By Michelle Norris
I’ll be the first to admit that I am not the fittest, nor am I the skinniest of girls. But I’ve always been comfortable with my curves and am quite proud of my size 14/16 figure.
However, there’s one thing that can knock any woman’s confidence – the dreaded bikini season..
So, with my holiday in the sun now just six weeks away, I decided that it was time to tone up for summer and signed up to the new Roxy Beach Body Workout at the Virgin Active gym in Chelmsford.
Focusing on four components of strength, balance, flexibility and power, which are all fundamental to the ‘pop up’ move (from the paddling position to the upright position) in surfing, I knew that this wasn’t going to be easy – but nothing could have prepared me (and my poor legs) for the evening ahead.
“This class is all about working on your core stability, which is the main foundation for the muscles in the whole body,” instructor Jackie Flaley, tells me. “This really is a full body workout. It’s cardio, toning and conditioning and caters for all levels.”
The class itself is split into three sections: a warm up, circuit work and yoga – all whilst listening to the club sounds of summer!
But to be honest, as a beginner to the world of fitness, the warm-up did feel like a full workout! And after lunging from one side of the studio to the other, I definitely felt that ‘legs turn to jelly moment’ a few times over. But I stuck with it, determined that I could keep to the pace of the class.
Then came the time for the main workout. Unique to Virgin Active, this stage is made up of drills, aerobic routines and equipment based circuits using BOSU (a gym floor training tool with one flat side and one dome side), ViPR (a weighted training tube) and Gliding Discs (disks that can be attached to the hands or feet using a sliding motion to engage the muscles).
After being divided into groups, we spent around two minutes at each station – the first for me was the Gliding Disks.
Using the disks to perform lunges and press ups to tone the muscles in the legs and stomach, the club music was a real motivator.
“The great thing about this class is that there is so much we can do with it,” says instructor Jackie. “We’ve got so many ideas, so no workout will ever be the same.”
Even though the classes won’t be the same, I definitely met my workout nemesis, in the form of the BOSU.
Having to balance on what looks like half of a gym work-out ball was a hard enough task for me, but then jumping in the air and landing with bent knees without falling over…? It’s safe to say that I wasn’t the best in the class!
Finally, we all got the chance to attempt the ‘pop-up’ movement, which involves pushing your body up from the ground into a standing position in one movement.
“The pop up is what this whole workout is based on,” says Jackie. “All of the lunges and triceps dips are just broken down parts of the movement. So it’s important at the end to be able to put them all together.”
The workout finished with a short session of Yoga, which was quite calming – if you can keep your balance that is!
For anyone who is looking for an all over body workout, this is perfect! But just be warned, if you’re a fitness newbie like me, you will be left with aching arms and legs for a few days after!
Gym: Virgin Active, Chelmsford
Class: Roxy Beach Body Workout
Time: 40mins
Rating: HHHH
Contact: 01245 396 060
Web: www.virginactive.co.uk