Co- written by Jia Singh and Shirin Saluja

Heartcore, is the brainchild of LA girl Jess Schuring, a designer by profession who decided to take up personal training as a career path instead. She was looking for an exercise that was effective, functional and fun and this is how ‘Heartcore’ was born. They have several studios in London like Chelsea, Kensington, City and Notting Hill, to name a few. They offer TRX, Barre, Cyclecore, Kettlecore, Pilates as well as personalized sessions with instructors to meet your goals.

Barre Class experience
Our first reaction upon entering Blue Cow Yoga was WOW. Located in the heart of London, the studio is laid out elegantly; it is spacious, clean & luxurious.

Pilates and Barre movements are very tiny but highly specific movements targeted at different parts of the body. If you need to know what we are talking about, imagine a ballet dancer’s posture, gait and frame. Each movement is timed and comes with a lot of precision. If you don’t perform precisely, your efforts could go waste and you may not see timely results. Luckily the HeartCore instructors ensure a high level of personalised attention every step of the way and made sure we weren’t left out.

The class was small and the instructor made sure that everyone got enough attention & space to stretch, which is crucial in our books. Don’t be fooled by these tiny movements, they are not as easy as they look. Each tiny plié and squat is purposeful and intense and will have you sweating and shaking in no time. The physiological rewards that come with a consistent barre regimen are miraculous and include slowing the signs of ageing, a tight shapely butt and sculpted arms and legs.

The instructor was pushy but in an inspiring sort of way. He made sure that we went that extra mile with the exercises and the result was glorious sore muscles for days after that session.

HeartCore Barre is an intense 55 minute workout uniting elements from ballet, pilates and even yoga. It is a fabulous full body workout because in addition to the barre, you also work with weights and a small Pilates ball, targeting every inch of your body for a longer, leaner you.

Pilates class experience

We chose to spend our Sunday morning taking the train from Surrey to Chelsea to attend Katherine’s pilates class. All our friends in London were raving about Heartcore and we needed to see what the fuss was all about. An hour later, we found ourselves in the middle of Chelsea but scrambling for directions. Upon entering a non- descript building shared by Lululemon Athletica and Heartcore, we found that the class hadn’t finished. The studio had plenty of natural light, was reasonably well equipped and had a dozen lithe bodies working the reformer. At first I was a bit apprehensive because I knew Heartcore was intense and I hadn’t worked on the reformer in a long time.

Katherine was really cheerful and sweet and quickly showed me the ropes and the props we were going to be using. The set she chose for the 55 minute class was by far the best I’ve heard in any studio- EVER. She watched over us and corrected posture and alignment, wherever necessary.

We worked our glutes, hamstrings, did some core and ab work and finally finished with some stretching. The stretches and the pulses would hurt but I couldn’t help but feel motivated in the presence of an enthusiastic instructor and attendees that would push their bodies to the next level. I don’t know about the others but I was sore for a few days post the session. It would hurt when I lay in bed and it would hurt the most when I tried to laugh or coughed. I ended my workout with a nice long shower and the facilities were very nice- although I wish they had provisions for lockers so that we could store our phones, wallets and other valuables. I was famished post the session so ended up at Tanya’s at Chelsea for a healthy, nourishing lunch and a smoothie. Heartcore comes highly recommended for the staff, personalized attention and the results that will leave you feeling and looking like the best version of yourself.

Quick notes-

http://www.heartcore.co.uk/

www.facebook.com/heartcorelife

Prices- 27 pounds per class but the first trial class is free.

Verdict- expensive but worth every penny if you are looking to fitter in a positive space surrounded by incredible people.