Get Your Fit On!
YOUNGER YOU
Our new mantra? Don’t get older, get stronger! Strong equals healthy and it’s anti-ageing!
NEW TO WEIGHTS? Try kettlebells or free weights at your local gym, which start uber-light and get heavier. Don’t fret, you won’t bulk up, but it will tone your body, build strength and help with bone density.
EASY AND EFFECTIVE Try Pilates. It feels balletic and uses your own body weight. You’ll develop a strong core and condition your body. If you’re a social animal, go for a class.
NEED MORE HELP? Get your moves spot on at a class with a Pilates reformer. It looks like a wood-framed bed with a sliding seat, pulleys and springs, and creates resistance for perfect moves and more strength.
LIKE TO SWEAT? Try a bodypump class. Using light weights and lots of reps, you’ll work through moves to motivational music! It’s a challenge, but you can burn around 540 calories per class.
POWER UP
Stairs nearly finishing you off? Couldn’t run for a bus if you tried? If you feel unfit, you need to boost your stamina.
LIKE GOING SOLO? Then walk! It’s a great way to get back in the game. Thirty minutes a day will get your stamina reboot off to a cracking start. Bend elbows, move heel to toe and don’t overstride. Short steps make you go faster.
MORE SOCIAL? Work out in a group. Be Military Fit is good. People of all fitness levels can join in with its team cardio and strength exercises.
NO TIME? Choose cycling for a staminaboosting cardio workout that gets you from A to B efficiently – what a time-saver! It’s great for the legs and heart and burns calories. What’s not to love?
PREFER GAMES? Anything where you run around a lot, jump, swivel and more is going to up your stamina. Try tennis, netball, volleyball and football for action-packed team fun.
GET FLEXIBLE
Envious of your flexi yoga friends but too stiff to do a downward dog? No worries, it’s never too late to get back to being bendy.
STRIKE A POSE Try yoga, but start easy. Hatha yoga is ideal for beginners. It’s gentle, slow, helps you learn the poses and calms the body and mind.
LIKE TO MOVE? For more of a work out, give vinyasa or flow yoga a go. You literally flow from one pose to another without stopping.
MORE FLEX? Head for a stretch class that uses power bands to help you get the most from your moves. Some classes throw in stability balls, yoga bricks, poles and more!
TAKE IT SLOW Try tai chi, the legendary exercise that combines deep breathing with slow, graceful moves, including gentle knee bending. It improves balance, posture and mobility.
EASE MY ACHES
If it hurts, cracks or pops when you bend and muscles ache not only after exercise but before, getting fit can ease the ouch!
ADD WATER! Gentle swimming is a start, but it’s not as much fun as aqua fitness classes at your local pool. The brilliant low-impact moves are cushioned by water. TRY YOGA Restorative yoga uses conscious stretches and breath work to release physical tension. Extra support is given with blankets, bolsters and props. Bliss for the body and mind. GO NORDIC Walking is an easy fitness move and is ideal for those who suffer with neck, back or shoulder problems, plus it’s great for the heart and lungs. Walking poles reduce the pressure on joints. OR DO PILATES It sounds at odds with pain, but the right moves can help with arthritis, RSI and back issues. Body Control Pilates is the one to look for, as it’s spot on for aches.
LOSE A LITTLE
You can’t rely on exercise alone, but trust us, the right moves can burn the pounds and help metabolism motor! BETTER OUTDOORS? Walk with intention. Walkactive is speed walking with an added Pilates-like internal lift technique to lengthen your spine and pull in your tummy. This really shapes you up. LOVE TO DANCE? Those who watch Strictly know the reshaping power of dance. Choose a class to match your style. Zumba if you like to shake it, Fitsteps if you love ballroom. PREFER THE POOL? New deep water classes are ace at shaping us up. Imagine a choreographed routine up to your neck in water. Plus, some pools now have static underwater exercise bikes. SHORT OF TIME? Opt for High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT). The 10- to 30-minute workouts alternate short bursts of intense exercise (sprinting, biking or weights) with short periods of rest. Ideal for the time poor!
ALL TONED UP
When your basic shape is fine but a bit on the wobbly side, toning is ideal. Just choose where to make your moves. IN THE STUDIO Barre workouts look and feel like a ballet prep class. Expect strengthening with moves that target your core, limbs and bottom. Great for posture, balance and all-over toning. IN THE POOL Really serious lap-counting swimming is a fabulous body toner, and one you can tick off before work. Book classes with a swim coach to refine your style. AT THE GYM Body Balance classes pull in elements from yoga, Tai Chi and Pilates. With an inspirational soundtrack and breathing work included, it strengthens as it improves balance. AT HOME Dust off your Swiss/exercise ball. It’s back! (And it’s at the gym, too.) Controlling the ball’s inherent instability helps you firm up that core, while over-ball stretches improve flexibility and posture.