Welcome to my Fitness File for Fitness-phobes! A Social (and very Physical) Experiment…
This week: Fitball. A nice and easy start to my experiment. Or so I thought!
2016. A new year, a new me. So, today, I woke up feeling ready. My first class, a new beginning to my social experiment. As it turned out, my little experiment was going to be much more physical than I had first perceived…
To refresh, I have decided to embark on a journey, trying out a different gym class every week and making use of my pricey Edge membership while taking one for the team. Us girls can get comfortable in our exercise habits (or for some, including myself, lack of!). We stick to the same routine, the same machines, the same classes, without really branching out and seeing what else is on offer. For this reason, I have thrown myself to the mercy of the gym timetable as a human guineapig for all those nervous or afraid to branch out! Perhaps you worry about your coordination (not all of us are made with wicked dance moves fit for Zumba), or you might worry about the intensity of Circuits, Body Combat or Boxercise. But I’ve come to realise that, if these ordeals are popular enough to feature in a class list, surely they can’t be that bad! After every class I commit myself to, I will write a commentary to summarise what happens – the pain and the gain of each arduous hour included (or 45 minutes, if we’re lucky..)!
So here we go! On Monday I started with my first class: Fitball!
The class I attended was during lunchtime, squeezed nicely inbetween one class and another. The good thing about Fitball is that, although it is intense at first, you don’t work yourself into a sweaty red-faced fit of panting. This makes it perfect for those of you who fancy a short bout of organised exercise between classes. As it’s also only 45 minutes long, it makes for a good gap filler, if you have the time. But let’s discuss the process…
Fitball is an exercise class based on the use of an exercise ball – those things we thought were fun to bounce around on as kids. Each exercise focuses on a different part of the body, using all the muscles from your core to your glutes, from your arms and chest to even your hamstrings. By the end of the class, you really feel like you’ve had a full body work out, so those 45 minutes are really worth it!
What makes the class most fun, in my opinion, is the killer soundtrack. This instructor who took my class has a great taste in music, making it easier to make it to the end of the session without giving up. Just think of it as something to take your mind off the struggle! If you like raving to a mix featuring music from Jess Glyne to Calvin Harris, Shakira to Hispanic dance music, you’ll love this class. You really feel like the time flies when you have a good track to follow, so this class does the job perfectly!
The most difficult part, I would say, is in the name: you have to use a ball! If working out with just our bodies wasn’t hard enough at times, the difficulty here is maintaining your balance and position whilst completing the exercises. However, although this does definitely make the class harder, you do feel a whole lot better afterwards. Want those killer abs? Want a strong back? Want good, firm sides? This class makes you engage your core muscles in every exercise, without even properly realising it. I found that, after a few of these sessions, I felt stronger in my core and even had the shade of an ab line down my side! Or maybe that was flattering lighting…Either way, this class makes you feel good; from the soundtrack, to the results, to the fun feeling of comradery you get while struggling alongside your fellow gym bunnies, I really enjoyed this class and will definitely keep going!
Overall I’d say that my rating is 5 stars!
Duration: 45 minutes
Intensity: 5 for beginners (it gets easier after a few times!)
Sweat: 3
Difficulty: 4
Aftermath: 4 (fairly tiring, by my standards)
Result: 4 (the more you go, the quicker the result!)
Image 3 – http://giphy.com/gifs/music-video-pink-rikwYK4XR9CjC