Virgin Active Health Club


How to fit keeping fit into your busy Christmas calendar!
	The festive season is well and truly upon us. It’s the usual whirlwind of family get-togethers, frantic Christmas shopping, and festive parties, which leave most of us gasping for breath trying to juggle it all! But you don’t have to drop your exercise routine entirely to fit everything in. On the contrary, in fact, regular exercise during this hectic time is exactly what you need! Not only will it lay the groundwork for a svelte New Year’s ‘New You’, but it will boost your energy levels and mood, and ensure that you set aside some ‘me time’ to help you handle holiday stresses better – and keep those winter blues at bay! Read on as we reveal our top ten tips on how to squeeze exercise into your holidays - instead of letting your holidays put the squeeze on your exercise routine, with a sneak preview of some exhilarating new exercise innovations that will be coming soon to your club…
Put up some resistance. It’s hard to say no to partying, but now you can build up your resistance with the all-new Gravity® trainer. For Pilates, or for personal training, this revolutionary equipment provides optimal resistance training to help you sculpt, strengthen, shape and tone your body. With its unique cable and pulley system and free moving glide board, Gravity allows you to perform up to120 Pilates moves, and over 240 conventional exercises, for ultimate core-strengthening, body-defining benefits. Weigh up the benefits. You’ve got plenty to choose from, especially with the arrival of the new health club heavyweights: Humansport™. This six-piece, dual-functioning training circuit is your one-stop-shop for strength, balance, co-ordination and muscle training. Featuring a Lat Pulley, Total Legs, Pull Lift, Shoulder Chest, Total Delts and Arm Crunch apparatus, you’ve got everything you need in one compact station. Sign up for an introductory class to incorporate HumanSport™ in your regular workout. Step up your fitness routine. Up the intensity of your usual workout with the innovative new treadmill climber, Jacob’s Ladder™. Adopting a natural climbing position, this exercise delivers peak aerobic endurance and anaerobic conditioning. Challenging your upper body, arms and shoulders to a power-packed cardiovascular workout, the faster you go, the faster its goes – so climb on to feel the total body benefits. Try something different. They say change is as good as a holiday – so, swap your usual cardio routine for a blast on the brand-new CardioWave™. Imitating the movements of rollerblading or ice-skating, this unique cardio workout strengthens and tones the legs, bums, and thighs – with dramatic core strengthening benefits when you go ‘hands-free’! If you’d prefer to stick with what you know, try a different programme on the treadmill or bike, vary the resistance on the rower or cross-trainer, or choose a different route for your outdoor training. Get into a new rhythm. Start with Drums Alive™; the hottest exercise class to hit the UK this year - exclusive to Virgin Active Health Clubs. Armed with just a pair of drumsticks and a core ball, the beat will make you come alive, with astonishing strengthening and toning benefits for your entire body. Feel the rhythm, soak up the vibes, and enjoy powerful stress reducing benefits for mind and body. Reclaim your lunch hour. If hitting the gym before or after work is just not a possibility, seize that elusive lunch hour and try an energy-boosting Fast Class! These super-fast 15 to 30 minute workout sessions are available in a variety of formats, including Power Plate®, Kettlebells™, Drums Alive™, AB Attack, BOSU® Ballast™ Ball, V-Row, V-Tread, V-Core and more. A few of these high intensity sessions per week gives you a noticeable boost, and you can still be back at your desk within the hour! Remember less is better than nothing. If you can’t make time for your usual workout, don’t give up entirely! Even the smallest effort is better than nothing. So, if you usually fit several lengthy jogging or running sessions in per week, cut your training time by half to still get the buzz, but without as much of a commitment. Or, instead of completing two or three sets of a given exercise, reduce it to one or two sets. Your session will take less time, but you’re still exercising the same muscles, so your strength won’t disappear. Embrace interval training. It’s the perfect way to gain maximum impact, with minimum time! Optimize your workout by working hard for 20 seconds, then resting for 10 seconds, repeated for four minutes. Good combinations include: lower body exercises (such as squats) followed by upper body exercises (such as dumbbell presses). Example: 20 seconds squats, followed by 10 seconds rest, 20 seconds dumbbell presses, followed by 10 seconds rest. (Repeat four times.) You can follow a similar technique on the treadmill, or cross trainer – work as hard as you can for 20 seconds, rest for 10 seconds, and repeat for up to four minutes. Get a Personal Trainer. Considering the money spent on unhealthy indulgences this time of year, a few extra pounds for personal training is surprisingly affordable! Working one-on-one with the expert advice and guidance of a Personal Trainer can help you get the most from your exercise routine, so you can achieve your fitness goals quickly and effectively. It’s the perfect solution to keep your motivation – and attendance – from waning over the holidays, helping you to maintain a healthy balance. Make it fun for the family. When you combine exercise with a fun day out for the family, suddenly finding time doesn’t seem such a chore! Exciting activities that parents and kids can enjoy together include swimming, bouldering/ climbing, badminton, tennis, and countless exhilarating group classes including the Nike Rockstar workout and Hulaerobics™. Or you can let your kids loose in our stimulating Club-V area while you take some time for yourself with a rejuvenating Yoga class, trip to the spa, or luxury pamper session at HeavenV. Everyone’s happy… Facilities and classes differ from club to club, so check out your nearest Virgin Active health club to find out about Christmas timetables and special activities over the festive season. Merry Christmas and a happy New Year to you all, and we’ll look forward to seeing you in the clubs…