So I’ve decided to get fit!
Where to start? Having never
been into fitness, I was worried that it would be difficult. Let’s be honest, I wouldn’t know one end of a
treadmill from the other, never having darkened the door of any of the many
gyms that have popped up around the country following our new-born obsession
with fitness. But I had made a
resolution. We’re moving to Denmark soon
and before we leave on our big adventure, I wanted to tone up. I had done the weight loss and was eating
healthy foods, but there were always ‘wobbly bits’ that no amount of healthy
eating could shift. I found a class on
Facebook that friends of mine had tried and decided it might be a safe place to
start.
I went to speak with Alan Connor of BodyTransformations, who
helped me to decide on the correct exercises that would help target the areas I
wanted.
BodyTransformations is a small gym in the middle of Baldoyle
Industrial Estate. Founded by Alan’s
wife Kelley and a friend, Richie Carrick, they also employ 4 other trainers,
all of whom are certified in Personal Training and training in specific
exercise types, such as TRX and KettleBells.
These qualifications can be obtained with Image Fitness Training College
in locations all over Ireland (www.imageft.ie).
In BodyTransformations, for €50 per month, you can attend
any number of classes you want with the Trainer you have chosen. There is a varied timetable of classes – from
630am to 10pm - to accommodate every type of lifestyle and working life.
The clientele is varied, from young women to older men, and
everything in between. There are a few
healthy fitness fanatics, but not so many as to feel uncomfortable as a
newcomer.
Upon entering the gym, you’d be forgiven for thinking that
you were going to get an easy ride.
Everyone is jovial, chatting about the weekend, and the trainers engage
in lots of banter with their clients.
This is exactly what makes it attractive to people, Alan says, everyone
helps you feel welcome. The 400 strong
client group is testament to this. You
can be at any age or fitness level, because you control the difficulty of
exercise. He goes on to say that they
notice an improvement of fitness levels of between 50 and 60% in new clients,
within the first two weeks. Fantastic I
thought, sign me up!
I walked nervously into the gym, but resolved to give it my
best effort. And, much to my surprise, I
enjoyed it! The first exercise I was
trying was TRX. Not having a clue, I
looked around to get guidance on the exercise.
The trainers were always on hand, and other more experienced clients
were also there to help out.
TRX is exercise completed using
straps suspended from bars. There are
hand/footholds attached to the straps, which hang about 3 feet from the
ground. You place your hands or feet,
depending on the exercise, into the strap and carry out exercises like push ups
and sit ups. The exercise develops your
‘core’ muscles around your abdomen as well as upper body strength, as you are
using your suspended body weight.
The trainers give you three
exercises to complete using the straps, each lasting 40 seconds, before
changing to body-strength exercises like Jumping Jacks, Tuck Jumps (make sure
your pelvic floor is strong for this one ladies J)
and ‘The Plank’ – lying face down, parallel to the floor with only your toes
and forearms actually touching the floor.
Sounds easy?! Try holding this
position for a minute using your bum and tummy muscles to hold you perfectly
straight, without dropping to the floor….
Now lift one leg… Without
dropping to the floor, put that leg down and lift the other…. Still think it’s easy?!! Alan explains that these exercises are called
“peripheral heart flow exercises”, put simply exercising your upper body
followed by your lower body to pump blood up and down, therefore burning more
body fat. Now that’s what we’re talking
about!
After these exercises, it’s back
to the first three exercises on TRX and then back to the ‘fat burning’
exercises before changing to Kettlebells.
Anyone with kids will understand how difficult it is to hold a 10kg weight
and lift it up and down and up and down and up and down repeatedly whilst the
said weight screams in delight ‘Again Mammy, again!!’. Although the Kettlebell doesn’t scream at
you, the trainers do – ‘Faster, harder, stronger…. Think about yourself dancing around the
Christmas tree in your bikini!’ Whilst
the guys probably don’t find that last statement too motivational (unless they
enjoy dressing in a bikini) the message is clear – don’t think you’re getting
an easy ride here.
The Kettlebell is a weight, shaped
a little like a mini buoy that you might see floating in Dublin Bay if you look
out from Howth or Ringsend, with a handle on top. You do exercises like the ‘Front Swing’,
using both hands to swing the Kettlebell out in front of you and back again as
many times as possible in the 40 seconds.
Exercising the Triceps is extremely challenging – using both hands to
put the Kellebell behind your head and lift it up and down repeatedly. However, this is one of my favourite, as I’m
anxious to rid myself of those dreaded ‘Bingo Wings’!
The same routine applies as with
TRX, with three exercises for the Bell, before the ‘fat burners’ repeating the
three exercises and the ‘fat burners’ before changing to the other equipment. Sometimes you spend the class moving between
TRX and Kettlebells and sometimes there are Bars thrown in.
The Bars are the weights you see
bodybuilders lifting, either in the gym, if you’ve ever been, or if like me,
you’ve never darkened the door of a gym, ‘on the telly’ as Brendan Gleeson says
in I Went Down! You attach weights on either end and perform
exercises whilst holding them ether out in front of you or over your shoulders,
on the soft part of your neck.
You do similar exercises on the
Bars as with the Bells, such as squats (standing on the floor, knees
shoulder-width apart, keeping your back straight and bending your knees until
your bum is close to the floor, straightening up and repeating). It’s about adding extra weight to exercises
to make your body work harder. As you
continue to attend classes, you will find yourself adding extra weight to
increase the intensity of the workout.
It should never become easy - even seasoned gym attendees find
themselves crawling out of a class!
I’ve also attended the Spinning
classes, where people exercise madly on stationary bikes, turning the
resistance up as if cycling up mountains, standing up on the bike while
continuing to pedal, sitting down again, standing up again, and sitting down
again…. One word – Killer!! This is mixed up with exercises on the
KettleBell and the old reliable ‘fat burners’!
By the end of a session, people are dripping with sweat,
unable to speak. That’s how you know
you’ve worked hard.
BodyTransformations also run a six-week programme to
encourage a complete lifestyle change.
Anyone is welcome to partake in the programme. Alan tells me that the oldest client was 70
years of age. Perhaps you want to lose
weight and feel better, or maybe you just want to tone and strengthen. The habits you learn here are habits that
last a lifetime. Retraining yourself to
eat fresh, raw ingredients, rather than relying on processed food, can be
difficult. Everyone is busy, finding
time to cook can be tricky and sometimes expensive.
Fiona O’Brien is an Irish
freelance Writer, Broadcaster and Journalist based in Copenhagen. Her current projects include pieces on
Family, Food and Relocation along with Radio broadcasts and topical news
stories from Denmark.
