For nearly three years, Thorsten and I have watched and listened to the exercise classes happening in Kingston Frost Park behind our Brixton house. We walked past many times and spoke to Dennis Dlomo, the coach, who greets everyone passing by and invites them to join. I heard the classes every morning and afternoon while typing on my laptop in my home office. But we didn’t get up the courage to actually join Dennis Dlomo’s Fantastic Fitness Club (the word “fantastic” is my own addition) until last month.

In some ways, there is nothing unusual about Dennis’ fitness club. It’s a bunch of regular people who gather together in a public park with their extremely fit (aren’t they always?) trainer and exercise. But at the same time, it’s extraordinary. I’ve never had so much fun doing endless lunges and squats and ab crunches. And Dennis is incredibly endearing, even while he’s yelling “NO-PAIN-NO-GAIN! EXCUSES-DON’T-BURN-CALORIES!” as I drag a heavy tire uphill for the 10th time in a row — often before sunrise.

It’s been just over a month and Thorsten and I are both totally hooked. I’ve been working out four mornings a week and Thorsten (who I once had to coax into exercising with me) goes for six.

Here are the things I like best about Dennis Dlomo’s Fantastic Fitness Club:

1. The classes take place directly behind my house. I can drag myself out of bed at 5:45 and be out there exercising at 6.
2. Dennis trains at 5 (!), 6, and 7 a.m. every weekday morning, and at 4 p.m. every weekday afternoon. He also trains at 7 a.m. on both Saturdays and Sundays.
3. Dennis has a good collection of equipment (weights, mats, exercise bands, etc.) so there’s no need to bring anything but yourself and a bottle of water.
4. The workouts are never boring and change every day.
5. Dennis’ fitness club is way more affordable than a normal gym and also way more fun. I love training outside, even in the Joburg “winter”.
6. All ages, genders, races, sizes, and abilities are welcome in Dennis’ fitness club. Everyone is nice and everyone encourages each other. We laugh a lot.
7. Dennis has a way of making his workouts both challenging and manageable for all fitness levels.
8. Dennis is a wonderful person who passionately cares about people and fitness.
9. I don’t know how to explain it, but Dennis’ fitness club represents everything I love most about Joburg.

A Morning With the Fitness Club

For the purposes of this blog post, I took the day off from exercising to document a workout. I haven’t yet learned the names of every person (unlike Dennis, who seems to have endless mental capacity for names) so I’m leaving out everyone’s name for the sake of consistency.

If you live in or anywhere near Brixton (I’m looking at you, people of Auckland Park, Melville, Westdene, Mayfair, Fietas, Crosby, Fordsburg, and beyond) and are looking for a fun, affordable alternative to Virgin Active, come give Dennis Dlomo’s Fantastic Fitness Club a try. Dennis is in Kingston Frost Park near the corner of Putney Road and Wimbledon Road every weekday morning and afternoon. I look forward to seeing you there. Also, Coach Dennis is keen to arrange online workouts for those who can’t make it in person.

For more information about the fitness club, including the incredibly reasonable monthly fees, call or Whatsapp Dennis at 060-401-1344. You can also follow Dennis on Instagram at @denisdlomo.