The Pulse Project is a community-driven fitness studio in Hoon Hay, Christchurch, run by founders and trainers Sharlyn Taylor and Sam Janssen. Its philosophy is captured in the studio's own words: health isn't a finish line — it's a sustainable pace. The goal is to connect and elevate people on their fitness journeys, providing the tools and momentum to build a healthier tomorrow.
Five class styles sit at the heart of the timetable: Pulse (traditional HIIT using mainly bodyweight, lighter weights and machines), Pulse 45 (a quick 45-minute HIIT with minimal equipment and maximal effort), Power (a strength-focused class built on compound lifts and accessories), Pace (a relaxed run club meeting for easy 3km or 6km runs) and Community Pulse (a scaled HIIT hybrid working in dumbbells and kettlebells, finishing with coffees and chats).
Classes deliberately blend HIIT, functional training and strength work so members train as more rounded people, ready for whatever life gives them. Every session is designed to push you to your own level in a supportive, encouraging environment — whether you're beginning your fitness journey, restarting after a break, or already well into it. Bookings, memberships and concessions are handled online, and the studio keeps in touch with its community through Instagram and Facebook.
The Pulse Project is a community-driven fitness studio in Hoon Hay, Christchurch, living by a refreshingly honest motto: moving together, growing together. Its founders — trainers Sharlyn Taylor and Sam Janssen — started the studio around a simple conviction that health isn't a finish line; it's a sustainable pace. Their aim is to connect and elevate people on their fitness journeys, providing the tools and momentum to build a healthier tomorrow.
That philosophy shapes everything about how the studio trains. Instead of narrowing into a single style, The Pulse Project deliberately blends HIIT, functional training and strength work so members develop as more rounded people — conditioned, as the team puts it, to take on all that life gives you. Every class is built to push you to your own level in a supportive, encouraging environment, whether you're beginning your fitness journey, restarting after a break, or already well into it. The result is training designed for the long haul rather than quick fixes — sessions that challenge you at a pace you can actually keep.
The studio's timetable currently offers five class types, each with a distinct purpose. Pulse is the traditional HIIT class, using mainly bodyweight movement, lighter weights and machines. Pulse 45 compresses that energy into a quick 45-minute session with minimal equipment and maximal effort — built for the days when time is short but you still want to get it done.
Power is the studio's strength-focused class, centred on compound lifts and accessory work to build the base you need for any endeavour. For runners, Pace is the run club: a meet-up for an easy 3km or 6km run where the emphasis is on learning to run smart within a fun, relaxed community of people.
Then there's Community Pulse, arguably the class that best captures the studio's spirit. It's a hybrid of the Pulse HIIT format that works in more dumbbells and kettlebells, and everything is scaled to your level. It closes out the training week, and finishes the way the studio believes a week should finish — with the group connecting over the shared experience of the workout, coffees in hand and chats all round.
Practically, The Pulse Project runs on a published timetable that shows not just the class but the trainer taking it, and all bookings happen online through the studio's booking portal. Memberships and concession options are both available, so people can choose the arrangement that matches how often they train. The studio also stays connected with its community through Instagram and Facebook.
First-timers don't need anything special to walk in — the classes are written so a beginner and a seasoned regular can share the same floor and both leave having worked to their level. That's the tone underneath the programming: supportive, encouraging, community. These words run through everything the studio says about itself, and the formats genuinely back them up — movements scaled to the individual, two distances on offer at run club, and sessions designed so people at different stages can train side by side.
For anyone in Christchurch looking for a gym where HIIT, strength work and running share one timetable — and where the week can end with a workout followed by a coffee among friends — The Pulse Project in Hoon Hay has been built for exactly that.