F45 recently opened up in Quarry Bay and offered complimentary two-week trials, so I jumped at the opportunity to add a bit of variety into my otherwise boring daily cardio at Pure (zzz).

What is F45?

F45 is a franchise concept from Australia that focuses on functional training, circuit style. There are a total of 16 different workouts featuring 1000s of different exercises, so you aren’t likely to get bored. Workouts range from 45 mins to 1 hour long, and rotate through different stations in several-minute spurts, with on- and off-times for an interval training effect.

The gym

The F45 in Quarry Bay is located inside the Westlands Centre just next to One Island East, and is basically a long, rectangular box equipped with free weights, sandbags, spin bikes, rowers, dumbbells, bosu balls, sleds, battle ropes, etc.

The way to F45 Quarry Bay

The changerooms are located at the very back left with 2 showers, 1 toilet and a sink in the women’s changeroom (a bit on the small side but sufficient). Towels and water are provided.

View of the gym from the entrance

TVs along the left wall broadcast the exercises at each station along with countdown timers, making it easy to follow along with each workout. Everything is also brand new so it feels very clean and fresh.

The workouts

During my trial period, three different workouts were offered: Athletica, Romans and Hollywood. They’ve since added Quarterbacks, Wingman, Firestorm and Brooklyn (see workout descriptions here) to the timetable.

Athletica is more cardio-focused and features different stations with 3 exercises to cycle through (25 seconds on, 35 seconds off). At least one of the exercises is more cardio-focused, like rowing or spinning.

F45 TV display

Romans was more resistance-based with weights (bodyweight or actual weights) and 9 stations with the timing being 35 seconds on, and 25 off for most of it.

Hollywood had 27 different stations that we cycled through twice, which F45 describes as an ‘ultimate test of willpower’. It seems long but it’s actually not as intense as Athletica or Romans.

Verdict

There’s a strong team spirit at F45 with many regulars, and all the workouts flew by pretty quickly since there are so many stations to cycle through. I did notice that with some of the ‘work’ periods being quite short (20 or 30 seconds), it was easy to slack off especially when the trainer wasn’t watching. To get max results, it’s probably best to give it your 100% during the work periods. 😉

I would recommend F45 for people who don’t like boring workouts and enjoy circuit training in a group. The concept does feel a bit cookie-cutter since it’s a franchise (albeit a very nicely packaged one), but I can definitely see it yielding good results if done 4-6x a week (and with a healthy diet, of course).

Either way, F45 is worth a try and you can sign up for a 2-week trial here. (After the trial, they charge HK$500 per week for unlimited classes, no contract.)

F45, Unit 2108 Westlands Centre, 20 Westlands Road, Quarry Bay, +852 6165 5770, f45training.hk/quarrybay