28 Aug Blast your Lunchtimes
With Elle Kealy
A personal trainer, Elle has been in Hong Kong for eight years and started working at Flex at the beginning of the year. She leads HIIT Cardio Body Blast and Xtend Barre, putting her mixed dance and fitness background to good use. “I love movement,” she says. “I love finding ways for women to stay fit that are fun and engaging. The classes at Flex have a welcoming and inclusive vibe about them, and they’re achievable for all sorts of people with all sorts of fitness levels.”
Your precious lunch hour is the perfect time to squeeze in your daily workout. If you’re working out three lunchtimes a week your cardio fitness can improve very quickly. Students in my class really feel and see the difference after as little as four weeks.
In general, gyms and studios go for hour-long classes, but 45-50 minutes is really all you need. It’s about hitting the right class, one that gives you the optimal workout time focusing on high intensity.
If you want to lose weight and get into shape then High Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) is really quick. People are so busy they need effective ways to workout and HIIT has been proven to be one of the most effective. Only 35 minutes of HIIT, or 50 minutes of Cardio Body Blast or Xtend Barre Cardio Blast, all target maximum intensity, make for a very effective workout.
If you come on a regular basis you’ll find it’s always new and interesting. I change the format every week and bring in exercises that use your body weight, bootcamp style games and weight training in a circuit format.
It’s also great for all levels, especially beginners or anyone who hasn’t done this kind of training before. It’s easy to start, you can see a clear progression and there are three different versions of every exercise so you can choose how hard you push yourself.
HIIT you can easily fit in at lunch time and still have time to wash your hair and grab some lunch.
Xtend Barre is a 50-minute class and focuses on the upper body, lower body, abs and core. I tend to make the lunchtime class more about cardio with maximum body toning in a minimum space of time. Xtend Barre is another class you can go as hard or as mild as you like.
Let’s not forget Pilates and yoga, which are both great choices for a lunchtime fitness program as it’s good to mix it up and do different things throughout the week.
Pilates is a great way to wake up the core muscles especially when you spend most of your day hunched over a laptop and smart phone. You’ll open up and strengthen and stretch muscles that aren’t used when we’re sitting around.
Yoga is emotionally calming. If you’re stressed at work it gives you time to check out, focus on your breathing, stretch muscles and calm you mind. By the time you’re back at work you’re mentally and physically transformed.
Exercising during your lunch hour, whichever class you choose, not only optimises your fitness but also acts as stress relief. Walking away from your desk and preoccupations for 50 minutes and focusing on the physical rather than what’s going on in your head is all you need to re-energise.
Tips
Make sure you eat a mid-morning snack a couple of hours before your workout so you’re not exercising while starving (or tempted to skip the workout for lunch).
Have lunch ready and waiting for you when you get back to the office for maximum convenience, and to ensure it’s a healthy choice.
Keep your trainers in your office so you don’t need to lug so much gear around.
Check out our new Xtend Barre and Pilates classes at lunchtime
Mondays
1:30pm | Xtend Barre Stick™
Thursdays
1:30pm | Pilates Allegro
Saturdays
1pm | Xtend Barre
Sundays
12noon | Xtend Barre Cardio Blast
And our other classes for Xtend Barre and Pilates after lunchtime include:
Mondays
6:15pm | Xtend Barre
7:30pm | Fat Burn Pilates Allegro
Wednesdays
6:15pm | Pilates Allegro/Mat Combo Level 1
7:30pm | Xtend Barre Cardio Blast
Thursdays
7:30am | Xtend Barre
Read more here.
