Ease Into the Weekend at The Commons Health Club’s Friday Wellness Nights (With DJs and Elixirs)

Friday knock-offs have become a reliable ritual. But if you’d rather ease into the weekend than nurse a hangover (or hangxiety) through Saturday, The Commons Health Club has a better option. Bathhouse After Hours is a new weekly wellness ritual running until August 28 at both the Richmond and South Yarra clubs. It’s all part of The Commons’ broader mission to support the physical and mental wellbeing of its members.

Your first Friday-night goal is to recover from the work week and bring your nervous system back to baseline. Roam freely between the magnesium pool, sauna and cold plunge. In the background, a curated soundtrack and low lighting set the mood (wait, are we in a wine bar?). From there, you can let the incidental social connections flow. Turns out, exposure therapy is a great ice-breaker. When you’re moving from a 70-degree sauna to an icy-cold plunge, there’s no need to wade through awkward small talk. Once you’ve cooled off, continue the conversation in the Members’ Lounge over drinks and seasonal grazing plates.

Also on the drinks front, members are welcomed with a Sisuu tonic on arrival, and can then shake up their own electrolyte blend at the Sodii Spritz Station throughout the evening. On selected Fridays, club instructors run guided sessions in the bathhouse – think eucalyptus and essential oil sauna sessions and guided hot-and-cold experiences. There are also conversation prompts to get you talking to your neighbour – so no two weeks feel quite the same. Look forward to August 14, with live DJs and curated playlists carrying the mood between sets

After launching its first hybrid co-working and wellness space last year and opening its second Melbourne health club in March, The Commons is upping the ante on its health club offering with this new winter program. The co-working space, which has 12 locations across Melbourne and another seven in Sydney, is redefining what a workday can look like – and making it easier to slot movement, recovery and social connection into your nine-to-five.

The Commons Health Club’s Bathhouse After Hours runs at the Richmond and South Yarra sites from 5.30pm to 8.30pm on Fridays until August 28. Members will have access to both spaces.