Studio Review: Training Mate

The Scoop:

Training Mate has been on my radar for almost 2 years now and I was SO excited to finally check out this Australia “themed” fitness studio. I first learned about Training Mate almost 2 years ago when I was working at ClassPass doing marketing. I was involved with the Los Angeles ClassPass launched and got to learn about all the popular LA studios. For some reason Training Mate caught my eye and I’ve been curious ever since.

It lived up to my expectations — I’ve been twice already since I got here!

The Deets:

Training Mate
7825 Santa Monica Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90046
Website || instagram || facebook
$25/ 45 minute class

The Studio:

First a little back story on Training Mate: the studio was founded by a former Australian rugby professional hence the Australian themed class names. Both of the classes I took were with Jimmy Taylor who is a ridiculous and hilarious Aussie. I feel the need to mention the fact that he is Australian because the accent definitely makes Jimmy’s jokes even more ridiculous than they already are.

The studio doesn’t offer a ton of amenities, from what I gathered there was one bathroom which was both the only toilet and shower. They do, however, have a cute little patio out back where we did ab work during the second class I took. Ot rained the morning of my first class so that might be why we didn’t head out there.

What Training Mate lacks in amenities it makes up for in personality. From the front desk to my fellow classmates I was so won over by everyones friendliness. I’m from New York, we’re generally not a friendly bunch and we’re definitely not friendly during an early morning class.

 

The Class:

The two classes I took were in the genre of High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) and involved circuits but the format of each was slightly different.

Class #1: Bondi Burn. This class had 9 stations total with different exercises at each station. 3 exercises were grouped together (i.e. battle ropes, shoulder raises with an exercise band and air punches while holding dumbbells). You repeated those 3 exercises 3 times total before moving on to the next batch of 3. It makes sense while you’re doing it. Every exercises is done for 45 seconds with about 10 seconds to switch exercises and a 1 minute rest after you complete the 3 exercises 3 times.

Class #2: Might Mate. This class had 10 stations total with different exercises at each station. Every exercise is done for 1 minute with 15 seconds to switch exercises. We repeated all 10 exercises 3 times overall with a slight break in between each of the 3 rounds. For some reason this class seemed WAY harder than Bondi Burn because there was less time for my heart rate to drop.

They also offer a third class format Thunder Down Under which is lower body focused.

 

I’m a huge fan of HIIT so this class was right up my alley. If I had to compare it to a New York studio it reminded me a lot of Exceed but with less kettle bells and TRX. Most of the exercises I did at Training Mate were pretty basic, mountain climbers with a push-up, rowing machine, battle ropes, but hey there’s nothing wrong with the basics. By the end of the first round in each class I was already sweating, by the end I was definitely tired — and the class is only 45 minutes long.

There was no warm-up or formal cool-down + stretch. I purposely started on either the rowers or stationary bike so I could at least get a little bit warm before doing more strength based moves.

The real charm of the class is Jimmy’s ridiculous commentary. I feel like I can’t even properly type out the absurd things he said because they won’t seem as funny. If you’re easily offended by slightly raunchy humor, this might not be the place for you. If you’re like me, you’ll find all of these corny lines hilarious and lighten up the mood during a grueling workout. This sense of humor definitely sets the tone in class to make the studio such a friendly vibe. Jimmy was also really great about giving each and every class member personal attention and essentially cheerleading. I’m always impressed with instructors learn everyones name and use it during class.

 

Bottom Line:

Like I said on instagram, come for the workout, stay for the ridiculous Australian banter. I was so impressed with how friendly both the staff and class members were and adored the community vibe plus got a great workout. If I lived in LA this would definitely be part of my weekly fitness routine.