With that said, I feel it is important to be open minded and fair and reserve judgement until after I personally have experienced any workout I wish to express my personal opinion about. Which leads me to this latest blog post about various fitness workout trends that have come on the scene over the past several years and how I feel about their validity.
I have been involved in the fitness industry for over 30 years wearing many different hats from "aerobics" instructor, fitness facility owner to exercise therapist. I've tested and passed a multitude of certifications and earned a Master's Degree in Exercise Science throughout the decades, so at this point I feel I can say I am qualified to give an opinion when it comes to fitness.
Along with Crossfit, I have taken Core Fusion (The Bar Method), Pilates group reformer SPX (Pilates Plus/Platinum), Circuit Works and Zumba. I will give my personal experience "review" on each and try not to scare or bore you.
Let me begin with Zumba.Watch for yourself FUN, FUN and (more FUN to watch actually) but....Seriously, my hips don't lie and don't operate like that any more (hip injury is limiting). The class was FILLED with all ages and sizes so I was impressed at its widespread inclusion. The instructor was young, tiny, and exposing her rock hard abs AND she was a little difficult to understand (even with a mic) competing with the very loud music. Holy crap I am old..... The music did make me want to move my body and I must say many of the movements were so familiar so I was able to do most of the class. In fact, the moves were pretty much recycled from my "aerobics" instructor days. YES, grapevines and more. The class was fun, but I must say I had "been there done that" enough times in my life that I didn't need any more of it. Zumba (check) just not my kind of workout.
Circuit Works...Sample reel - good name because it works! I love circuit training, it's a great bang for your buck combining both cardio and strength training in one workout. It moves fast and it is HARD. Because the class moves fast (the intervals are timed) YOU must pay attention to executing good form throughout. The trainers will be busy correcting (if they are good) and leading the class so it will be up to YOU to self correct. Be attentive and don't push beyond what you can handle properly or you can get injured. Be SMART and have fun. Also the class should have no more that 6-8 people to (1) trainer ratio. If you walk in and the class has 15-20 to (1) trainer - beware you better know what you are doing.
The Bar Method (Exhale's-Core Fusion)...See for yourself It's a ballet bar class on steroids, overworking the glutes to no end. I took this class (4) times and not because I liked it. I wanted to make sure that it wasn't the instructors teaching and it was the format that I completely disagreed with. They work primarily in a pelvic tucked (posterior tipped pelvis) position (NOT in neutral) which is counter to the positioning I instruct my clients/students to work in in Pilates training. Posterior tuck is NOT a good position for the pelvis because it compresses the lumbar spine. This class HURT my back every time I walked out the door. I followed instructions knowing full well it was counter to everything I know and preach as a Pilates practitioner and Exercise therapist. Why? Because I wanted to fairly review this workout and put on record it is by far my least favorite and to steer clear unless you would like a herniated disc injury in your future. You can come see me for your repair....
(pilates reformer photo by KOMUnews)
Pilates "Plus/Platinum" Group Reformer (SPX)....Sample workout here -
I took this SPX group reformer method at (2) different studios and they were both very different using the same workout method. This is not Pilates the way Joseph Pilates intended his name to be associated with an exercise regime. It's timed, it's fast and pays little to zero attention to technique, form and execution of movement because of the format. One class was horrible (Pilates Plus on Abbot Kinney) and the other class was OK (Sweat Pilates in Culver city). So here is an example where the instruction makes all the difference. While I am NOT a fan of group reformer classes, I do feel that as long as a "group" is limited to (4) students (tops) who are at a similar fitness level and have had at least 10 private reformer sessions, I am OK with it. SPX is far from Pilates that it should be called "minus the Pilates" instead of Pilates Plus.
CROSSFIT LA.....Check this... I joined a friend (who is a few years younger than me) in a BEGINNER Crossfit LA class one evening a few weeks ago. She LOVES this workout,is totally addicted and wanted me to come with her and see what it was all about - (swearing to me LACF was different than all the other CF workouts out there). To me CFitters get this addiction (drink the cool-aid) and join the "cult". I have such a negative impression of this workout (especially after watching you-tube videos and reading that NYT article of this insane workout)- BUT I was ready to be open and try it. SO..I went.
My first clue should have been the extensive waiver (3 pages) that I needed to initial every paragraph on, and sign my life away at the end. I have never seen a more detailed waiver that you could not possibly read and understand in the time given. I mentally prepared myself. They do limit the class to 16 participants (to one instructor) so that is good, I guess.... I was clearly the oldest person in the class (I am a few years older than my friend) and one of 6 woman (excluding Shirley the instructor). The class consisted mostly of young guys wanting to get "buffed" and test their testosterone. The thought in my head at that moment was, "I am so screwed". Still, I was prepared. The class is 50-60 mins and has a specific format (WOD-workout of the day) that ALL classes (every level) do that particular day. The WOD consists of basically 3 to 4 exercises that get repeated over certain time intervals throughout the hour. The first 10 mins is a warm up of either foam rolling or using a small ball to prep a particular body part that will be mostly worked (i.e. Lats). The first exercise which consisted of raising a weighted bar over head (snatch high grip pull?) which I used just the 15 pound bar only (during the actually exercise) was instructed and rehearsed prior with just a light pole. The instructor Shirley was very clear, concise and attentive I do want to mention (I really liked her). The other 2 exercises were tuck jumps (plyometrics) and push ups but not the traditional push ups. You begin lying on the floor pushing yourself up (modification can be on knees) lowering to the floor with arms bent, raising your hands then pushing yourself up again. I'm not sure what these pushups are called because I think it's a "CF" push up (they were new to me). These 3 exercises were repeated to exhaustion in a sectioned timed format with the push up section being counted so everyone has a number to report at the end which gets written on a white board at the end (next to your name) and then a picture of the board is taken and posted on facebook. This congers up the competitive edge within and silently among your CF com-padres. At the end of class we celebrated a class participants birthday by joining in doing the number of burpees of the age he was turning. I think it was 34. I passed on the burpee's - no thank you - celebrate on your own, I'll eat cake.
I know people LOVE this workout and more power to them. I said to my friend, "just be VERY careful and don't do ANYTHING that would be compromising and lead to injury". I trust her and know she will be smart. While I may not agree with the workout format or choice of exercises (I feel they could lead to serious injury), I did like the instructor - she was NOT intimidating and allowed the participants to do what they felt they could handle (which is NOT like most CF's) where I understand the instructors intimidate participants into doing things like lift heavier weight (overhead) that is way beyond their control. The social aspect and camaraderie is like no other I have ever seen (cult like or not). This socialization keeps people interested and exercising which is what I would rather have than the alternative couch potato with one hand on a remote and the other in a bag of chips.
NEXT..... I'm going to try Richard Simmons "aerobics" class in Beverly Hills, so let me find my thong leotard, headband and leg warmers and sweat to the oldies!
Till next time.....
:) - L
2 comments:
Well said, my friend!!!! Nice and also INTELLIGENT re-cap!
Thanks Joey, I knew I would get honest feedback from you...I feel honored :)
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