What It's Actually Like to Train at Basement: Our Gym, Our Reformer Studio, and the $20 Week That Lets You Try Both

Many people who walk through our door in Kirrawee have already tried a few gyms. That's the usual story. They've done the big franchise with the swipe card and the 24-hour access, they've had a stint at a reformer Pilates studio somewhere in the Shire, and neither one quite stuck.

Our guess is it's because those are two separate memberships, two separate direct debits, and two separate places to drive to. So you pick one, and the other thing you actually enjoyed falls off.

We built Basement so you don't have to pick.

The gym side

We're class-based, which means you'll never walk in and stand around wondering what to do. We've written the session before you arrive, and one of our coaches is on the floor with you the whole way through, watching your technique and adjusting things when they need adjusting. If it's your first time, we'll come and find you before we start. You won't have to put your hand up and admit you're new.

Our strength classes run on proper progressive training phases, the same way we'd program for an athlete, just scaled to whoever's in the room that day. We're not throwing random circuits at you to make you sore and call it a workout. You're building toward something over weeks, and we'll happily tell you what we're working on and why.

The rest of the week covers everything else. Engine is our endurance session, built around longer aerobic efforts and partner work, and it's usually the one that shifts people's fitness the fastest.

MetCon blends cardio, bodyweight and strength work into a session that's over quickly and felt for a while. Vault is team-based, and it's comfortably the loudest hour in the building.

Boxing has turned into a member favourite, and you'll pick up real technique rather than just swinging at a bag. Bring your own gloves for that one.

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Run Club is there for anyone who's wanted to enjoy running and hasn't managed it yet, which usually just comes down to us sorting out your pacing for you. And our Hyrox class has grown quickly, so if you've entered a race or you're just curious what the fuss is about, start there.

That's roughly 50 sessions a week. You don't need to do all of them. Most people find two or three they like and build their week around those.

The reformer studio

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The reformer side of Basement has its own room, its own team of instructors, and its own following. Some of our members have never touched a barbell and only come for this.

If you've written Pilates off as gentle, the reformer will sort that out in about four minutes. It's low impact, which is not the same thing as easy. You're moving slowly and precisely against spring resistance, and the shakes turn up whether you're strong or not.

We run five class types. Standard Reformer is the technical one: posture, mobility, control. Reformer Strength brings in weights and resistance props. HIIT and Jump Board are the cardio ones, and the jump board in particular is far more fun than it has any right to be. Recovery is the opposite end entirely, with stretch, breath work, and a class that a lot of people use as their Sunday reset. Have a look on our website for our Pilates trainer videos that give more detail on each class type.

The bit people don't expect

There's a sauna and there are ice baths, and they're included rather than sold as an add-on package.

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We also run a creche. It's called BSMNT Minis and it operates during the 9:30am and afternoon classes, which are the two slots that make or break whether a parent can train at all. It's supervised, and it's the reason a lot of our members are here rather than at home feeling guilty about not training.

Showers too, obviously, so the 6am crowd can go straight to work.

Who we are

Jesse started Basement after years of it being the thing that kept him sane from the age of fifteen. He'd wanted his own gym for a long time, got into the industry properly in 2018, and opened this place three years later.

The thing we're proudest of isn't the equipment. It's that people who were nervous about gyms stayed. Natalie's been coming for eighteen months and reckons she's not leaving. Yasmin had tried a lot of places before finding us and said the un-pretentious thing was what she couldn't find anywhere else.

That's the bit we can't really sell you on in writing. You have to feel the room.

So try the whole thing for $20

Which brings us to the all-access week.

Twenty dollars, one week, everything. Gym classes, reformer classes, the sauna, the ice baths.

Not a taster session, not one class, not a tour where someone walks you around and then sits you down to talk about contracts. A full week to actually train, meet the coaches, and work out which classes you like.

We do it this way because we'd rather you found out properly. If you come for a week and it's not your place, that's a fair outcome and no hard feelings. Most people don't leave though.

You'll find us at 12 Monro Avenue, Kirrawee. Doors open at 5am on weekdays and 6am on Saturdays.

Come and have a look.

Grab the $20 all-access week