Today, someone asked me whether I was a personal trainer (blush). They said I looked fit (double blush - no-one said that on Day 11 MMA Circuits, that's for sure). Maybe they weren't wearing their glasses or perhaps it's because I only had a potato salad for dinner last night. But whatever, I'm taking it and of course I'm in a wonderful mood now. And that's not the only reason. Today, in only 25minutes, I have apparently achieved almost 100 minutes worth of exercise. Now those are nice numbers. Like finishing a 2-hr report in 30mins, or having twins - it's just time efficient.
Today was a powerplate class at the Powertone studio in Chelsea. Just off King's road dahling. Without the billboard outside, it's easy to miss and even inside the mall, you have to navigate through the renovations (which I assume are temporary) to get to the studio. But once you're there, you'll be welcomed by Instructor Brian (who is also Studio Manager Brian), who constantly wears a big, friendly smile and is more than happy to make sure you get the most out of your 30-minute session. The studio has 4 power plate machines, what looked like a mix of running / crosstraining machine (which I forgot to ask about) and a small chill-out area with sofas and a couple changing cubicles.
There's not much faffing around (a good thing too, we like time efficiency and cost efficiency) - I arrived a bit early so Brian ran through the technicals and physics of a powerplate machine, which was most interesting - did you know the different buttons control the frequency (number of vibrations per second) and vibrating altitude of the plate? And there's a button to control the airbag in case a, well let's say a bigger boned person uses the powerplate? Knowing what it's doing (making your muscles work 4x harder) and why it's good for you (making your muscles are working 4x harder) does give you a better feeling as you're doing the exercises. Education is knowledge and knowledge is power!
Once you get used to the vibration of the plates during the exercises, Instructor Brian explained that you can make exercises harder and harder, either with additional equipment (medicine balls, kettlebells etc) or upp-ing the vibration. One key A-ha! moment was when he explained that when doing standing exercises, knees should be kept soft - if you lock your knees when you stand up, the vibration shoots to your head and makes your teeth chatter which is a tad unpleasant (so don't lock our your knees!).
We had 3 students today - myself, the lovely Dagma (she was the nice lady who complimented me. Blush.) and Paul (who looked a bit like he could've been a slightly older Colin Farrell). Because of the small class (there are only 4 machines after all), Instructor Brian could go round each of us, giving us different exercises, making it quite a tailored session.
One final piece of advice, which I had mentioned in a previous post and shall repeat - one should not use powerplates with a full bladder. The consequences could be simply disastrous.
Don't forget you can follow the full blog and see previous posts here!
The Need To Know:
- Where: Powertone Studios (www.powertonestudios.com)
- Nearest Station: Sloane Square (6 mins)
- When: Classes pretty much all day, Mon-Sat
- How Much: Single class £20 but you can try first class for free and have multi-class packages which make it cheaper
- Special Note: Other studios at Battersea and Mayfair
The Want to Know:
- Who's it For: For those who just don't have the time
- Sweat Scale: 6/10.
- Strength / Cardio / Flexi / Tone: Toning
- Complexity: 7/10
- Fun Factor: 6/10.
- Changing Facilities: I'm not sure whether there are showers but there are a couple changing cubicles and a toilet just outside the studios.
- Instructor Inspiration: 7/10. Knowledgeable and friendly!
The Stats:
- Total Time: 31mins
- Calories Burnt: 109
- Average Heart Rate: 98bpm
- Max Heart Rate: 152bpm