My F45 journey… change your life

Danette Breitenbach with two of the fantastic F45 coaches, Brandon (left) and Dan (right)

I have always been an active person, from yoga to running (done my share of road and trail roads) and I have been doing cardio and resistance workouts for about two years.

So when I started at F45 - I chose F45 Bryanston (Gauteng) - at least I had some level of fitness and experience with this type of training.

Functional fitness

Just some background on F45. The F stands for functional training and the 45 for 45 minutes. The sessions are 45 minutes long and based on functional movement which in very basic terms is an exercise that improves your ability to perform everyday movements effectively and safely.

Each F45 workout incorporates cardio, resistance-based strength training, or a hybrid of both.

At each session, there are (at least) two coaches in the room to guide you (more on the coaches later.)

Knowledge is power

When I joined, an assessment was done using one of my favourite devices. It scans your entire body (I have no idea how this works, but I love it!) and measures more than weight and BMI, from muscle and fat distribution and strong and weak points.

It is a real treasure trove of information for anyone starting on a fitness journey or wanting to improve their fitness (be it strength or cardio).

Armed with this knowledge I set off on my F45 journey.

I attended at least five classes a week. The classes are easy to understand with screens showing the exercises and how to perform them, and also to prompt you to rest or move to the next station.

Coaches are king

In addition, the coaches talk you through the workout and demonstrate it before you start. During the session they are on hand to assist you, so you do the exercise properly as well as encourage you.

The coaches are just great - friendly, fun and knowledgeable. This made me feel so welcome from my first session (because walking into any gym is intimidating, right?)

Then what I really liked was that each session starts with a warmup and closes with a cool done. Invaluable for avoiding injuries and staying supple.

The F45 Challenge – life changing

When I was a month into my F45 journey (and loving it) the F45 Challenge launched.

This is a six-week challenge. At the beginning and the end you are scanned with my favourite device. You can set the goal you want - weight loss, muscle gain, building towards something (more on that later) and use the scan as a barometer of your progress.

During the period you have a logbook where you log your calories, protein, exercise etc.

When the challenge started, I was at the Loeries so it was not a good start for me. Did I mention you also got a coach assigned to help you? Well, you do and mine was very concerned about my bad start - concerned for me in a good way.

After Loeries week where I did not exercise (did some hot yoga) and ate badly (NYB is just up the road!) I got back home and decided I needed to put in some effort.

Great results

Once I started logging my calories etc it was easy and not time-consuming at all.

At the halfway point of the challenge, you do another scan. I had lost weight, gained muscle and strength… I was so excited... and motivated.

And I looked and felt great - people were commenting on it asking me what I had done.

I had restricted my calories and exercised. Pretty easy if you think about it! And it was easy with my coach checking in on me, making sure I was okay. By the end of the challenge, I was thrilled with my results.

But, it was about more than weight loss, looking and feeling good, it was life-changing.

A life changing experience

Since the Challenge I have been doing things that are good for me, taking care of myself and loving it.

I felt so good I did something crazy and entered Hyrox (if you don’t know what this is, have a look here which takes place on 1 March.

F45 is an official training partner and hosts Hyrox training once a week, which I started attending.

If you had told me last year I would be where I am today and training for Hyrox, I would have laughed.

Needless to say, after my training period at F45 ended last year I signed up immediately.

If you want to change your life, I suggest you join. The next F45 Challenge starts on 10 February and who knows, it could change your life - it has changed mine!