Exercise Is The New Currency: Run For Your Bun

Ever been in the depths of hunger and uttered the words “I would do anything for a good burger right now”? Anything...? How about climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro? - No?

How about a six minute high intensity workout?

If like me, running is one of your least favourite activities, perhaps a burger waiting at the finish line might just do it. David LLoyd Clubs has come up with an innovative way to make you ‘run for your bun’, as part of a short, yet effective promotion.

Author: Siphilele Magagula

Photo: Courtesy of David Lloyd Clubs

Concerned about the sedentary lifestyle of office workers who spend on average 90 percent of their working day physically inactive, David Lloyd Clubs launched a new cafe concept for a brief stint in January 2017 called ‘Run For Your Bun’ in Covent Garden, London. As part of the club’s PR promotion, the cafe allowed its customers to ‘pay’ for their meals with a six to ten minute High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) workout. The campaign hoped to encourage workers to adopt a more active and healthy lifestyle through introducing them to high intensity workouts and a balanced diet in their menu.

Interior of Run For Your Bun concept restaurant. Image courtesy of David LLoyd Clubs

What Do You Have To Do To Earn Your Bun?

The workout included (with 30-second rest periods between each exercise):

• one-minute on a rowing machine,

• one minute on a spin bike,

• one minute on a treadmill,

• 60-seconds of sit-ups,

• bodyweight squats and lunges

Doesn’t seem too bad, right? Seems like a small price to pay for the health benefits involved.

You might be wondering if such a workout reaps any benefits. Well this HIIT workout, designed by David Lloyd Clubs’ personal trainers is said to really work your heart rate and energizes you to face the day ahead. In just six to ten minutes you will burn calories, increase your heart rate to a ‘fat-burning zone’ and work your muscles. It has been proven that doing short bursts of high impact exercise gives an ‘after burn effect’ which means your body continues to burn calories even after your workout, same as with interval sprints. This workout will make one feel like they deserve the delicious balanced lunch that follows.

Image courtesy of David Lloyd Clubs

Here is a snippet of what the scene is at this restaurant:

Video courtesy of David Lloyd Clubs via Facebook

If you live in London, you might be preparing yourself for this unbelievably innovative experience, however sadly this concept restaurant was just that, a concept. Sadly, it only opened to the public Wednesday 11 – Friday 13 January 2017 and was located at 3 Slingsby Place, Covent Garden.

Wouldn’t you want this open all year round and in a city near you? Perhaps David Lloyd Clubs should have opening Run For Your Bun all year round at the top of their list?!