Yesterday, I had the privilege of attending a workout class led by Luke Milton, a trainer who appears on Khloé Kardashian's fitness reality show Revenge Body, at his Training Mate studio in West Hollywood. I was expecting to lose my will to live a little bit during the 45-minute class, but I actually got through it with minimal damage. Yes, that is a humblebrag (you guys, I'm, like, sooo fit). Besides being somewhat easier than I had anticipated, the workout was lots of fun, went by quickly, and was definitely effective, judging by how my hamstrings feel right now. Here's everything you need to know about Luke and Training Mate, and a little more than you wanted to know about me.
Luke Milton
Luke hails from Australia, where he was a professional rugby player. Back in Sydney, he founded his studio, Training Mate, which he brought to Los Angeles in 2013. There are now two locations—one in Studio City and one in West Hollywood. In the U.S., Luke is best known for his work on Revenge Body With Khloé Kardashian. The premise of the show is to help people regain confidence after a breakup by training them and providing makeovers, which is actually a pretty smart concept if you think about it. In person, Luke is friendly and welcoming; his energy is overwhelming and slightly intimidating if you're at all shy and awkward like me. He describes himself as "not drunk, just Australian," and likes to make jokes about buns. Because who doesn't?
My fitness background
For reference, I work out four to five times a week, alternating between reformer pilates, barre, spin, Fitness Blender videos, and the occasional run or hike. I have been exercising pretty regularly for five years. I'm definitely no fitness buff (I can barely do a pushup, fam), but I'm also not horribly out of shape.
The class
The workout is a 45-minute circuit training session. There are three stations, each of which is comprised of three exercises that each participant performs for 45 seconds in a rotation, three times over. So that's: 3 x 3 x 3. The class concludes with a core series and a stretch. The format of the class I took was as follows:
Station 1
- Burpees with a step-up
- 4 jump squats & 4 jump lunges with TRX
- Weighted side lunges
Station 2
- Deadlifts
- Elevated bridges
- Squat pulses on a bosu (I did them on the floor because my balance is embarrassing)
Station 3
- Mountain climbers (I HATE mountain climbers)
- Rowing machine
- Spin bike climb
Core (each exercise performed once for 45 seconds)
- Tabletop crunch hold
- Toe touches
- Tabletop crunches
- Plank hold
- Side plank hold
- Penguin crunches
- Russian twists (complete with Russian-themed puns courtesy of Luke)
- V-sit
- I'm probably forgetting something
Because each exercise is only performed for 45 seconds at a time, it's very feasible for people of all fitness levels ("you can do anything for 45 seconds"). I struggled the most with the jump squats (owwww), the mountain climbers and the toe touches. Otherwise, I feel like pilates adequately conditioned me for this, and I was really proud of myself for getting through it (can you tell?). And I'm 100 percent not saying that this workout wasn't useful or effective—as I mentioned, I'm definitely feeling it in my hamstrings, and I expect to feel it in my ~buns~ tomorrow. I guess what I'm saying is that it was more fun than painful, which in no world is a bad thing. If you're in the L.A. area, Training Mate is an awesome workout option. You can sign up for class packages here.
Revenge Body With Khloé Kardashian airs every Thursday on E!