What will make you fall in love with winter

When it’s cold, dark and rainy outside it takes more than just motivation to get you out of the house – it takes the will-power of a superhuman. But lying around in your apartment all night won’t make you feel energised – you’ll just feel more tired. That’s why we’ve found the most beautiful, awe-inspiring, magical partners that will make you want to get out of bed and get fit this winter. These wellbeing havens and fitness hotspots will have you running out the door and make you wish winter would never end. 

1. Hotpod Yoga, Berlin

Here’s an idea for a cold-weather treat: get wrapped up in a giant, glowing, purple cocoon which is the same temperature as your own body. If this sounds like a good antidote to winter blues then hit up your nearest Hot Pod Yoga class. Every class, wherever the location, takes place in an inflatable, temperature controlled inflatable ‘hotpod.’ The space is heated to the perfect temperature – 37.5 degrees – meaning your body gently warms, allowing your muscles to relax and increasing your flexibility for the ultimate deep stretch. It’s like getting a warm hug from the cookie monster – and it’s great exercise too! 

2. Float-point, Potsdam

Perhaps one of the most immersive and unusual activities on offer with USC is our Float-Fit therapy haven in the beautiful old city of Potsdam. This wellness treatment has become increasingly popular in recent years due to its unique nature. Here you’ll be placed in a salt water bath with no lights and no sounds – no external stimulus at all – so that you can totally detach from your body and become more relaxed than you ever thought possible.

Float-point, one of Germany’s first salt-water wellness spas, is the place to go if you need an other-worldly experience. Each session lasts one hour, giving your mind time to detach from your body and for the stress to melt away. Salt water float therapy will improve sleep, reduce anxiety and relieve all types of pain. The team at Float-point sum it up nicely: “As soon as you’ve settled into the hover bath, your one-hour floating experience begins. Let your soul dangle and your body dissolve. In the tank it is completely dark and calm. This may seem unusual at first, after all we are bombarded daily with sensory stimuli, but through the constant distraction we forget ourselves.” 

3. Claudius Therme, Cologne 

I write the Urban Sport of the Week series which means I’ve tried most of Urban Sports Clubs incredible spa and wellbeing partners in Germany. So you should believe me when I say that Claudius Therme is by far the most jaw-dropping, beautiful, relaxing and cosy of them all. The bath and spa in the center of Cologne represents the ultimate winter experience. Indoor pools, jacuzzis, foot baths, saunas, steam rooms, lavender infused salt baths, jacuzzis, whirlpools, silent rooms, wood fires – it’s a mid-winter dream. And the main outdoor pool overlooks Cologne’s beautiful cathedral. It’s unmissable, and you can read all about it via this blog post. 

4. Hicycle, Hamburg

You’ll forget how cold it is outside the minute you step foot in Hicycle in Hamburg because you’ll be immersed in the loudest, sweatiest, most badass workout this side of the Elbe. Hicycle is part nightclub, part fitness studio. Pounding speakers blast out Drake, Rihanna and Travis Scott while a certified spin instructor guides you with a microphone through a series of challenging cycle styles. Luckily, the music is so loud you might be able to forget that your legs feel like they’ll fall off. But the best bit is that each class lasts just 45 minutes so you’ll be back in your warm apartment in no time!

5. Crunch Fit, Dresden, Berlin, Leipzig, Norderstedt

Crunch Fit, located in seven locations across Germany, is like the Kanye West of fitness studios – it’s bold, creative and refuses to play by the rules. The team here refuse to take ‘no’ for an answer and will train you to your absolute limits. Their strength, endurance, functional vibration and cycle training classes are designed to bring out the beast in you and push you further than you thought possible. We love this venue as a choice for winter sports as their studios are futuristic, bright and will jolt you out of that mid-winter haze and get you beach ready in time for summer. And, although your trainers look like they’ve been sculpted out of marble, they know exactly how much pressure to put on each participant to get the very best out of them. They’ll get your tired, cold, wintery ass into gear, basically – and you’ll keep coming back for more!

6. Brauneck Bergbahn, Munich

Did you know that USC has a ton of incredible winter sports partners? We’ve got you covered all over Germany and have teamed up with some of our favourite mountains (that’s right) to bring your USC experience to the great outdoors. For example you can check-in with your USC membership to catch a cable car to the top of Brauneck Bergbahn. Put that precious sunlight to good use with a beautiful hike through the snow and pine trees, and if the snow is thick enough you can even check-in to skiing with your USC membership. Wallbergbahn also has a cable car lift for USC members – just imagine how cosy you’ll feel once you’re back indoors after a refreshing mountain walk. 

7. TRIBE, Frankfurt

What we truly need during the winter months is community. A group of people who are there to motivate us to turn up to class whatever the weather. And that’s where TRIBE comes in. These guys have turned community into an artform – with their high-energy strength classes and powerful circuit workouts, you’ll be challenged in many ways, together with a community of like-minded people. Because just as much as we need motivation to train in winter, we also need motivation to socialise. TRIBE’s motto is ‘train together’ – and their fitness dream team will make sure you push yourself to your very limits. It’s a good way to start December – because we all know how that month ends.

Urban Sports Club has tons of amazing partners across Europe to warm you up this winter. Perhaps the best idea of all is to pack up and visit one of our hotter countries – Spain, Italy and Portugal would be happy to warm you up this winter!