Our brand new Functional Fitness area is now open!
We are pleased to announce that after listening to our customer’s feedback and investing in your gym, we have now opened a brand new dedicated functional fitness area along with a reorganised gym and refresh.
The gym has been extended to create a brand new functional fitness area with brand new equipment which includes Kettlebells, Bulgarian Bags, Battle Ropes, Medicine Balls, Sand Bags, Push Up Grips, Plyometric Jump Boxes and Tyres. We’re also planning to purchase some more kit in the coming weeks too. Keep scrolling to find out the best use of the new area and equipment.
To allow for the extension, we've closed the virtual studio, but don’t worry, the virtual access will be re-installed within one of our two other studios in due course.
We are also pleased to have been able to re-arrange the rest of the kit in our gym to allow more space as well as creating another new area at the back of the gym which includes punching bags and mats for stretching.
Be sure to come in and take a look around and the new space!
If you’re not a member, we’re offering no joining fee this January so be sure to not miss out!
The best use of our new functional fitness kit
Kettlebells (KB) are great for functional exercises such two-armed Kettlebell Swings, Kettlebell Forward Lunge and Press, Kettlebell Squat and High Pull, Single Leg Kettlebell Romanian Deadlift. Performing these exercises will help you to improve whole body strength, mobility of the hip, balance and cardiovascular endurance
Bulgarian Bags are appropriate for improving stability whilst performing well known exercises such as Lunges and Squats. Other movement for improving the mobility of your spine is Halo where you hold the bag overhead and rotate it around your head and when you finish rotating in one direction, switch to the opposite. It’s amazing for opening the shoulders and creating strength in your spine and core. The list with other functional movements that will be beneficial include Rotational Swings, Swing to Squat, Lateral Swing, Lateral Lunge
Battle Ropes (or battling ropes) are amazing for functional fitness and exercises to try include Full Circle Wave, Two-point Wave, Side Plank Wave, Biceps Wave, Lateral Whip, Outside Spiral, Jumping Slam and Lying T. They are good for working each arm independently and eliminating any imbalances that you might have in your shoulders and/or back whilst also improving your total body strength and endurance.
Medicine Balls help us develop coordination and balance. Exercises to try out are Overhead Slams, Russian Twist, V-Sit Up, Crunch and Hold, Shoulder Press, Figure 8, Single Leg Squat, Rolling Push Ups and others. Performing exercises when being off balance is beneficial for training deeper muscles that are significant for maintaining good posture, increasing our power and explosiveness , and are great for developing not only strong core, but also working out all muscle groups in the body.
Sand Bags are perfect equipment for a variety of strength workouts including Squats, Lunges, Bicep Curls, Bear Crawl, Deadlifts, Glute Bridges and Burpees. It helps you improve overall stability, endurance and strength, besides it’s more forgiving on your back and shoulders.
Push Up Grips are great for improving different Push Up variations such as Wide Grip Push Ups, Close Grip Push Ups, L-Sits, Triceps Dips, Hand Stand and Hand Stand Push Up. They are great equipment for increasing your total body strength and intensity of your workout just by performing bodyweight exercises.
Plyometric Jump Boxes can be used for various Jumping lateral and bilateral exercises such as Box Jump, Box Jump with a Squat, Box Jump with a Burpee or non-jumping exercises – Press Ups, Squats, Single Arm exercises such as Lateral raise and Row meaning that the equipment is appropriate for improving both upper and lower body strength, overall speed, power, explosiveness and are great for your cardiovascular health.
Tyres are also part of the functional equipment that you can perform jumps, squats, steps ups and glute bridge. Other movements include Tyre Flip, Tyre Walk, Tyre Jump and Tyre Push. This piece of equipment helps you develop force, strength, explosiveness and power.
Be sure to ask a fitness instructor if you’re still unsure of how to use the kit!
We're also starting six new functional classes that take place in the Functional Zone from February.