Meet The Member - Kris of Circuit Society
circuit society - St. Albans
We chatted to our member Kris of Circuit Society in St. Albans to talk all about circuit training, and the wonderful things on offer at their studio.
Hi Kris, is great having you as a member. For any newcomers to Circuit Society, please tell us in a nutshell who you are and what you offer?
We’re so happy to be here! Thank you. OK, so Circuit Society’s core offering is 45-minute group classes, based on the principles of circuit training. Each class is broken down into six stations – 3 x conditioning and 3 x cardio – and you’ll spend around 6 minutes on each station.
Our classes are designed to cater for all fitness levels – whether you’re just starting (or starting again!) or whether you exercise regularly – we’ll guide you through the class with our brilliant instructors.
We have digital screens on the wall demonstrating the exercises as a reference throughout. It’s fun, functional fitness. We also have mat Pilates and Yoga classes running throughout the week, and we’ll be introducing some exciting new class formats soon!
Your website is great for simplifying the process of joining Circuit Society. What do you think people should bear in mind when they’re looking to embark on a new fitness programme?
I think it’s important to be realistic with your time and your goals. I’m a big believer in ‘anything is possible’, so I’m certainly not saying your ultimate goal can’t be achieving something incredible. I am saying that the best route there is consistency and sustainability.
Work out the days on which you can commit, consistently, to your fitness programme, and regularly raise the bar as you go forward. Whether that’s running that extra 1km, lifting an extra 1kg, or getting an extra rep out next time you’re in class, keep yourself motivated with achievable targets and keep pushing. That’s not setting a low bar, that’s setting an achievable bar – one you can reach and then move on to the next, full of confidence and fulfilment.
If you go off-piste, which will always happen as life has a tendency of getting in the way some days, don’t be too hard on yourself. Get back on the horse as soon as you can and go again.
You’ve got a great team at the studio in St. Albans. Tell us a bit more about what they offer?
We wanted to arrive in St. Albans and give some of the best local trainers an opportunity to immerse themselves in a new community. They all have different USPs, but their common aim is to welcome and motivate each and every person who comes through our door and give them a new platform to move forward and achieve something special.
Each one of them is doing that in their own special way, and the community they have created really is extraordinary. The trainers always have been, and always will be, the most important part of our business. They make or break a studio, and ours are certainly making something special at St. Albans.
Circuit Society is a franchise. How long have you had the St Albans franchise and where are the other studios?
St. Albans in a franchise, yes, but it’s part of the bigger Circuit Society picture. I’ve been involved in the central business from the off, which opened its first studio in Camden in April ’22. We picked St. Albans as the first place to launch a franchise as it’s such a great area and I grew up locally, but everyone within the business pitches in to the studio. We’re opening a new studio in Old Spitalfields Market, East London, over the next few weeks, and we also have another franchise in Bayswater, West London.
We have a big history in opening fitness studios and have some amazing opportunities coming up to really scale Circuit Society in the UK and internationally. Prior to the inception of Circuit Society, we ran KOBOX, a boutique boxing studio that launched on the King’s Road, Chelsea in 2015, before launching three further studios across London. KOBOX was then acquired by United Fitness Brands, which saw us running over 20 further fitness studios across the UK across several different sectors.
welldone, that’s super impressive. Can you tell us about the facilities in the St. Albans Studio?
All our equipment is self-generated, so no electricity or power is needed. We have self-generated treadmills, Ski-Ergs, Bike-Ergs and Assault Bikes + a variety of free-weights.
We have a shake bar, from which we sell post-class shakes using our own protein brand, Nua. We also have unisex changing rooms with private shower and changing cubicles + a range of beauty products, GHD hairdryers and straighteners.
What do your membership packages offer, and can a member use the other studios?
First of all, we have 2 amazing Intro Offers. The first, you can grab 3 Classes + 1 Buddy credit (bring a friend along for one of your classes) for £25 or go for the 14-Day Unlimited Trial for £29.
We then have two options to take part in class. You can either go down the Pay-As-You-Go route, meaning you can either buy 1 single class, a 4-class, 8-class, or 12-class pack. These will last for 90 days, and you can use them as and when you like, across all our class formats.
We also then have our monthly options, which scale again as 1-class, 4-class, 8-class, 12-class, or Unlimited monthly memberships. With these you have the month to use your class count – these are the most cost-effective options we have in terms of bringing down the cost-per-class. Again, with our memberships you can book into any class format we offer.
If you want to head into London and use your credits, you absolutely can, you’ll just need to pay a small top-up fee when you arrive on your account to take part.
What would you say to potential clients who might be nervous about getting stuck into a new fitness regime?
Every single person who is in the class, gym, or programme – whatever it may be – has been in your shoes at one time. Everyone has to start somewhere, and at Circuit Society it’s our principal aim to introduce people to circuit training and a new way of fitness that will genuinely benefit your physical fitness, wellbeing, and lifestyle. There is no judgement, no pressure, and nothing to worry about. It also helps that the studio is very dimly lit, with motivational music pumping throughout, so no one feels on show at any stage.
What fitness activities do you personally love?
By large, I’ve typically been more of a weightlifter than all-round athlete. I’ve done the odd triathlon after following a specific programme, and I’ve also done intensive boxing training for certain projects. However, as I’ve got a little older, functional fitness is the most beneficial and enjoyable for me by far. It incorporates weightlifting, which i still enjoy, but the functional exercises and cardio elements really give me a far greater all-round level of fitness.
It also gives me the variety I need to stay motivated, and naturally yields new targets for me to strive towards hitting.
I’m a long-serving martyr to the Bad Back Club and have a 1-year-old boy, so my targets are now not how much weight I can lift, but how energised I can be waking up each day, how useful can I make myself in every part of my life and how can I smash my goals throughout the day, every day. Fitness is a big part of that, but I’ve a long way to go!
When you’re not in the studio, what do you like to do in St. Albans?
I don’t get a great deal of time outside of the studio when I am there, but there are some great spots to eat and drink in St Albans. Leafy is a great spot to grab a healthy lunch, and on my more indulgent days I’m partial to a bagel at Brad & Dills!
And lastly where do you like to go in the area when you’re looking for a spot of indulgence?
As well as the above, my natural habitat is that of an old, traditional country pub. The Portland Arms is dangerously close to the studio…