Fast and furious: Ritual’s 30-minute fitness promise

Gyms are an ever-evolving concept, with each one aspiring to up the ante on the last exercise fad. But we certainly can’t complain about anything that makes exercising as quick and efficient as possible, like in the case of the newly-opened Ritual, whose main selling point is a 30-minutes-and-you’re-out philosophy that owners Brad Robinson (a professional MMA fighter), ‘celebrity trainer’ Ian Tan and TV personality
 Oli Pettigrew conceived to counter 
the common excuse that no one has
 the time for exercise in today’s busy work culture.

However, to call Ritual a gym is
 a bit of a stretch. You won’t find the usual configuration of ellipticals 
and treadmills here, much less a Life Fitness equipment. Instead, Ritual recommends the use of kettlebells (co-owner Tan’s the head coach for
 the local Orange Kettlebell Club), dumbbells, medicine balls, Olympic rings and suspension trainers, all arranged neatly in a little three-metre numbered square that you occupy 
for the session. The specific tools are selected by Tan for various exercises based on three different fitness levels 
– you’re given an assessment at your first session and a set of recommended exercises.

Ritual’s 30-minute promise also includes changing and shower time, as well as refuelling at the shake bar, which is Pettigrew’s baby at the establishment – if you’re lucky, you’ll even catch him personally manning the counter. Exercises clock in no longer than 20 minutes, and although a logical thinker might muse that the price (memberships start at $369 a month) doesn’t quite measure up to the actual work out time you’ll get at each session, converts Robinson and Pettigrew will swear otherwise. The owners are living specimens of the philosophy that short burst exercises, which Ritual’s
 sessions are based 
on, have put them 
in much better 
shape than any
 90-minute exercise
 programme ever
 has.

The classes 
here are one-
size-fits-all, with
 provisions tailored
 for different fitness
 levels and injuries, 
and a minimum 
of two fitness 
instructors working with the group
 at every session. Instead of offering a variety of classes to help its members achieve specific goals such as muscle building or weight loss like at other such establishments, Ritual’s emphasis lies more in creating an optimised version of oneself at the end of the day.

In terms of spatial layout, Ritual keeps things simple with a circular path that takes you on your half-hour journey. Sign in at the lobby and get into your fit wear in the unisex changing room, which is fitted with seven showers and two changing rooms. Take in the mantras ‘The only way out of here is through’ and ‘Be brave’ before entering the exercise room, and conclude the session at Pettigrew’s shake bar, which offers three different meal-replacement drinks – sold separately – that’ll likely adhere to just about any restrictive diet out there.

Shoes are not required for the exercises, and Ritual provides gym wear (with sizes from S to XXL) and towels. If you think the place will be too crowded for your liking, Ritual’s thought that one through too – Robinson promises to keep membership numbers at an optimal level to avoid hitting a critical mass (which means that there might be a waiting list in the near future), so once you’re in, you won’t have to wrangle with other members for a spot on the exercise floor. Plus, the fitter you get, the less space you’ll take up – so if you’ve been slacking on your resolutions, this one’s for you: there’s hardly an excuse out there that Ritual doesn’t have covered. 

Ritual is at 03-01, 11 North Canal Rd (6536 7291, www.ritual.sg). Daily 6.30am-10pm.