What you’re missing from your workout

Kimberlee Perry, founder of BOUNCEFITBODY, has shared her “best fitness tips of all time.” Book in advance, plan and pay in advance It may sound unrealistic to many, but understanding your ability (or inability) to commit will contribute to your success. “We plan and schedule our social lives, family events, school commitments, etc., so why not make sure your health is a priority too?” Try group exercises. If you feel ‘part of something’, your enjoyment of exercise will increase

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Australia’s population is aging dramatically and there is little available to help people who want to remain agile.

But now Simon NGO, from Flow Athletic, has created a 45-minute workout called the Best Burn Ever, which aims to bridge the gap between what’s missing and what’s important as we age.

The National Library of Medicine states that balance disorders are a problem in older adults, and that there is an increased risk of falls in older adults, which can cause loss of independence and death.

The class includes strength training, HINT cardio, mobility and flexibility training, and the burn that many have come to love in Pilates.

“The program starts with a full body warm-up, followed by a mobility flow. This is followed by three distinctive work sets: standing work; plank/side bodywork; lying glute and abdominal exercises,” Simon told news.com.au.

The workout includes core and stability training using single-leg balancing and combining exercises over an extended period of time to achieve three dimensions of movement.

“The beauty of the program is that it can be done at any pace, and the fact that it is an extended work set of 60-90 seconds per exercise combination, so each participant can easily focus on their own performance within that work duration.” Simon says.

“We have seen older clients start gently with a smaller range of motion and gradually introduce larger movements and replace the higher impact movements with strengthening alternatives.”

He said that in addition to the three main functions of fitness – strength, cardio and mobility – people also benefit from standing balance and mobility skills, in a sense very similar to dancing.

Simon said the course was incredibly helpful for those wanting to work on their stability.

“Not only the burn, but also that foundation. Clients have already reported improvements in range of motion and motor skills,” said Simon.

“I envision the BBE being something that fills the gaps in that market and something that can be easily shared and taught to other fitness professionals.”

ROAD TEST

I tried out the best burn ever at the Flow Athletic studio in Paddington, Sydney, and was so excited to take part. I may not be an aging adult yet, but my balance is absolutely shocking. It’s something I’ve been trying to work on through pilates and barre classes, so this seemed like a logical next step.

First off, this lesson is hard in the best way possible. It’s meant to be a challenge, but you won’t walk away feeling miserable about yourself. In any case, you are driven to do better next time. It’s definitely an instructor who encourages you to take it at your own pace. There are different difficulty levels and you can go up and down a level depending on your needs.

As with everything, the class starts with a warm-up before challenging you with different movements, such as lifting one leg onto a weight while doing various squats and pliés to activate your glutes and core to promote balance.

It’s fun! The atmosphere is great, the music is pumping and it definitely feels more like a dance class than a serious pilates class.

Normally I would track the workout on my Apple Watch to see how many calories I burned, but that’s not what this class is about. It’s about something much more important. Although there was certainly sweat during this training. Make no mistake about that.

Looking around the class, it was a mix of men and women, young and old, with different fitness levels, but everyone had an area they struggled with. It just goes to show how everyone needs to improve this part of their fitness journey.

It’s definitely a workout I’ll recommend to friends – I agree with Simon, who created the workout, that many people often overlook the importance of stability training. It was good to see a workout that really gets the message across.