Tried-And-Tested Wellbeing Treatment Of The Week: GRAVITY HIIT Class | HuffPost Life

Are You Ready For A Gravity HIIT?

Sarah Dean— The Huffington Post UK

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Having heard about the 'wonders' of high intensity interval training via a short item on BBC news, I decided it could be my kind of exercise.

As a school child I always chose the 100 metres sprint over cross-country running in PE, and I figured HIIT training must be the grown-up equivalent.

As I walked into the wellbeing Mecca that is the Virgin Active Kensington Health Club for my first GRAVITY HIIT class, I was met by a smiley trainer who told me she'd tried it last week and couldn't walk for a week. It was only then that I stopped to think: "Am I really strong enough for this?"

I was then introduced to my 'master trainer' Greg who was to lead the half-hour class.

He ran through the Total Gym equipment and explained that this one piece of kit could deliver 120 different exercises, using the resistance of my bodyweight alone.

Greg shows me how it's done

Greg promises that the exercises can be adjusted to suit suit all abilities, as by varying the angle of the 'glideboard', you can change the percentage of bodyweight you're lifting for each move.

Essentially, GRAVITY HIIT is made up of 30-second intervals (20 seconds of hard exercise and 10 seconds of rest) repeated eight times per round, with each round using four different exercises to target a single muscle group.

There are rounds to target legs, arms, chest and core, and each round has the equipment set at one resistance level.

WATCH: How the experts do it...

We started with jumping squats, where we pushed off the foot boards, sliding backwards in a jump and landing again in a deep squat. At least that's how you were meant to land, apparently I was doing some funny things with my legs and not quite working hard enough.

The next jumping squat included landing on one leg while the other was in the air. You then alternated it. The first round was fine but by the second my legs were failing me.

Then it was on to the arms and chest. The targeted exercises included chest presses and bicep curls (things I usually avoid), but instead of weights I worked with strings that moved my body weight.

Greg promised the more classes you do the less time it takes to get your hands and strings in the right position and the more time you have to rest between each rep. And the promise of rest sounded good.

There's a competitive nature to the GRAVITY HIIT class, and feeble as I felt I was determined not to be put to shame by the tiny elderly lady next to me.

However, halfway though the chest sets Greg obviously felt sorry for me as I grew increasingly red and dropped the angle of my 'glideboard' down lower. For a brief period I felt strong again.

The real killer moment was the 'pulls ups', which I've never been able to do. Having the sliding board for these definitely made them more achievable. That is until Greg got us pulling up, letting our hands go of the bars and then swiftly grabbing on again before we slid too far down.

Of the 120 exercises possible on the machine, Greg said I did 12 but as I walked out of the gym I knew they were still going to hurt the next day.

This is a great class for someone with little time, who prefers a sprint to a marathon. And I could definitely feel the beginnings of toned arms the next day, as they throbbed gently!

Group training starts from £10 per session, while small group sessions are £20-35. The Virgin Active GRAVITY Fast Classes are free for Virgin Active members. Other big gyms that offer GRAVITY Training include selected David Lloyd and Everyone Active centres.

To find your nearest GRAVITY class go to www.gravityuk.net or got to www.virginactive.co.uk for more info on GRAVITY Fast Classes.

Top 20 Fitness Industry Trends For 2013

Wellness Coaching(01 of20)

Wellness coaching often uses a one-on-one approach similar to a personal trainer, with the coach providing support, guidance, and encouragement. The wellness coach focuses on the client’s values, needs, vision, and goals.According to this trend survey (and results from past surveys), it seems as though wellness coaching and its principled techniques of behavior change have been adopted by personal trainers and other health and fitness professionals. (credit:Alamy)

Reaching New Markets(02 of20)

This is a trend that identifies new markets in all aspects of the health and fitness industry. With many people not having a regular exercise program or a place to exercise, commercial, clinical, corporate, and community programs will reach out to tap into this huge market. (credit:Alamy)

Circuit Training(03 of20)

Circuit training is a group of 6 to 10 exercises that are completed one after another and in a predetermined sequence. Each exercise is performed for a specified number of repetitions or for a set period before having a quick rest and moving on to the next exercise. (credit:Alamy)

Outcome Measurements(04 of20)

This is a trend toward accountability. There will be efforts to define and track outcomes to prove that a selected program actually works. Measurements are necessary to determine the benefits of health and fitness programs in disease management and to document success in changing negative lifestyle habits. The proliferation of technology will aid in data collection to support these efforts. Accountability to owners and operators of health and fitness facilities will provide important metrics to determine if new programs are cost-effective and if old programs are actually working. (credit:Alamy)

Boot Camp(05 of20)

Boot camp is a high-intensity structured activity patterned after military-style training. Boot camp includes cardiovascular, strength, endurance, and flexibility drills and usually involves both indoor and outdoor exercises typically led by an enthusiastic instructor. Boot camps also can combine sport-type drills and calisthenics. (credit:Alamy)

Worker Incentive Programs(06 of20)

This is a trend toward creating incentive programs to stimulate positive healthy behavior change as part of employer-based health promotion programming and health care benefits. This trend represents a resurgence of corporate health promotion programs as a result of rising health care costs experienced by both small and large companies and corporations. Worker incentive programs also are associated with the trend to provide worksite health promotion programs in an attempt to reduce health care costs. (credit:Alamy)

Yoga(07 of20)

Yoga now comes in a variety of forms, including Power Yoga, Yogalates, and yoga done in hot and humid environments.Other forms of yoga include Iyengar Yoga, Ashtanga, Bikram Yoga (the hot and humid one), Vinyasa Yoga, Kripalu Yoga, Anuara Yoga, Kundalini Yoga, and Sivananda Yoga. Instructional tapes and books are abundant, as are the growing numbers of certifications for the many yoga formats. (credit:Alamy)

Outdoor Activities(08 of20)

This is a trend for health and fitness professionals to offer more outdoor activities to their clients. Outdoor activities can be done with family and with friends, with a group or by yourself. Outdoor activities typically include hiking, canoeing, kayaking, and games or sports. Outdoor activities also can include high-adventure programs such as overnight camping trips. (credit:Alamy)

Zumba and Other Dance Workouts(09 of20)

Zumba requires energy and enthusiasm from the instructor and the participants. It appeared as though the popularity of Zumba was growing, with a rapid escalation between 2010 and 2012. Future surveys will determine if this is a trend or a fad. (credit:Alamy)

Worksite Health Promotion(10 of20)

This is a trend for a range of programs and services designed to improve the health of workers and incorporate systems to evaluate their impact on health, health care costs, and worker productivity. Many of these programs are physically housed within the company or corporation building or on campus, whereas other programs may contract with independent commercial- or community-based programs. Within the context of health care reform in the United States and rising health care costs, health promotion programs may take on additional importance in the future. (credit:Alamy)

Group Personal Training(11 of20)

This trend allows the personal trainer to continue providing the personal service clients expect but now in a small group of two to four, offering potentially deep discounts to each member of the group. In these continuing challenging economic times when true personal income may be decreasing (and almost certainly discretionary spending), personal trainers must be more creative in the way they package personal training sessions. Training two or three people at the same time in a small group seems to make good economic sense for both the trainer and the client. Group personal training will continue to be popular in 2013. (credit:Alamy)

Core Training(12 of20)

Core training stresses strength and conditioning of the stabilizing muscles of the abdomen, thorax, and back. It typically includes exercises of the hips, lower back, and abdomen, all of which provide support for the spine and thorax. Exercising the core muscles improves overall stability of the trunk and transfers that to the extremities, enabling the individual to meet the demands of activities of daily living and for the performance of various sports that require strength, speed, and agility. Core training often uses stability balls, BOSU balls, wobble boards, foam rollers, and other pieces of equipment. Some respondents argued that core training may be losing some of its popularity as new forms of exercise are developed. This will be an interesting trend to watch in the next few years. (credit:Alamy)

Functional Fitness(13 of20)

Functional fitness may be defined as using strength training to improve balance, coordination, force, power, and endurance to improve one’s ability to perform activities of daily living. Functional fitness programs reflect actual activities one might do as a function of daily living. (credit:Alamy)

Personal Training(14 of20)

As more professional personal trainers are educated and become certified, they become more accessible to more people in all sectors of the health and fitness industry. Personal trainers are employed by community-based programs, in commercial settings, in corporate wellness programs, and in medical fitness programs. (credit:Alamy)

Fitness Programs for Older Adults(15 of20)

The baby boom generation is now aging into retirement, and because they may have more discretionary money than their younger counterparts, fitness clubs should capitalize on this exponentially growing market. It is assumed that people who are retired not only typically have greater sums of discretionary money but they also have a tendency to spend it more wisely and may have more time to engage in an exercise program. Health and fitness professionals can take advantage of this growing population of retired persons by providing age-appropriate exercise programs. (credit:Alamy)

Exercise and Weight Loss(16 of20)

For many years, weight loss programs have been trying to infuse a regular exercise program into the caloric restriction diets of many popular commercial programs. Most well-publicised diet plans incorporate exercise into their daily routine of providing meals to their clients. The combination of exercise and weight loss is a trend toward incorporating all weight loss programs with a sensible exercise program. (credit:Alamy)

Children and Obesity(17 of20)

The problem with childhood and adolescent obesity continues to be a major health issue in most developed and developing nations. As public school systems continue to face the reality of cutting programs such as physical education and recess to spend more time preparing for standardised testing in a challenging economy, this is a trend toward more programs and a potential new market for commercial and community-based organisations. Health and fitness practitioners see the problem of childhood obesity and its associated comorbidities as an opportunity to positively influence a health issue that not only immediately impacts the health care industry but has an even greater effect on the health of these children as they mature into adults and have families of their own. The health and fitness industry should recognise this chronic health issue and start new programs targeted specifically at these children. Corporate and clinical programs also may see this as an opportunity to develop specialised physical activity programs for children of their staff and clients. Commercial- and community-based programs may find a receptive partner in schools. (credit:Alamy)

Body Weight Training(18 of20)

Body weight training did not appear as an option in previous surveys because it has only now become popular (as a defined trend) in gyms around the world; this is not to say that body weight training has not been used previously. On the contrary, people have been using their own body weights for centuries as a form of resistance training. Packaging it as an exercise program has now made it popular in all kinds of gyms. Body weight training often uses minimal equipment, which makes it an inexpensive way to exercise effectively. Most people think of body weight training as being limited to push-ups and pull-ups, but it can be much more than that. Body weight training may be a trend to watch as more people get “back to the basics.” (credit:Alamy)

Strength Training(19 of20)

This trend calls for both men and women to incorporate strength training into their exercise routines or to use it as the primary form of exercise. Historically, many clients of both community-based programs and commercial clubs trained exclusively using weights, and there are still those who lift weights for body building. However, today, there are many other individuals (both men and women, young and old, and children) whose main focus is on using weight training to improve or maintain strength. Most health and fitness professionals today incorporate some form of strength training into a comprehensive exercise routine for their clients and for patients with stable diseases. It is not uncommon for cardiac rehabilitation, pulmonary rehabilitation, or metabolic disease management programs to include weight training in the exercise prescription. Strength training remains popular in commercial, community, clinical, and corporate health fitness facilities for many different kinds of clients. (credit:Alamy)

Educated, Certified, and Experienced Fitness Professionals(20 of20)

Holding on to the no. 1 spot for the last 6 years, this is a trend that continues and drives the need for education and certification programs that are fully accredited by national third-party accrediting organisations for health and fitness and clinical exercise program professionals. (credit:Alamy)

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