The group chat can organize dinner, coffee, and a weekend trip that requires three spreadsheets. But ask who’s working out this week and suddenly everyone’s busy.
Kinetix Strength Studio has a suggestion: bring the barkada to training.
At Level 4 of The Podium in Mandaluyong City, the group training studio puts coaching, strength work, and a little friendly peer pressure in the same room. Its rallying cry is “Strength is a Group Sport.” You still have to do your own reps, of course. Your friend cannot squat on your behalf, no matter how close you are.
But having someone beside you doing the work? That could make showing up a much easier sell.
A stronger kind of social plan
From the founders of Kinetix Lab and part of Strength in Movement Group, Kinetix Strength Studio combines strength training with performance-focused conditioning in a social setting. The format brings participants through coach-led exercises, stations, and intervals, with the group sharing the effort.
Think of it as a get-together with an actual training plan. There’s coaching to guide the session, work to get through, and company for the moments when the remaining repetitions start feeling suspiciously long.
The community element is central to the concept. Kinetix wants members to train and progress alongside people who encourage them to keep going. That gives the usual “Tara, gym?” invitation somewhere specific to land.
It also gives runners and other fitness enthusiasts a reason to try something beyond their regular routine. If your weekly exercise revolves around logging kilometers, a session built around strength and conditioning offers a different assignment.
Four ways to put in the work
The class lineup gives that idea some substance, with four formats addressing different training priorities.
Hybrid brings strength, conditioning, and power into one session. Its focus includes endurance, speed, and moving efficiently under load. For anyone who likes a workout with several demands to tackle, this is the format that mixes them together.
Core concentrates on trunk strength, with posture and athletic power among its intended training goals. The brief goes big on the language, calling it a way to build a “bulletproof trunk.” We’ll settle for giving the middle of the body the attention it deserves.
Barbell puts the fundamentals front and center through compound movements such as squats, deadlifts, and presses. There’s something appealing about a class with such a clear assignment: work on the foundational lifts and learn to do them well.
Mixed Modal asks participants to transition between different physical demands, with the aim of building work capacity. Get comfortable with one task and there’s another kind of effort waiting. Your attention should have plenty to do along with your muscles.
Kinetix Strength Studio is also an official HYROX Training Club, adding another point of interest for people drawn to training that combines strength and endurance.
The run club already got a taste
Before the Podium launch, Kinetix took its pop-up experience to Inertia Longevity Club at M1 Tower in Salcedo Village, Makati, on August 3.
Joining that session was Just Show Up Run Club, also known as Rockwell Run Club, led by Ashley Cayuca. It became the first outside community to experience Kinetix Strength Studio’s group workout format.
The runners tackled a HYROX-inspired session combining strength, conditioning, endurance, and teamwork. Shared stations, intervals, and repetitions gave the group a different challenge from its usual running environment.
“There’s a different kind of energy when you train together. You push harder, feed off each other’s energy, and surprise yourself with what you can do. Strength isn’t just about getting stronger on your own—it’s about showing up, pushing each other, and getting stronger together,” said Coach Antish Gaspar, Strength in Movement Group’s group training supervisor, in a press statement.
That’s the pitch in practical terms: take a community that already shows up for one another and give it something new to work on.
Put this in the group chat
Kinetix Strength Studio’s announced official opening date was October 13, following trial classes and a September 21 soft opening and blessing attended by members, fitness enthusiasts, partners, and creators.
It becomes Strength in Movement Group’s fourth brand at The Podium, joining Kinetix Lab, Kinetix Kids, and Polarity Wellness Club. The addition gives the group a dedicated space for communal strength training within its fitness and wellness lineup at the mall.
For your next barkada plan, there’s now an option that comes with barbells, coaching, and a shared reason to get moving.
Dinner afterward? Put that in the group chat, too.
Kinetix Strength Studio is at Level 4, The Podium, ADB Avenue, Ortigas CBD, Mandaluyong City.
