Fitness

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. 

To get the desired results, Alan recommends doing 4 sessions per week and maintaining a healthy diet.  Check them out on www.bodytransformationsstudio.ie. 

 

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.