Bike that gets you fit AND gives you a facial
SAY someone told you that pedalling on an exercise bike while being microwaved by giant infrared heaters was the latest way to improve health, torch calories, lose fat, raise levels of youth-boosting human growth hormone (HGH) and achieve glowing, youthful skin . . . well, you’d leap at the chance, wouldn’t you?
I certainly did, although after 15 minutes hard at it, sweating away and with 30 more minutes to go, I was regretting being quite so keen.
Given that I’d been promised I could scorch through the best part of 800 calories in 45 minutes, I should probably have expected it to take a certain amount of effort.
Welcome to ZeroFat iR1, a sleek contraption that looks like a lyingdown exercise bicycle inside one of those scanners you see on Casualty.
except that instead of scanners, there are two long bars of infrared heaters on either side and a control panel that wouldn’t look out of place on the starship enterprise — plus a screen on which to watch videos or surf the net. It’s basically a personal spin class in an infrared sauna.
This is a new concept, set to roll out across the UK this spring. And if it seems madness to deliberately heat yourself up before you start exercising, well, there’s method in it.
The idea is that the infrared heat penetrates 4mm into the body, raising your core temperature in the same way exercise does. As the body tries to counteract this through sweating, your heart rate rises to the equivalent of walking at a moderate pace, and you get a cardiovascular conditioning effect — as if you had been exercising — and burn more calories.
THIs
is the concept behind infrared saunas — it is claimed you can burn 600 calories in half an hour, just by sitting there. Add in some actual exercise and, in theory, the calories should fly away.
The manufacturers of ZeroFat also claim the infrared light will improve your skin by stimulating production of collagen and elastin, which keep skin firm and bouncy.
Furthermore, this light is said to boost levels of endorphins, the body’s feel-good chemicals.
Forty-five minutes is a long time to be doing the same thing, though, and it gives me chance to grumble. Why aren’t there straps on the pedals? And why not arrange the heat panels round a normal exercise bike, to take up less space and make pedalling feel more normal?
Also, wasn’t the idea of long, slow sessions of ‘fat-burning’ cardio exercise (e.g. jogging or cycling) rejected a decade ago when experts began pointing out the greater benefits of short, sharp sessions of high-intensity interval training to increase muscle tone and burn fat?
The ZeroFat team say slow cycling under infrared lamps is like an intense conditioning session, but top fitness trainer Zana morris isn’t so sure.
‘Remember, muscle burns fat even when we’re not exercising,’ she says, ‘so any exercise that doesn’t focus on increasing muscle or lean body mass will have limited, short-term impact in terms of fat loss.’
she isn’t keen on long sessions of training, either: ‘If you’re working at a reasonable intensity for more than 40 minutes, the body goes into a state where it starts losing more muscle than it can rebuild.
‘Loss of muscle results in a lower metabolism — so you’re losing the very tissue that helps you to lose weight.’
morris is also dismissive of the claims that ZeroFat training can boost levels of human growth hormone, which helps to maintain muscle mass.
‘only high-intensity exercise and sleep boost this — and even then only if you haven’t consumed any carbohydrates within two hours of your training session or sleep.’
But back to the session. When I stopped grumbling and got stuck in, my mood lifted.
There’s no denying I felt great afterwards. my legs weren’t tired or achy — because, I was told, the heat had kept my muscles relaxed — and the endorphin rush was fabulous.
But there are other reasons I can see this catching on. While swimming and running can play havoc with your skin, this is one workout that actually makes you more beautiful.
‘Infrared wavelengths of light can help to reduce the appearance of wrinkles and rough skin,’ says consultant dermatologist Dr maryam Zamani — and that may be an attraction for the elite market at which ZeroFat is aimed. each machine costs about £20,000, and the company expects it to be snapped up by celebrities and posh gyms.
so, if you happen to find a spare £20,000 (or join a gym that does), should you sign up for ZeroFat?
Well, why not? With just one caveat. Ignore their instructions to slog out 45 minutes at a snail’s pace, and instead opt for short bursts of high-intensity exercise — you’ll create the perfect combination of fitness and facial.
now, where did I put that lottery ticket?