180 Health Club
Venue type
Health Club and Movement Studio
Location
180 Studios, London
Equipment
12 sets of Edition 01: Bell in 4 and 8kg
Finish
Portland Stone
Storage
Floor Standing Console in Sage Green
Class
Slow Strength®
Class Size
4–12
General Manager, 180 Health Club
Design
The design called for restraint. The Bells were cast in Altere's natural Portland stone, left unpigmented, a quiet stone tone chosen to complement the ethereal, light-drenched studio and warm organic textures.
The brief was to design a system that invited engagement without imposing on the space, so the solution had to read as functional sculptures more than gym equipment. Altere designed a set of two stepped, multi-tiered linear plinths, each two metres long, positioned symmetrically to frame the class. The Bells are stepped across the tiers, proudly presented and easy to reach, the full suite legible at a glance. The plinths are finished in a minimalist sage green, matching the warm tonal palette of the lime-washed columns and the herringbone hardwood floor. Portland stone against sage furniture makes for a subdued, unimposing display that belongs to the space rather than announcing itself within it.
Altere began with a consultation in the studio, measuring the space and understanding how it was used before proposing a bespoke solution. Class size set the initial quantity of equipment, and proposals were shared and refined with the 180 wellness team, moving from the custom presentation through to the plinth design before sign-off.
The Making
Every Bell is hand-cast in Altere's Shropshire studio. The composite is proprietary, a mineral base of natural gypsum bound with a water-based acrylic polymer. Each form is hand-poured into its mould, left to cure, then demoulded and hand-sanded, cleaned and sealed with a penetrating coat. A single Bell takes a full day from start to finish and passes through the hands of at least two artisans. The recycled steel formwork behind each mould is shaped by hand and weighed with care, so that when a Bell is poured and cured it comes out precisely on weight.
The plinths were designed and fabricated in-house, taken from concept through to finished object in Altere's workshop. The sage green is a dye worked through the engineered wood fibre, so the colour is the material rather than a coat on its surface, and an oil-and-wax system finishes the piece to take years of use. The tiers are cut on a CNC and assembled. At two metres each, the plinths were built as complete pieces.
Delivery & Installation
Each set of Bells travels in its own crate, custom-made and foam-lined, a single set to a case. On delivery day the installation team began with the plinths, positioning the four of them symmetrically to frame the class exactly as the design intended. The Bells were then lifted from their crates and stepped across the tiers for the first time, the Portland stone quiet and composed against the lime-washed columns and the herringbone floor. The room became what it had been drawn to be, a strength studio at home among the modernist pieces around it.
Accreditation
A week before the equipment arrived, Altere ran a day of instructor accreditation with the members of the180 training team. The timing was deliberate, so that the moment the studio was live the class was ready to teach.
Accreditation with Altere is exacting. The trainers sit with Altere's training lead for a live demonstration of a complete class, followed by a full walk-through of the Slow Strength® General Delivery Guide, the method's complete handbook. The guide leaves very little to chance. It sets out the five defining elements every class must hold, from Time Under Tension and rhythmic nasal breathing through to the tempo notation that syncs each movement to the beat of the music. It goes further into the texture of the room itself, down to warm low lighting and a rolled towel spritzed with a custom scent at the head of every mat, and it asks the instructor to arrive fifteen minutes early and take five slow breaths before walking in.
Only after this does the assessment begin. The trainer delivers a full class back to the training lead, who reviews and scores it against the guide and returns detailed notes. Accreditation is granted once that standard is met, and not before. At 180 it underwrites a class kept deliberately small, where one accredited trainer can read the room closely and hold the method to the same standard session after session.
180 Health Club
The Result
180 runs Slow Strength® twice a week to intimate classes of six. With one accredited trainer and a small group, adjustments and progressions can be read individually, and the practice feels personal in a way a larger room cannot match.
That intimacy shows in the equipment itself. The club began with twelve sets of 4 and 8kg Bells, and as regulars grew stronger and more confident Altere added six 12kg Bells for those graduating to heavier weights. The plinths hold that growing suite with room to spare, letting the studio flex from a class of six up to the larger off-schedule activations without ever looking crowded.
For 180, the result is a desirable, repeatable way for members to build confidence and stay engaged with their strength practice. To bring Altere and Slow Strength® to your members, tell us about your space.