With Saajan’s surprise diagnosis sending me in to a downward spiral over the first year of his life and the hustle and bustle that comes with having two kids, I really haven’t been focusing enough on myself. By nature, I put in a lot more in to ensuring others are ok than I do compared with ensuring I’m ok! I’ve piled on a few extra unwanted pounds and have struggled to shift them as I’m such a foodie and I very rarely get the chance to exercise!
When I was asked to come and review a class at Hillingdon Leisure and Sports Centre by Fusion Lifestyle, “Body Attack” sounded like just what I needed! To say I was a little nervous about exercising let alone exercising in a group setting is an understatement! My fitness is at an all time low and I wasn’t sure I’d survive even five minutes! I obviously did survive as I’m here to share the experience!
Parking
I attended the class on a Sunday morning at 10.25am. This time worked well for me as Preetam had taken the boys to football and I’m generally the type of person that prefers to get things I don’t like doing (ie exercise!) first thing in the morning.
It had been snowing the night before so I had thought the car park may be empty Ish. I was wrong! It was quite busy but I found a decent spot relatively quickly. Though it’s a large car park, I think I got lucky as from what I could see, most spaces had been taken. It’s a pay and display car park – £1 for an hour and a half which is pretty reasonable.
The Instructor
Our Body Attack instructor was the lovely Gail. What an absolute inspiration! She has an incredible amount of stamina and energy – anyone that can talk through exercising is a hero to me! Haha! But honestly, Gail participated through the whole class – I’ve been to many classes where the instructor shows you what to do and let’s you crack on for the remaining reps. Not Gail, she took the entire class with us.
She has a very endearing personality – she’s super upbeat, friendly and very supportive. Every exercise had an easy option for those that didn’t feel comfortable to do the harder option.
The Class
There were about 30 people in the class – again I was really surprised given the weather. I felt the attendance was a true credit to Gail and her class as it showed how enjoyable those that attend find it and how committed they are.
The class varied in fitness and Gail was very accommodating in ensuring everyone was comfortable in what they were doing while also encouraging.
Where Body Pump focuses on working the body through the use of weights, Body Attack focuses on working the entire body through the use of high intensity cardio and stretching.
All exercise was done to high energy music to keep the momentum. The class involved mini sets comprising of eg a squat, a press up, a star jump, a side step. The mix of different exercises in to one set made it a lot more fun and engaging. I’m definitely one of those people that gets immediately put off by the thought of doing 20 squats in a row! By the end of the class we would have done a lot more than 20 squats but without even realising!
What I really liked about this class was the use of the room – we didn’t stay in the same spot for the whole 45 minutes, many of the exercises involved us running to the opposite side of the room or around the room – I didn’t realise how quickly this made time pass and how refreshing it was to simply switch location.
Given I hadn’t exercised in a long while, I did opt to use the easier options for some of the exercises but tried my best to push myself where I could. I sweated lots like most of the room! My body was aching the following day in a good way – I definitely felt like I’d worked out.
I’d highly recommend the Body Attack class with Gail. It beats working out in a gym any day for me!
Fusion Lifestyle, who manage the centre, have an offer on to give you a kick start at the moment with a free visit that you can use for a swim, gym or class! Claim your free pass here.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored post in the form of remuneration or in exchange for a product or service. However all views expressed above are my own.
