This week saw the most active day of the year - National Fitness Day.
Encouraging the nation to celebrate the fun of fitness and physical activity across the UK, it also shines a spotlight on niche sports and inspired us to think about switching up our usual routines here at La Pochette.
The benefits of injecting newness in your routine are numerous:
- Preventing overuse injuries
- Building or flexing new muscles
- Beating workout fatigue
- Helping keep your brain healthy and stimulated as you learn a new skill
- Breaking through a weight-loss plateau
- Meeting new training partners
- Getting a renewed sense of excitement about fitness
With winter on its way, here's some suggestions for indoor sports to try this autumn:
FENCING
En garde! If you’re looking for a fast paced, heart pumping cardio workout, look no further than a fencing class. Fencing is as exciting physically as it is mentally, and a great way to burn off those mince pies. A competitive and challenging sport which not only improves flexibility, speed and coordination, but also helps to tone the stomach, buttocks and thighs. Should you book a class at your local fencing club, know that they will provide the epée or foil, as well as the jacket and mask to protect your face and body during each match.
ANTI-GRAVITY YOGA
Created by aerial performer Christopher Harrison, anti-gravity yoga involves exercises inspired by Pilates, aerial acrobatics and calisthenics; all performed in hammock-like apparatus. Fun right? It may sound like a lot of playground antics, but this exercise has a lot more benefits than you may think. Anti-Gravity yoga has been known to decompress tight joints, refresh the lymphatic, digestive & circulatory systems as well as contribute to an improvement in varicose veins. It seems hanging upside down does in fact offer some great health benefits.
Discover more and find a class near you.
INDOOR ROCK CLIMBING
Indoor rock climbing is a fantastic anaerobic workout that builds balance and core strength, as well a good calorie-burning exercise, burning up to 800 calories an hour! With the constant shifting of your body weight, rock climbing is often compared to doing ‘yoga on a wall’; building up muscle and core strength as well as working muscles you didn’t even know you had. At indoor climbing gyms, beginners usually start with top roping (climbing with an instructor or spotter using a harness or rope) and bouldering (climbing shorter walls without a rope or harness).
More about the basics and clubs near you.
Share your new obsession with us @LaPochetteLife!
