Power Plates: Tried and Tested

Power Plates: Tried and Tested.

The lifestyle Institute

Location: Set in the heart of the pulsing financial City district, seconds from the Barbican Centre and within walking distance of Moorgate, Liverpool St and Bank. Perfect for busy city types to pop in for a lunchtime half hour class.

Facilities: Top floor studio, intimate and cosy. Low lighting, chilled funk music, candles. Four power plates located at front of studio in front of a floor to ceiling mirror.
Changing facilities partitioned off from room by curtains.
Poor bathroom facilities. Ladies and men's located on ground floor and first floor respectively. One ill-kept, grubby looking shower and very little space to change.

Class: Half hour class. Great tuition, guidance and encouragement from Jessica our instructor and owner of the studio. Easy to follow instruction and she tailored the class to suit our differing fitness levels and abilities. Ended the session by lying on our front then backs to allow the plate to intensely massage our quaking legs.

Overall: Once in the studio the atmosphere and staff are very welcoming. The instructors are very sympathetic to your abilities and are knowledgeable and informative. The lifestyle Institute would be particularly good for personal tuition due to the intimacy of the space and the care and attention the trainers bestow upon you. The only thing letting this wonderful business down is the inept showering facilities, however these are easily avoided by simply washing when you get home!


Power Tone – Mayfair

Location: A fairly unkempt entrance on Maddox Street, off Regent's Street. Less than five minutes walk from Oxford Circus. Clients must use the stairs off the street into the basement location.

Facilities: Although below street level the studio is very bright, airy and welcoming. It feels exactly the sort of place you could do some serious exercise. The main room houses four power plate machines in front of a floor to ceiling mirror. Beyond this is a smaller room with one machine for private instruction and located at the very back is a further room used for various massage treatments. The changing facilities consist of two spacious curtained-off areas in the main studio and a toilet upstairs, however there are no showers.

Class: My class was a one on one with personal trainer...... Although the basic preamble about the equipment was minimal, the session was fluid and very enjoyable. Because the focus was solely on me, we were able to go at pace and managed to fit a number of exercises into the 25 minute slot. The session ended once again with an intense thigh massage on the plate and finally a lower back massage.

Overall: The class was mid-morning and I had the studio to myself, my instructor was the only other person in the room. The direction was very good and I felt like I had a thorough workout. During the session the phone rang quite often and perhaps it would have been useful to have someone else manning reception.


Movers and Shaper – Vauxhall

Location: In the new development in Vauxhall opposite the bus and train station. Exit 6 if you emerge from underground. Easy to spot from the road.

Facilities: A very welcoming studio with funky wall paper in shades of mauve and taupe. Nice size and feels spacious. Flowers on the front desk add a nice touch. Four power plates in a partitioned-off area in front of floor to ceiling mirror. One further small room housing one power plate machine used for private instruction or an introduction to the club. A changing cubicle at the back of the studio and toilets by reception.

Class: The session began with a massage warm up on the plate, followed by a series of pulsing exercises. Positions adopted on the plate differed largely to those followed at the other two studios. My instructor Bob was very friendly and genial. He clearly has a wealth of experience and the session was very informative and fun. He radiated enthusiasm and motivation and finished with a vibrating thigh and calf massage on the machine.

Overall: Movers and Shakers is part-owned by Bupa and as such offers a nutrition and energy personal training service to every member in the form of 'Fitbug'. The Fitbug is a small electronic device which records your daily energy use and reports back to the Movers and Shaker's trainers. Combined with information on your daily calorie intake, you and your trainer are able to chart your fitness progress.
This studio had more of a gym feel, despite the elegant decor, this was probably due to the male instructors though. The music was motivating and despite the lack of shower facilities this is a great studio to come and use on the way to, or from work.


Good Vibes – Fitzrovia

Location: Situated on Little Riding Street, a quiet road hidden behind the hustle and bustle of Oxford Circus. Perfect for media types popping out for a half hour fitness blast.

Facilities: A very large reception area, decked out in white with orange bubble chairs, colourful chandeliers and large ornate mirrors. In the hallway between reception and studio are two changing rooms and directly opposite these, two toilets with one accommodating a shower cubicle. The studio is at the back in a fairly large room with five power plate machines. There are floor to ceiling mirrors on two walls and a pleasing glass roof. There are witty touches throughout the venue.

Class: The group class began with a warm up followed by a chunk of leg toning exercises, some brief arm exercises then a punishing abdominal work section, followed by a warm down massage on the plate. Of all the classes I've attended this felt like it had the best structure, although our instructor seemed slightly more 'light-weight' than those in the other venues.

Overall: Good Vibes definitely gets the girlie vote and the changing facilities here were amongst the best I'd seen. The studio appears to be more geared up for groups rather than personal training and despite knowing that we were all beginners there was little to no instruction about the power plates and how they worked.
This is the perfect studio for a fun workout session however more serious fitness types may turn their noses up.
.