We Tried It: F45 Training, the Fitness Franchise Backed by Mark Wahlberg with Locations Near You (2025)

F45 Training is a chain of fitness studios that started in Australia in 2013 and as of 2020 had more than 1,750 studios in 45 countries.

The franchise is particularly exploding in the United States (studio list here). Fitness enthusiast Mark Wahlberg invested in the company in 2019, and in August 2021 David Beckham became a global partner.

But is the workout program — which boasts that you can burn fat, build muscle and get energized in just 45 minutes — the real deal or just hype? PEOPLE took a visit to a F45 Training fitness studio to evaluate the experience.

What It Is

F45 Training is a functional, 45-minute workout for people of all fitness levels

Who Tried It

Stephanie Emma Pfeffer, PEOPLE Health writer and editor

Level of Difficulty

On a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being a nap and 10 being a marathon, this would be about a 5 since all movements can be modified and all weights can be adjusted. You can tailor it to your abilities.

My Experience

I first heard about F45 Training when a fellow mom, marathoner and trainer friend became a manager and coach at a location outside of N.Y.C.

On the location's Instagram I saw a bunch of people absolutely crushing their workouts, looking super motivated while performing strength training moves to loud beats. At the time, I was barely crawling out of the pandemic and its homeschooling joys and was insanely jealous of every person in that studio.

The 45-minute workout centers around functional training, which helps you perform better at everyday activities or movements. It's about making your body work more efficiently — not lifting a specific amount of weight.

A patented technology platform delivers content to each studio from a database of 3,900 unique functional training movements. Each day is a different circuit-style workout, but it's the same all over the globe. On any given day, it may be strength-based, cardio-based or both.

The day I was there, it was the "Pegasus" workout, which was mostly strength training.

After a short warm-up, I was paired up with another member and we were assigned a number on the open floor plan. As the clock started we rotated around the room to various stations. At each station, we completed three sets of a strength movement (using everything from dumbbells to kettlebells, from suspension bands to barbells) for 30 seconds with 15 seconds of rest in between. Bodyweight and abdominal sets were also interspersed.

The HIIT- style workout moved quickly (no boredom!) but I was never lost thanks to mounted screens that help members stay on top of the routine. The screens show animations that demonstrate how to perform each movement, plus how much time is left in each interval and what we can expect at the next station. Two coaches worked the room, helping people perfect their form, offering encouragement and modifying if necessary.

What was not on the wall? Mirrors. F45 studios do not have mirrors or scales, and it creates a very accepting and inclusive environment in which you can focus on yourself and your own progress without worrying about how you — or anyone else — may look.

What struck me most about the workout was the energy and the community. When I talked to Natick, Massachusetts franchise owner Skye Marton (who also owns a few other locations), she told me that people come every morning at 6:00 a.m. ready to connect — and kick ass.

"You show up at F45 wherever you're at and leave part of a team," says Marton. "Day after day we show up at the studio, set everything else aside to make time for ourselves with an individualized workout surrounded by strangers who can't help but become friends, the sound of high-fives as everyone pours out to chase the day."

"Where else can you walk in having never trained before in your life and feel like you've undeniably 'got this?' " says Marton. "Where else can someone who had been paralyzed or sustained a serious injury train alongside a collegiate athlete? There is nowhere else like F45. This workout is healing, it's fun and it's home. Here you find your confidence, your power and you become an athlete."

The Verdict

It was an awesome, fast-paced workout with an energetic vibe. Plus the 45-minute timing was super appealing because honestly, who has time for anything, ever? And while I am still looking for that elusive confidence and power Marton described, I may actually find it with a few more sessions at F45.