Finding Functional Fitness at F45

Was it celebrity allure that led me to F45 Training, the Australian fitness chain for which the famously ripped Mark Wahlberg serves as chief brand officer? Wahlberg’s enviable six-pack abs notwithstanding, I was actually inspired to try F45 by an unsolicited testimonial I received from a reader. Alexis reached out to me on a messaging app, describing herself as a new member of F45, which she declared “one of the best gyms I’ve ever been to.” She invited me to work out with her, promising “It’s so much fun! It will definitely be a great workout!”

I didn’t manage to connect with Alexis, but I never forgot her enthusiasm. That’s how I found myself at the F45 in downtown Santa Barbara one evening. I nabbed the last space in the small parking lot they share with Dune Coffee Roasters and walked through the open roll-up doors that make up the front wall of the studio. Coach Bolden greeted me with a brief orientation, then got class started by welcoming new members, explaining the “pods” (circuits) of the day’s workout while another coach demonstrated each exercise, and assigned each of us a starting station. Video monitors on the wall led us through a warmup. The monitors also showed video of each exercise, count down work time and rest time, prompt you when it’s time to change stations, and announce water breaks. Each class wraps up with a brief round of core work led by a coach.

The monitors are helpful because F45 workouts have such a complex structure, it can be hard for a beginner to navigate the rows of kettlebells, plates, barbells, benches, and cardio equipment arrayed neatly on the studio floor. But the monitors only supplement the work done by the multiple coaches who circulate during each class, correcting form, offering modifications, encouraging you to increase your weight, and cheering everyone on. Thanks to them, F45 delivers a fairly personalized workout, even in a large class. In the different classes I tried, Bolden suggested modifications when I didn’t want to jump, Jonah reminded me to lift the bar all the way over my head for the barbell squat press, Ellie corralled me to the right station when I kept getting lost, and Kyle adjusted the footrests and straps to help me get into the rowing machine, then instructed me to pull the hand grips to my pecs and lean back.

Each F45 class has a name and focus. Classes are 45 minutes long (hence the 45 in F45); the F is for “functional training,” which emphasizes movements used in everyday life, as opposed to training for a sport. Between the Santa Barbara and Goleta studios, I tried Loyals (hybrid cardio/resistance with very short rest breaks), Valor (also a hybrid, done in pairs), Two-Fold (choice of upper- or lower-body workout, happening simultaneously), and High Rise (60-minute Saturday class). The classes also rotate — at the last class I took, Quarterbacks was about to come into the lineup. The idea, says Tiago Magalhaes, co-owner of the Santa Barbara and Goleta F45 studios, is to “try to have a good variation so it’s never boring.”

That’s also the idea behind the Saturday workouts, which are 60 minutes long so people have more time to engage with each other. At the Santa Barbara studio, there is a deejay on most Saturdays, lending the workout a dance-party feel. On the Saturday I went, Matt Nocas was spinning tunes by Fisher, Disclosure, and Marbs; other classes played more recognizable (to me) songs like Cardi B’s “I Like It,” Alice Merton’s “No Roots,” and Luis Fonsi’s “Despacito.” I even saw Coach Kyle bust some dance moves to Elvis Crespo’s “Suavemente.”

Magalhaes — who also owns an F45 studio in Margaret River, a small surf town in Western Australia immortalized in The Endless Summer — says he “likes to create a community,” and the design of the classes promotes that, especially Valor, in which you get assigned a partner. In one Valor class, my partner Celine and I shared a box for the box jump (I modified it by doing a step up) and counted reps together. In another, my partner Gina pushed me — in a friendly, non-judgy way — to use heavier dumbbells for the Romanian deadlift: “At least 15 pounds,” she urged.

The gender mix at F45 seems about evenly divided between men and women. A member called Bear told me he joined F45 after he saw what great shape his surfing buddies were in from their F45 workouts. Magalhaes, a water polo player and surfer, says men are attracted because F45 provides heavy weights and a challenging workout. Those features appeal to women as well. Rosa told me she enjoys F45 because she likes to lift heavy weights. Gina, who met Magalhaes through outrigger canoeing, said she’s always been an athlete but didn’t regularly work out. Now she loves how strong she feels when rowing and also in her physically demanding job.

So, did reader Alexis give me a hot tip? F45 workouts are definitely challenging and took me out of my comfort zone, with heavier weights than I’m used to and equipment (YBells, jump ropes) and moves (kettlebell swings) that I don’t typically use. I hope I do get to meet Alexis someday — I’d love to do an F45 pairs workout with her. I promise to use heavy weights.

---

Locations at 528 Anacapa Street, Santa Barbara; and 5184 Hollister Avenue, Goleta (Magnolia Shopping Center). Reserve a spot in a class using a mobile app. Towels available if you forget yours. Cubbies provided for storing personal items. Theraguns and other recovery equipment available. S.B. studio has combined bathrooms/dressing rooms with private showers. Goleta studio has private dressing rooms, some with attached showers, as well as separate bathrooms (both all-gender and women’s/accessible). Plenty of free parking (Goleta); parking in their small lot and nearby city lots 10 and 11 (Santa Barbara). Membership for each club is separate. See f45training.com, f45training.com/studio/santabarbara, f45training.com/studio/goletaeast.