Blok Shoreditch

This is a second location for Blok, the edgy studio that incorporates food and art into its fitness space. The concrete-meets-steel space where Shoreditch meets the City, on the ground floor of Norman Foster-designed Principal Place, could be mistaken for a swanky gallery. In fact, we did mistake it for a gallery on our first visit – thanks to a framed series of black-and-white photography on the walls, visible from outside, of some absolute fitties, who definitely look like they do the HIIT classes here. Other than HIIT, there are the usual pilates, yoga, barre and cardio sessions, plus a whole load of slightly more unusual choices such as sparring, calisthenics, BLOKbeat (with dancing) and BLOKparty (with strobe lighting). The three workout rooms are stripped-back, urban-style spaces with linear strip lighting, while the café does a good post-workout smoothie, plus wraps, snacks and salads, with on-trend ingredients – think turmeric, matcha and activated walnuts. There’s also a selection of high-end clothing and Malin + Goetz products for sale. And it all adds up to make it one of the coolest gyms out there.