Class: Cycle
Duration: 45 minutes
Intensity: 8/10
Price: £23 (substantially cheaper with bulk credit buys & memberships - e.g. £139 p/month for unlimited classes)
Location: DigMe Fitness, 4-10 Tower St, London WC2H 9NP
Closest Tube: Leicester Square (3 minute walk - Exit 1, Cranbourne Street)
Website: https://www.digmefitness.com/
There's often a theme at DigMe Fitness - Hallowe'en week brings with it a host of spooky rides!
In my opinion, DigMe Fitness in Covent Garden provides everything you need from a central London gym. It oozes the coolness of a fashionable studio, is spotless, spacious and has a nice, comfy sofa for post-session sit downs (believe me, you'll need to rest your bum afterwards). Their website is clean & UX straightforward - probably the best of all the London studios - and includes a rewards programme, offering "Huna" points for each class you partake in, which (after a short while) you can cash in for free classes, buddy credits, smoothies or even discounted merch. The front-of-house staff are really friendly and always open to chat (I'm definitely an over-sharer so it works for me!), which isn't always the case in these kind of places.
Clean & spacious changing rooms, plenty of showers, a selection of grooming products and *even* massage guns!
Going by the website, the instructors all look amazing/slightly intimidating - there's almost a celebrity status vibe going on - *but* don't be fooled by the DigMe photo shoots, all of the instructors I've interacted with have been extremely welcoming, understanding of ability, and very big on the mindfulness. Many stick around after class to converse or answer questions, and there's a real sense of community, often with instructors having their own regular attendees - almost like fitness groupies!
The spin (or "Cycle") classes all follow the same kind of format, with Cycle Rhythm taking more of a bouncy-bouncy (as I like to describe it) approach and Cycle Ride focussing a lot more on endurance and stamina. In terms of what you do in each class:
Rhythm progresses you through single, double and often triple RPM beats, with a 3-5 minutes weights section (arms) usually at the halfway stage. It's a mixture of strength, conditioning and also a bit of on-bike dancing (!), with around 70% of your time spent in the standing position. As you would expect, there are seated options and everyone is encouraged to focus on themselves, doing what feels best for their body. There's usually a mindful track thrown in too, with a couple of minutes climbing in the dark, which is really great for forgetting about everything going on outside.
Ride has more emphasis on power output and endurance, with a number of small sets that slowly increase the gears or speed to a crescendo, before you rest, take a sip of water and go again. There's more sitting down here but still plenty of opportunity for pushing through that standing climb (if that's your thing!). Note, that this class often keeps the data screens on (they're switched off for Rhythm), and you'll be encouraged to hit certain power output zones, which are indicated by a colour next to your name on the screen. There's also usually a watts p/kg "competition" where you're given anything between 1-6 minutes to push to the max, and despite being told to only compete against yourself, it's difficult not to get competitive (or feel weak if you're near the bottom like I usually am...) when you see your name in a real-time league table of perceived effort. This live data approach works for me on some days, but not always, so bear that in mind.
Entrance area at DigMe Fitness - can you spot the doggo?
Overall, I'd say that I find Rhythm to be the easier of the two classes (although the arms section is always a killer!) but I really enjoy both. My current Tuesday strategy is to do the 6pm Rhythm class followed by the 7pm Ride class, thus getting the benefits of a full body workout and muscle use variations. Being a hybrid worker and currently subscribing to their unlimited monthly membership also encourages me to double-up when I do get to Covent Garden, as this brings down my cost per class (CPC) average (YES, I calculate this each month and use that acronym... data geek that I am).
In terms of timings, DigMe offers relatively standardised morning and evening windows for spin classes, with 7am/8am and 6pm/7pm on most weekdays. They also do lunchtimes (12pm/1pm) and - until recently - offered an express, 30 minute spin class but looking at the timetable, it appears to no longer be an option. Monday through to Wednesday at 6pm tends to be the most popular class, and it's a good idea to book the week prior if you have a favourite bike / want to guarantee a spot. If there's a "W" next to the class that you try to book on the website or app, it means that the class is full but they'll put you on the waiting list - I recommend a little call to the studio to find out how many people are on that particular day's waiting list to get an idea of the likelihood of jumping on a bike.
Thank f*ck the shower situation is good here!
Saturday sessions are really popular - despite the central London location and attendees effectively "commuting" on a weekend, the morning spin classes are always oversubscribed and have good vibes. Depending upon who you're "in" with (it's not what you know, it's who you know, etc, etc), there are often post-spin drinks/food of a Saturday but I'm yet to join these myself.
In terms of the studio setup and general layout, you've got your front desk and "social" area on street level (keep an eye out for canine friends - there's usually a doggo or two primed for petting), with the changing rooms just behind. There are plentiful shower towels available, which can be grabbed after class (see over my sweaty shoulder in the pic upper-left). The changing rooms themselves are pretty spacious but can get a tiny bit chaotic in class changeover periods - in 6 months of coming to the studio, only once have I had to wait for a shower to be free. As you'd expect, they've got a good selection of shower products, deodorant and hair styling options. Once you've locked away your civilian gear in one of the 4-digit keypad lockers, you hop down the stairs to the basement, where there are three studios - one for spin, one for yoga and one for HIIT. Thus, if you can't get yourself a spot on a spin class, there's always something else to do!
Seven Dials is just a minute walk away & great at Christmas time!
The spin studio itself contains 40 bikes, packed relatively tightly together (not as tight as say Psycle, which is another studio I love but one that can be a bit human centipede sometimes) in four rows, with the back row slightly elevated from the rest. Views of the instructor vary - if you're at the side/in the corner, you do have to crane your neck to keep an eye on what's going on. Overall though, views are good and the floor-to-ceiling mirror is great if you enjoy keeping in rhythm with your fellow spinners. Note - and this may have just been a one-off - that bike 39 is under the air-conditioning unit and I had the misfortune of being showered in cold rain for the final 10 minutes of a class a couple of months back. Safe to say, I've avoided that bike since.
Finally, I'd like to revisit talking about the website, which really is a plus for me. There's an entire section on your profile, where you can see your total classes attended by type, previous class stats, and your progress in any of the challenges (where you can earn virtual badges!). You can also sync your activity apps with your account, meaning that at the end of the class, your workout automatically loads, adding to your weekly distance totals. One less personal admin task to worry about post-session.
Big fan of the DigMe mobile web interface, including loyalty history ("Huna"), upcoming classes & attendance records.
As you can probably tell, I'm a bit of a DigMe loyalist, and with additional studios located in Bank, Moorgate and Richmond (which you can also use your credits at), it's fair to say I've hot-footed it around London to attend a number of their classes. I was gutted when they shut-down their Ealing studio, it being on my doorstep, but given the pandemic situation, I can understand why. To conclude, the Covent Garden studio is a great shout for anyone working in or around Soho. It works well for me as it's on my way home from the office. Being smack bang in the middle of everything, the only downside is the temptation to spend a load of £££s on food/drink/shopping straight after class - visiting in the early morning will reduce this risk... Happy exercising!
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