ZUIDAS. Magazine

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Within my circle of friends, many prefer a weekly night club dance to a workout at the gym. But why not combine the two, especially considering the current moment. Saints & Stars is a gym that feels like a five-star night club and promises that you’ll burn up to 1000 cal. in an hour. You’ll leave feeling in top shape.

The name and the entrance of the gym, Saints & Stars, situated in a former church at the heart of Amsterdam Zuid, reminds me of a chic night club in Barcelona. While waiting for the English-speaking receptionist, we can hear the music loud and clear. Dimmed lights, light show on the ceiling, and the music’s low bass tones make you long to step onto the dance floor.

Wearing an appropriate outfit and holding our phones, we step inside. It’s after passing the circular lounge corner and seeing the fitness equipment that I realize where I am. It’s time for an intense workout.

Deluxe and sexy

Tom Moos is the creator of this ingenious gym concept. Eric Kuster was signed up to provide a ‘luxurious and sexy’ interior. Moos, coming from a fitness-loving family, opened his first gym on the Tweede Constantijn Huygensstraat in Oud West, only to refine his original concept at the Gerrit Van Der Veenstraat in Oud Zuid. The doors opened on the first of July 2020.

Moos shows me around the impressive church transformed into a three storey gym, which has a relaxing atmosphere, and of course, with the appropriate support, is meant to make you burn 1000 calories in just one hour. “The millennials visiting us have no time to waste”, explains Moos.

Experience centre

“Saints & Stars is not an ordinary gym, it is a five-star experience centre”, says Moos. We enter the Open Gym, where we find the latest app-operated fitness equipment. There are only a few Dutch fitness centres using this advanced system. First, you set your targets with a personal trainer, and then you start working out at your own pace.

In the app, you receive your customized training instructions. Your trainer keeps an eye on the intensity of your workout and verifies how many calories you burn. There is no mercy after a lousy night’s sleep. Moos smiles: “We even send an app notification or call you if we have not seen you for a while. Not to push, but to motivate. We want you to get the most out of your training and yourself.”

Focussed on relaxation

Moos’ goal is to get the gym members more confident with their looks and in a better shape when leaving the gym. At the check-in, you receive a bottle of water and a shower towel. Your workout towel is waiting for you in the gym. The elegant dressing rooms are all fitted with lockers, and in the lounge area there is plenty of room to get yourself back together. There are bottles of shower gel, shampoo and even perfume available in the showers. Everything at Saints & Stars is meant to help you relax after a powerful training session of Holy Booty, Holy Build, Holy Shred, Open Gym, or with your Personal Trainer. These are the five concepts provided by Saints & Stars.

“We move along with the trends, which is why we launched Holy Booty in Oud Zuid. Here you mainly train your buttocks”, says Moos. “The Holy workouts are supervised by our skilled Star trainers. From the moment you walk in, release and prepare yourself for a hard workout. The trainer, the music and the lights pull you through the intense training sessions. We offer the complete experience which makes you forget about time.”

Chandelier

On the first floor of the former church, sunlight enters through the stained– glass windows. An impressive, modern version of a chandelier sparkles in the centre. The original organ is still present in the spacious Open Gym, where, when I visit, a small group of men and women are doing weight training.

Moos: “Monthly, every first Friday, we have a DJ performance to simulate a club feeling. Some people do not work out because they don’t enjoy doing so. Therefore, we turn our space into a party. During weekends, the music and light shows are more intense. That is part of the whole experience.”

Moos leads me to the most popular workout programme, which is in the basement: the Holy Shred. Larz, like some other trainers at Saints & Stars, used to work for Nike, adidas and Puma. Now at Saints & Stars, he is responsible for an hour of high-intensity training, making you feel used up, but – above all – fulfilled when leaving the gym. The light show seems to come from every corner. Lights are integrated into the ceiling, walls and floor. The music is loud. “This absorbs you during your workout, provides you with tunnel vision, completely wrapped up in yourself, not caring about others. That is the way to intensify your training and get the most out of it. And while doing so, you cross that line.” 

The total workout

Shredding stands for the total workout, burning your fat and sculpting your body to perfection. This is noticeable when the heavily perspiring bodies pass us at the end of the  workout. Is this an option for plus-size bodies? Moos: “It certainly is. First of all, you define your goals with your Personal Trainer; then you get a free try-out on all concepts to get an idea. On average, our members train 2.5 times a week. We take care of the total one-hour workout. I can guarantee that in only a short time there is a visible result.” 

Saints & Stars focuses on service and results, not on selling memberships. “We are a boutique gym, comparable to a boutique hotel, designed to target a specific group, not an all-inclusive production. You exercise with like-minded people; consequently, working out gets a social aspect, you are here with friends and make new friends. Moreover, it creates a sense of community, which is great to see.”

 

Are you ready to cross that line?

Explore our Next Level Gym now and experience a free trial class in one of our Holy Workouts or the Open Gym. Sign in at www.saints-stars.com/en/activate using the code: ZUIDAS

 

Saints & Stars

Gerrit van der Veenstraat 38

AMSTERDAM

T 020 85 45 770

E info@saints-stars.com

 

 

 

Read in: Nederlands