pilates… and a few other hybrids.

Other perks? An in-house snack bar with fresh coconut water and other bits to stop you keeping over after a particularly strong session, and a rail of printed leggings and vests (for the ladies only though) for those looking to emulate Zoe’s in-studio style. This also means you’ll never be able to use that I-forgot-my-leggings excuse. Plus lovely staff, on-hand to help with bookings, towels, breakfast... whatever.

Do a free trial class. It is also surprisingly affordable, particularly if you sign up for a package of group classes or personal training.

EDIT: Studio 60 has moved to a new location, at The Manor in Delhi's Friends Colony West. You can find them on Facebook here.