F45 Training Sloan's Lake — Local services in Denver

I got hooked on F45 in another city, and started at F45 Sloan’s Lake after moving to Denver. This cozy little F45 is truly my favorite, primarily because of the coaching team.

The coaches are all great in their own unique ways. Jocelyn makes your day better with her glowing positive energy and will challenge you to push hard, especially on the Ski ERG or bike. Zak incorporates great info from his extensive physiology knowledge to every intro and stretch. Tristan will do the exercise with you to challenge you to push harder and correct your form, and maybe add some humor to your day. Ana is always on the lookout and provides positive reinforcement when you’re pushing yourself hard. Ryan is the most enthusiastic person I’ve ever seen, and watches your form like a hawk. Nisha makes you feel super welcome, provides excellent commentary during the intro, and also great yoga-informed stretches after the workout. I’m probably forgetting some other great coaches but they’ll forgive me because they’re all super nice people!

Other things that are fantastic about this F45:

As a full member, you also get access to F45 RiNo which honestly I would recommend for weekend clases, as it’s a much larger F45 and has mostly the same pool of great trainers. However, if you live in the neighborhood there’s no reason Sloan’s shouldn’t be your daily gym. They provide towels for the workout! While you should definitely show up early or on time, if you sneak in 1-2 minutes late, so long as you’re in before the demonstration completes, they won’t give you any lip about it. They treat everyone like adults here. But seriously please do show up on time, it is mildly distracting to be late.

I do have some mild grievances, but none of them worth losing a star in the review. It genuinely frustrates me that they don’t have the agility poles required for some workouts. Running between imaginary poles isn’t as satisfying. Never had the pleasure of meeting the owner, Chris, but I hope he reads this and orders the missing equipment! Also, I feel like this is probably the smallest possible F45 in terms of square footage, so at max capacity you have just enough space to do the workout, not the ideal amount in some cases. Semi related, because of a lack of space for a full water fountain, the water bottle filler at this F45 dispenses what seems to be unfiltered regular temperature tap water.

Finally, I’d you’re reading this and you’ve never taken an F45 class, try it NOW. The tagline “team training, life changing” is 100% true. Before F45 I was trying to do my own things at the gym, but I never had the consistency or discipline. Working out was a chore not a pleasure. But, F45 changed all that. The group format with the exercises on the TV and prescribed timing makes it really hard to cheat yourself out of a good workout. The music keeps you going. The coaches help you with your form. Although you won’t see any significant results without monitoring your diet, you will absolutely see your energy, stamina, and strength improve if you consistently come to F45. It’s not cheap, but it will change your life. It’s definitely...

Over the last few years, I have been trying (unsuccessfully) to commit to working out and it never stuck. I'd find excuses like "I didn't like the facility" or "music" or "people" or whatever. At F45, I have zero excuses and I actually have incentive to work out because the trainers are all so freaking wonderful, motivating, kind and supportive. I love them all and especially appreciate Zack and Anna. No matter how I feel about myself (now that I'm in my 40's, it normally isn't great thoughts), I can see how they see me and it makes me feel like I am capable of anything (even doing a pull up...eventually ;).

UPDATE: I've gotten hooked on F45 and took a drop in class in Vegas and down in Colorado Springs to continue training even while on vacation or visiting family. I've learned that what Katie and Chris offer at the Sloans Lake and RINO F45 sites is really really special. Not only do her trainers seriously rock as authentic, motivating and caring people (literally every single one of them - Tristan, Nisha, Kenzie, Jocelyn, Jess, Gabby, Anna, Zack) but they go above-and-beyond to ensure they take care of you before, during and AFTER the workouts. Case in point - they take at least 5 min of careful guided stretching after the workouts to make sure you don't accidentally injure yourself. They also ALWAYS have alternative modified moves in case you have an existing injury.

I took this hands on support for granted because I was spoiled at Sloans Lake and recognized this serious differentiator while visiting other sites that didn't have that level of support.

(If I sound like I am enamored, it is because I...

Worked out here for a few months.. over time I think I just didn't feel so welcome or valued even though I tried to be positive to everyone around me. Positivity means you can push harder and recover faster. Don't get me wrong, I didn't walk away with any huge negative experience. The workouts began to cater to mostly legs (they switched it up without really communicating) and felt like the gym low-key discriminated against dudes. On a few occasions I heard the staff man bashing and that’s just the vibe there. You're just not going to grow or gain in an environment where there is such insecurity, and for $180/month id like a more respectful environment.

There are now two instances where I've been billed even after communicating a desire to have my setup cancelled. Tried this gym again after the manager tried to sell me into another month instead of a refund and I just don’t feel comfortable. Can’t pin it but if you’re a dude I’d opt to get your bootcamp / HIIT in somewhere else.

I like F45 for being a moderate intensity workout where you can make it more intense by adding more weight. This particular gym and others like it would stand to do better if they worked on more of a sense...