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E-bikes, breathing and rest: working out winds down
Low-intensity training will be the key to wellbeing in 2019, says Jessica Salter. But why wait until January?
If you’re feeling the party season taking its toll, then take heart. Because looking ahead, many of 2019’s fitness trends actually involve… lying down. Overtraining is not good for body or mind and the time has come to slow it down, prepare our muscles properly and keep our cortisol levels (stress hormone) on an even keel. There’s even a class new for 2019 that involves using CBD oil – a compound contained in cannabis – to reduce muscle inflammation. Get a head start now on next year’s fitness trends by taking advantage of an empty gym…
ELECTRIC BIKES GET COOL
When David Beckham posted a clip of himself riding his VanMoof Electrified S on Instagram, he gave electric bikes the hipster injection they needed. VanMoof is the coolest of the bunch: founded by brothers Taco and Ties Carlier in 2009, the slick electric bikes integrate smart technology, such as a theft-defence system and a booster button that you press when you want to go faster (up to 15.5mph). Zoom! (from £1,898; vanmoof.com).
CBD BOOST
Short for cannabidiol, CBD is one of more than 100 compounds called cannabinoids that are contained in cannabis. CBD products don’t produce a high, but studies, such as a 2018 review published in Frontiers in Neurolog y, have found it can help reduce inflammation. As yet, there is no research on the effect it can have specifically on exercise, but many anecdotal reports claim it helps to improve recovery. Gymbox is leaping on the trend and introducing a recovery class called Painkillers, which involves using CBD patches to soothe inflammation as well as aches and pains. Blissful (gymbox.com).
LEARNING TO BREATHE
You might assume that you already know how to breathe. But a slew of classes has arrived to enlighten you about the power of breath. “It all works by stimulating the relaxation response – the parasympathetic nervous system,” says Clare Walters, master trainer at Third Space (thirdspace. london) and co-creator of the class Exhale. “One of the simplest ways to do so is to manipulate the breathing. With a deep breath, diaphragmatic breathing is employed, which stimulates the vagus nerve to message the brain and activate the parasympathetic nervous system to slow down heart rate and blood pressure and put the body into a relaxed state.”
As well as Third Space, Transformational Breath Foundation UK lists breathing classes and retreats across country (transformationalbreath.co.uk).
GAMIFIED WORKOUTS
For the Candy Crush generation, gamified, interactive workouts are the only logical way to exercise. The online platform Fiit already displays real-time performance metrics such as reps, calories, heart rate along with so-called “Fiit points”, and it will have a live leaderboard launching soon. Meanwhile, studios are looking to play, too. “Gamification of group fitness is an enormously important way to create a more exciting and personal fitness class environment and get people’s competitive juices flowing,” Geoff Bamber, CEO at Digme, says. Digme’s technology allows instructors to enact impromptu games, such as splitting the room into teams or dropping minichallenges into classes. Game on.
RECOVERY COUNTS
Counting your steps is totally last year in terms of fitness trends. Whoop is a tracker that focuses on how much rest and recovery your body has had, collating around 100mb of data a day, before sending personalised insights and performance coaching. On a green day, when your body is fully rested, you can go hard; on a red day, when you’re shattered from a bad night’s sleep or tough workout the day before, it advises you take it easy. It’s currently available in US and Canada for $30 (£24) a month, including hardware (whoop.com).
FASCIA RELEASE CLASSES
The key to easing aches and pains and boosting athletic performance is not just a cursory hamstring stretch, but massaging the connective tissue between your muscles. “Releasing fascia before a workout will massively improve your range of movement, leading to much better activation, meaning you get more benefits from your workout,” says Frame master trainer Gede Foster, who will be leading a new workshop in 2019 (moveyourframe.com). For an at-home treatment, try the FasciaBlaster (from £89; amazon.co.uk).
PT IN YOUR POCKET
If you can’t face the thought of a gym, and can’t stomach the cost of a personal trainer, there is another way. A bevy of apps can connect you with a virtual PT for the ultimate workout without leaving your house. Trainiac is one such app, available with a two-week free trial, which promises to “make anywhere your gym, and fits fitness seamlessly into your life” (£40 a month; trainiacfit.com). Other innovative PTs are using Facebook Live to deliver hyper-personalised classes, including Kelly Bedford, who trains new mums (facebook.com/ fitnessfoxlondon) and Katie Morris, who coaches post-menopausal women (facebook.com/katiemorrisfitness) nationwide.
STRESS-REDUCING WORKOUTS
With stress being called the 21stcentury epidemic by the World Health Organization, and our stress hormone cortisol increased by too much high-intensity training, trainers are seeking to provide another option. Frame is about to launch LIIT Row (low-intensity interval training), to complement the high-intensity row workout. “If you still want to be in one functioning piece, you want to think about working out smarter rather than harder,” Gede Foster says.
LUXE AT-HOME KIT
If you want to work out like a celeb then you’ll need to invest in the some hi-tech equipment. The Peloton indoor bike has just launched in the UK and counts Ellen DeGeneres, Hugh Jackman and Michael Phelps among its fans. You have to splash out on £1,995 for the bike, plus £39.50 a month for the unlimited subscription, with 14 live classes streamed daily. The New York company is planning a UK studio expansion in 2019 (onepeloton. co.uk). Then there’s “Mirror”, which lets you view your online fitness instructor and classmates, as well as your own image reflected back at you as you work out. It’s currently only available in the US (for £1,185), but watch this space (mirror.co).
HOLISTIC FESTIVALS
Fitness festivals are set to be hot tickets in 2019. The Hackney Half (marathon) has expanded into a three-day event and is projected to be the UK’s largest outdoor festival of fitness, with 80,000 people expected to attend (May 17-19; virginsport.com/ hackney).
The Big Retreat in Wales will be offering more than 200 events, including yoga, Zumba and Clubbercise, as well as headliners daytime TV presenter Matt Johnson and life coach Ben Bidwell, known as “The Naked Professors”. (May 24-27; thebigretreatwales.co.uk). Soul Circus, held near Gloucester, features wellness stars such as Jasmine Hemsley (Aug 16-18, soulcircus.yoga).