r/f45

I was on my last station for triple threat today (ski erg) but since I had tricep issues, opted to sub with jump rope

Literally 10 seconds in, felt a sharp pain my left calf and at first, didn’t think too much of it. But after another 5 seconds I was like nope…can’t even put weight on it

I’m super bummed becuase I’ve been going for like 2 months and love it but idk how I’m gonna sub everytbjnf since you kinda need your calves for most things.

As context, I’ve been an athlete my whole life (basketball) currently 38 and still playing. But since 2022 I’ve had this weird, extreme calf pain that pops in either calf and I can’t explode or out weight on them.

I’ve actually been good since I’ve been doing f45 and haven’t had calf issues for almost a year.

I’m not sure what is going on.

Like even bodyweight calf raises will get my calves super sore.

Btw, I’m 5’11”, 170 and can dunk, played basketball A lot and never had problems ever with calves prior to 2022.

Anwyas, any thoughts/experience would be appreciated since I thought o was finally in the clear with this calf stuff but now idk.

Just now working out after having kids back to back. I need to lose weight and get stronger.

What tips do you have for maximizing results?

What is the current best recommendations for diet?

I have heard things about Creatine? Protein powders? I have to add I am quite 'crunchy' and like to avoid artificial flavors/sweeteners

Do I eat before working out if I go to the early morning class?

Thanks, looking forward to learning from everyone!

That is the ?.

I love ropes and sled. I love cardio.

I loved I think it was Apex when we had 4 minute stations.

I look at the intel-- 20, 30, 40, 50 sec- one after another of 3 or 4 hard cardios in a row.

How did you pace it?

EDIT-- I went with a plan. My studio substitutes out the sled & ropes for tri-bell squat OH press & kettle bell speed squats. It was hard.

hello😄 i’ve only started doing f45 at the beginning of july and ever since i started i became obsessed with it! (not an exaggeration haha) i’ve been going every weekday and have been taking the weekends off and just walk a lot of the weekends. with this, i’ve been doing pilates consistently for around 2 years and it’s been great for my overall mental health as well as my core because i have scoliosis🥲 but i found that just pilates didn’t give me the results i wanted so i tried f45 and found it to be super enjoyable! i’ve also done the gym a few years ago but found that i really didn’t like going especially because of how crowded it gets and having to do it alone (my friends aren’t interested in working out haha) anyways, i found that group classes are actually really enjoyable and makes me workout even harder!

sorry for rambling but my main question was will i be able to gain a significant amount of muscle doing f45? i would consider myself a beginner because even when i was going to the gym before, i was never lifting heavy. i think 5kg was the max i was lifting. (this was like 2022) but i’ve been wanting to get stronger and build muscle and in the f45 classes i try to lift as heavy as i can! obviously i won’t be able to chest press 10kg yet, but 4-5kg is pretty challenging and my coaches help me go til failure and i really feel the muscles when working out because i make form my top priority. if you could give me tips or just share your experience i’d be happy to read them! thank you ☺️

Hey everyone

I’ve been doing f45 now for about 2 1/2 months, and while it hasn’t been 100% consistent because of life, but with this and eating healthier I’ve lost 12 pounds in this time which has been great for my weight loss journey.

While this is great progress I keep looking at the exercises when I book a class and I find that I get easily intimidated or psych myself out before I even begin.

I just looked up the new resistance workout for Maximus and it just totally threw me off. I still booked the class but now I’m having the thoughts of “I’m going to struggle” and “I can’t do this”. I don’t know at what point I’ll stop psyching myself out.

Not sure if there’s a solution to this, but just looking for some positivity. I’m the biggest guy at the class that I go and still feel very self conscious when I struggle to keep up. The people I normally work out with are really nice and my coaches are great…. But this keeps happening where I psych myself out before I even start a class or a workout in the class

Update: I did it. I feel like I’m dying but I did it!
It’s crazy how I’m used to the pacing but adding those core workouts just kicked me ass by the end of it. I gotta keep strengthening my core and get rid of the belly, but I know I can do it

I was an avid OTF buff, until 2024, and until the time I went I felt like testosterone levels were good, and since I quit couple of years ago due to relocation to a new town that had no OTF close by, my t levels have plummeted. I’m trying to optimize my diet , supplements etc , but I feel like I’m not quite getting my training right. I need a workout class so that I don’t have to figure out what to train on. There’s a new F45 studio nearby now. Should I try it 2-3 times a week? I’m curious if any men saw improvement in testosterone levels with F45 workouts.

PS : I’m not interested in going on TRT.

I’m thinking of switching to the 48 credit classpass plan. Does anyone know how many F45 classes I’d be able to take per a month with 48 credits?

My studio did the 9s today and I had never done it before so researched it here and was prepared for it to be coached incorrectly based on all of the past threads here. Sure enough, they told us to do 9 reps of the primary exercise for the first set and 9 reps of the secondary exercise for the second set. They just told us to alternate sides the second lap around. I just did the exercise for the entirety of the work period because stopping at 9 reps per round leaves way too much rest and defeats the whole purpose of the format IMO. Curious how many studios teach it correctly vs incorrectly - how did yours coach it?

5 year F45 goer… I’ve been feeling a bit bored with the classes recently. A lot of the classes lately seem like they’re just repeating the same exercises, both strength and cardio, and I’ve started to not enjoy it as much. Maybe it’s just me? I’m debating cancelling and doing something else to spice it up. Unfortunately would lose the grandfathered monthly rate if I left.

I’ve decided to deload my training this week til thursday cause I’ve reached my threshold. I workout 6x a week. 5x a week f45 and 1 long run either Sunday or Saturday. I woke up physically exhausted this morning and decided that I’m gonna prioritise rest and recovery.

Hey! I’m 34M, fairly new to Boston, originally from Europe.

Looking for people to work out or do active things with. Would anyone be up for a casual tennis or pickleball game sometime soon? I’m also always looking for an excuse to take my dog hiking, try something new or plan a day trip around New England. My latest obsessions is F45 and acroyoga, the goal is to do proper handstand this year.

I’m also into skiing, martial arts, and love a good movie followed by a completely unsolicited psychological evaluation of every character haha

If you’re into any of the above, let me know. I’ll take one for the team and make the group chat.

This is my first experience with Redline, but it sounds like people here have done it before? I am slightly unhinged and enjoyed Threshold and Pipeline, and enjoy things like doing 40 burpees and 75 suspension trainer rows in a Hyrox class, but Redline sounds scary. I even told me therapist about it 😂

UPDATE: I felt the comeraderie in class today. Never, ever have I heard so much audible grunting and yelling in class, including from myself, lol. Between the battle ropes and ski erg and ski hang clean things, I feel my arms just typing this. 😂

I am going to join f45 but wondering if it’s worth waiting for a particular sign up special or time of year? I am in Chicago if it matters

I will say 9/10 exercises are great and I truly love my time at F45, but I also have a degree in kinesiology and every week there are 2-3 exercises in the rotation that are not really connected to any peer reviewed literature for being particular effective at building endurance or helping your body.

Two weeks ago there was one where everyone was required to stay in a squatting position while doing a shoulder press. This is a junk exercise that's not based on anything. Doing a FULL squat into a press is a very studied movement, but I literally could not find anyone with a PhD in kines who thought this movement was a good idea. Unless you've already trained the area, staying in a squat with loading another muscle can lead to a very serious injury.

Most half kneeling movements that involve weight loading are also not really a thing experts do anymore. It's not really a position you can load much weight in and because of injury occurrence, it's not seen as being the most optimal for strengthening the hips.

As someone with a bit of expertise in the space, sometimes it feels like everything is designed by an expert, but other times it also feels like a random person who has no background in kinesiology is either inventing something or doing something most people in the industry think is antiquated.

No personal trainer with a full university/college degree is ever going to have you do a shoulder press while sitting on the ground with your legs out or while staying in a full squat.

It's getting to the point at my F45 where people ignore those exercises competently and do something else, so I know I'm not the only one experiencing this. I am just a bit concerned F45 has someone on their team who is helping select exercises who really should not be doing that.

Monday August 17: Redline

stations: 9

pods: 1

sets: 5

laps: 1

timing:

set 1: 20” work 5” rest

set 2: 30” work 5” rest

set 3: 40” work 5” rest

set 4: 50” work 5” rest

set 5: 60” work 20” rest

1. battle ropes singles
2. ski erg regular
3. sled push
4. softbox speed step over
5. bike erg seated
6. kettlebell speed step over
7. row erg
8. dumbbell double ski stance hang clean + push press
9. balance trainer reverse burpees

Tuesday August 18: Maximus

Stations: 9

Pods: 3

Sets: 4

Lap: 1

Timing: 40/20, 30/20, 30/20, 30/25 + BW reel at the end of each pod

1. barbell rdl
2. dumbbell flat bench press
3. dumbbell lateral raise
4. dumbbell box seated shoulder press
5. kettlebell unilateral row
6. ybell double racked forward lunge
7. barbell bicep curl
8. deadball shouldered squat
9. ghr hamstring curl tempo

bw reel:

1. straight leg toe touch, v sit up (x2)
2. bicycle crunch, flutter kicks cross over (x2)
3. heel touch, butterfly sit up (x2)

Wednesday August 19: Triple Threat

Stations: 12

Pods: 1

Sets: 3

Laps: 1

Timing:

set 1: 20” work 10” rest

set 2: 40” work 20” rest

set 3: 60” work 30” rest

1. row erg
2. dumbbell punches 4x high + 4x straight
3. suspension trainer 4x shuffle + 4x drop lunges
4. plate russian twist
5. ski erg regular
6. balance trainer single dumbbell power chops & jump
7. 10x high knees + 2x softbox step up
8. shuttle sprint with lateral jumps
9. yogi plank
10. bike erg seated
11. burpee over dumbbell step low
12. 5x deadball ground to overhead + 2x squat jumps (no slam)

Thursday August 20: Pinnacle

Stations: 10 (5 combo stations. Each station has upper body OR lower body exercise)

station 1, 3, 4, and 5 - combo set is either upper OR lower + either mobility OR core

station 2 - combo set is peak lift + rest

Pods: 1

Sets: 4 combo sets

Laps: 1

Timing: 35” Work 20” Rest

Upper Body:

1. landmine bent over row unilateral tempo
2. dumbbell bench seated shoulder press neutral grip
3. 5 ybell front raise + 5 ybell lat raise
4. barbell bicep partials x3
5. kettlebell upright row

Lower Body:

1. landmine goblet split squat one & half
2. dumbbell alternate reverse lunge
3. softbox ybell eccentric step down
4. barbell front squat pulse
5. kettlebell deadlift single leg left

Core/Mobility:

1. 90 to 90 dynamic rotations OR leg climb alternating
2. rest
3. dynamic kneeling frog rotation OR butterfly sit ups
4. superman squat sueeze OR plank feet twists
5. four point extension on knees OR reverse crunches

Friday August 21: Down Under

stations: 10

pods: 1

lap: 1

timing:

Stations 5&10: 3'40" work, 20" rest, 1 set

Rest of stations: 40" work, 20" rest, 4 sets

Cardio:

1. soft box jump
2. ybell burpee deadlift
3. kettlebell swing
4. dumbbell double ski stance hang squat clean + press
5. row erg
6. sandbag squat + upright row
7. medicine ball 4x shuffle + 1x squat jump
8. deadball over shoulder throw
9. dumbbell snatch single from floor
10. bike erg

Resistance

1. single kb racked box step up alternating
2. ybell tricep kickbacks
3. kettlebell single sumo deadlift
4. dumbbell bicep curl
5. dumbbell forward lunges
6. sandbag kneeling arc press
7. medicine ball push up alternating
8. deadball shouldered squat + alternating reverse lunge
9. dumbbell flat bench press
10. barbell front squat

Saturday August 22: Spartan

stations: 15

pods: 3 (pods 1&3 have 6 stations, pod 2 has 3)

timing:

pods 1&3: 40" work, 15" rest. 1 set. 3 laps

pod 2: 5' work per erg, ygig

1. 5 ybell suitcase squats + 2 bw jump squats
2. agility box forward and backward run
3. dumbbell flat bench alternate chest press
4. ghr ab roll
5. kettlebell suitcase row
6. ybell single thruster
7. ski erg (team 2)
8. bike erg and burpee combo
9. rower sprints ygig
10. deadball shouldered squats + alternating reverse lunge
11. balance trainer plank + alternate knee to elbow
12. 10m shuttle runs
13. dumbbell double half kneeling neutral grip shoulder press
14. 10x dumbbell punches + 2x sumo snatches
15. softbox jump staggered feet

Sunday August 23: Pegasus

Stations: 12

Pods: 1

Sets: 3

Laps: 1

Timing: 30" resistance work, 20" bodyweight work, 15" rest

1. kettlebell rdl
2. barbell standing shoulder press
3. revo backloaded reverse lunge
4. suspension trainer close grip row
5. dumbbell alternate bicep curl
6. dumbbell suitcase squat
7. sandbag bent over row wide grip
8. ybell plate calf raises
9. dumbbell upright row close
10. bench plate good morning
11. plate tricep extension
12. kettlebell cossack squat

bw work: yogy push up, speed squats, lunge reverse half range

My F45 gym only has the standard weight sleds, not the CENTR brand. How many 45 pound plates do I need to add to either be the same weight as the Hyrox Men’s Open sled push or at least FEEL the equivalent?

I typically only use 2 x 45 pound plates as there is typically minimal rest during F45 workouts but I am concerned I will be in for a big surprise if I don’t practice with a more realistic weight.

Saw the F45 in the LES is closing. I go to their other location in midtown east. Been going there since the first class. Really hoping they don’t close. Worried they may be next. Anyone have any details?

I (f) live right next to a F45 fitness studio. Is it uncommon to see people in their 70’s in the classes? Thinking of signing up for strengthening classes.