Cover Story Cover Story Fitness zeitgeist Fitness zeitgeist Body beautiful Fitness is no longer just about dumbbells and push-ups: there’s a new world of wild and wonderful exercise options. Wellbeing has become a worldwide obsession, shaping our bodies, minds and lifestyles

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A small group of women hang from the ceiling, stretching their bodies angularly into the air. With feet raised vertically and legs outstretched, they curl into a backward bend known as “the swan”. They look serene and beautiful, dangling from the rafters. These women are practicing AntiGravity® Aerial Yoga. It’s a new form of yoga where silk cloth is hung from the ceiling so that asanas [yoga positions] can be performed mid-air, supporting the body against gravity. Christopher Harrison, the originator of AntiGravity® Aerial Yoga and other suspension fitness and aerial yoga genres, pioneered this unique form of fitness as a gymnast in the 1990s when he started experimenting with the ceiling silks used by previous page: AntiGravity® Aerial Yoga’s Christopher Harrison dangles in the air. acrobatic performers. “We weren’t aerialists, and we didn’t know which fabric to clockwise from top left: The silk cloths buy. So we bought the wrong one. We tried climbing it and we used in AntiGravity® Aerial Yoga support the body against gravity; pole dancing is an were awful!” laughs Harrison. “I thought, what if we just looped alternative method to keep fit; Christopher the top and made it into a hammock? That was the moment Harrison. that the silk hammock apparatus was born as the key to an aerial art form.” of sporting backgrounds realise the Now Harrison is heading a movement. He teaches people benefits of incorporating it into their to perform not only yoga, but Pilates, restorative yoga and training schedule,” Fox-McGregor says. fitness exercises while hanging from the hammock. It’s a “People are exploring the mind-body development in the area of aerial fitness, tightly tied to the connection and the importance of stress acrobatic arts, that has seen a boom in popularity. management to a healthy lifestyle.” Primal programmes, kangaroo jump shoes, fencing, salsa, AntiGravity® Fitness speaks to trampolines and pole dancing; the ways people try to get fit those looking for holistic wellbeing. It range from astounding to ridiculous. But if there is one common has proved truly beneficial for healing theme, it’s that people see fitness as crucial to their everyday physical problems. “The number one combining conventional methods with a modern approach. Trends develop quickly, so keeping trainers ahead of the lives. Blame an image-obsessed culture or a competitive edge reason people find us is they want to It brings together aerobics, weights, gymnastics and Olympic curve is crucial to maintaining clients. “It’s a really competitive – whatever the cause, fitness is here to stay. cure their back pain,” Harrison says. “As a former champion weight lifting — think lots of lunges and squats — a hefty market, so you have to be at the top of your game,” Fox- gymnast, acrobat and Broadway dancer, my body was beat order. Workouts tend to be limited to thirty extremely intense McGregor says. “My trainers attend regular workshops on AntiGravity® Aerial Yoga is a new form of yoga up. Even yoga would bother my wrists and my cervical minutes and enthusiasts love its go-getter attitude. the latest training methods to stay up to date. They then spine; so much of it is about building up the strength to hold CrossFit’s take-up has spread like wildfire, including the UAE. incorporate these into the most suitable programmes for the where silk cloth is hung from the ceiling an inversion pose. AntiGravity® yoga exercises offer zero- “CrossFit is definitely the booming sector of the fitness industry clients. All our clients get bespoke programmes built for them so that asanas can be performed mid-air, compression inversions.” in the UAE at the moment,” says Fox-McGregor. At Regime to achieve their goals in the most safe and efficient manner supporting the body against gravity In the soft cradle of a suspended cloth, many people find Fitness, diverse fitness tastes are catered for by personal possible, while remaining fun.” relief from pains that gravity makes too difficult or painful to trainers. This hands-on, one-on-one way of working out caters “Fun” is the operative word. Fitness enthusiasts getting in overcome. “In the hammock, everybody can do inversions, for for those looking for personalised workouts. “Trainers are shape don’t just want perfect bodies – they want to enjoy the a longer period of time and there’s zero compression on your definitely increasing in popularity,” Fox-McGregor says. “Go workout. Variety seems to be the key to sustaining motivation. According to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub spine,” Harrison says. “By just relaxing in the hammock, your into any of the communal gyms in residential buildings and AntiGravity® Fitness has the enjoyment component. “People Association, total commercial health club revenue in the US spine elongates; we’re actually creating space in your body, you will see most gym users are there with trainers. It’s not as stay with us because it’s just so much fun,” Harrison says. increased by 8.1 percent to US$157.3 million in 2012. This doesn’t and space in your mind.” expensive as you’d think, especially with small group personal “AntiGravity has two meanings: one is to fight the laws of include the huge sums of money the fitness equipment AntiGravity® exercises train the brain to function better. training sessions. Split between two to four people, it costs physics; the second is to stay light-hearted against graveness. industry generates. “The industry is growing,” says Adam Fox- “Within the Harrison AntiGravity® hammock, you’re allowing about the same as attending a small group session class.” You get a rush from moving upside down in all directions McGregor, the founder of Regime Fitness, a UAE-based fitness your body to move freely, in all directions,” says Harrison. “You In the vein of this personal approach to fitness, a slew training company. “Awareness about the need to be active train the proprioceptors, which are the sensory receptors in of boutique gyms and studios are springing up, offering to avoid health issues associated with a sedentary lifestyle the body that tell you where you are in time and space, by alternatives to big-box gyms. In the US, boutique gyms like is growing. About forty percent of our enquiries are for weight swinging back and forth, by spinning, by balancing in positions SoulCycle, which offers spinning classes with mood lighting, loss and about thirty percent from people who just want a off the floor. It increases your synaptic connections and or Physique 57, a ballet-Pilates fusion, aim to meet specific healthier, more active lifestyle.” your neural pathways, increasing your ability to learn. You’re needs. Other companies like FITiST offer a new type of gym guaranteed to be more open in your body and mind when you membership with a handpicked selection of gyms. Or there’s Primal programmes, kangaroo jump shoes, Holistic wellness, which involves not only making leave the class.” Hard Candy Fitness, ’s venture, which gives you a star fencing, salsa, trampolines and pole dancing; your body stronger and leaner, but your mind too, is one While holistic wellness is popular, there is a backlash from workout. This includes tweaked versions of gym classes, such the ways people try to get fit range from of the greatest growth points in the fitness industry. “Yoga some who are eager to see results, propelling them towards as jawbreaker classes, which imitate Madonna’s strengthening continues to grow in popularity as people from all sorts traditional, proven exercises. CrossFit is one such activity regime, or body design classes, which incorporate weightlifting. astounding to ridiculous

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everyone seems to be interested. Our growth has been substantial, especially in the past few years.” Convenience is the obvious benefit of online fitness instruction. “You get access to great teachers when and where you want them,” Trantina says. “It can be hard to fit in the time to exercise, and an on-demand platform with classes of different lengths and levels makes it so much easier to get it done. By making the programmes available at the user’s schedule, rather than the schedule of the studio or gym, we can ensure consistency in our practice. It’s all about making healing, strengthening practices available on demand, and taking the barriers away from creating a strong, consistent practice that will give benefits for both body and mind.” There are a few inherent limitations to the online medium, such as the ability to receive immediate feedback. Over the years My Yoga Online has built up a reliable stable of CLOCKWISE FROM instructors, crucial to ensuring the online formula works. LEFT: An increasing “As people practicing with video don’t have a teacher there number of people are realising the watching them, we focus on very qualified teachers who can important benefits speak to different experience levels and conditions, as well yoga offers; Pilates is an all-round intensive as offering classes of various levels and yoga styles,” Trantina workout; yoga speaks says. “We can also be much more particular with our instructor to the mind-body connection that roster as we have the whole world to draw from. Some online many are exploring videos are presented from one camera angle far away from in an attempt to manage stress, as the teacher, making it hard to see things like alignment, well as to keep fit; mudras [hand or limb gestures], or pranayama [breathing]. We from fencing to salsa, invest time and money in multiple camera angles and close- there are a host of ways to get fit. ups to ensure users know what is happening and where they need to be.” in open space. It releases endorphins, neurotransmitters and “Awareness about the need to be active to avoid side. Companies and organisations Yoga is not the only form of fitness happy hormones. It’s very easy to get addicted. We do a lot of health issues associated with a sedentary are recognising the need to continue suited to the online vehicle, but it is laughing and playing in class and you don’t even know how bringing fitness and wellness resources one of the most popular. Other forms hard you’re working out until you’re really sore the next day!” lifestyle is growing.” to the workplace so that employees of technology-based fitness, such as AntiGravity® Fitness takes inspiration from yoga and Pilates, have the ability to maintain productivity the Nintendo Wii Fit, demonstrate how and, like these forms of exercise, the intense fitness work and a healthy lifestyle.” people are looking for customisable sneaks up on you. “People from a fitness background may Fitness trends these days tend to ways to get fit. “Online fitness will want to try an AntiGravity® suspension fitness class,” says cross the world, with global take-up continue to become more popular in Harrison. “In these you’re doing push-ups with your feet in occurring at a fast pace. “Some places the future,” Trantina says. “Everything is the air, you’re doing inverted chin-ups and you’re doing one- have really embraced AntiGravity® moving online right now.” legged balances. It’s a hardcore workout; it’s killer. But every Fitness,” Harrison says. “Asia has: we built Still, online fitness might not be for class increases mobility in your joints, and gives you cardio a huge training centre in Chiang Mai, everyone. “For some people online strength and flexibility.” Thailand, just to keep up with demand. programmes work very well,” says Fox- We’re very successful in . We’re in McGregor. “However, you need to be There is no doubt corporate lifestyles have Virgin Active in , and Hard Candy Fitness in . Russians disciplined in order for them to work, and confident that you increased the demand for fast, convenient ways to get fit. go crazy for it. It’s proliferating fast there.” are performing the prescribed exercises in the correct form.” It’s not unheard of to see someone in an office perched on a One of the most extraordinary developments in fitness is Whether it’s dumbbells or silk swings, fitness balls or online brightly coloured ball as they type away. Fitness balls are just that many programmes aren’t restricted by location. Online yoga, there are a multitude of alternatives for staying healthy one of the ways of actively using muscles while chained to fitness allows people to get fit anytime, anywhere. My Yoga in both mind and body. Sign up to the gym, or pick up the Wii, a desk. Some offices have gone so far as to include workout Online was one of the pioneers in this field. This online yoga but whatever the method, commitment is key. routines as part of the daily schedule. platform based in Vancouver, Canada focuses on yoga, but The UAE is particularly vulnerable to work-induced unfitness. also includes Pilates, dance and supportive programmes The busy corporate environment combined with extreme exploring diet and meditation, offering over 1,000 different temperatures outside means many struggle to find ways to classes. “We launched our site before YouTube even existed,” work out. “People work really long hours and travel a lot, so explains Michelle Trantina, one of its co-founders. “It took we have to be really flexible and work around their schedules,” people time before they understood why we were doing it WORDS Jessica Gliddon Fox-McGregor says. “We do a lot on the corporate wellness and S hutterstock.com i ne.com M yyogaonl i ty, A nt i grav Images: – some thought we were completely crazy. But now almost

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