boiMAG.com "Fitness" Article

FITNESS Stay In Shape, Get Fit and Stay Healthy

Reciently, many people bought whatever strength-training equipment they could get their hands on. Kettlebells, especially, became an Instagram fitness craze, causing shortages around the country. Fast forward a year and a half later, kettlebells remain the ruler of the weight room, or your home gym, and for good reason.

Kettlebells are some of the most versatile fitness tools because they can be used for both building strength and conditioning. Kettlebell swings, for instance, strengthen your hips, glutes, and core, while challenging your cardiovascular endurance. Plus, kettlebells can be used to mimic everyday functional movements. For example, doing a kettlebell deadlift simulates lifting groceries off the floor.

Fhitting Room, a HIIT-based kettlebell training studio in New York, also recently launched an advanced kettlebells class, where people hone in on their skills and technique while building strength.

“We have a community within our community who are ready to spend less time on basics and focus on perfecting their technique and mastering more advanced kettlebell skills,” says Kari Saitowitz, founder and CEO of Fhitting Room. “Due to their ballistic nature, unique shape, and versatility, kettlebells are perfect for progressive programming.”

Generally, more people are gravitating toward using strength-training equipment, Nakhlawi says. “I definitely see more strength equipment. Not just kettlebells but also adjustable dumbbells, barbells, and an entire squat rack, even in small apartments.”

Why? Besides building muscle and improving strength, lifting weights also boasts some major mental health benefits. According to a 2018 meta-analysis in JAMA Psychiatry, resistance training is associated with reduced depressive symptoms.

We could all use workouts that promote a positive mind-set and put us in an uplifting mood. If swinging kettlebells or doing barbell deadlifts is going to help us get there, so be it.

On another topic: Pilates. According to ClassPass’ 2021 comeback fitness and beauty trends report, Pilates ranked fourth in the most-booked in-person classes. In fact, twothirds of ClassPass members said that access to Pilates equipment is one of the reasons they’re returning to studios.

Today, Pilates classes aren’t just taught with the traditional reformer. Studios, such as SLT, Lagree Fitness, solidcore, are offering classes with the megaformer, a machine inspired by the Pilates reformer that includes cables, bars, and handles. ClassPass users attended more than a million megaformer classes in 2019.

At The Fit In Bedford Stuyvesant, a Pilates, barre, and strength training studio aimed at making wellness accessible to underserved communities in Brooklyn, there is a Pilates Reformed fundamentals class, which offers an intro to using the Pilates reformer, tower, and chair. There’s also a Pilates chair fundamentals class, where people can learn how to use this challenging piece of equipment.

“We’ve had to go as far as adding fundamental classes for a number of our class types because we had many new people join us over the last year and wanting to really hone in on their form and technique,” says Ife Obi, founder of The Fit In Bedford Stuyvesant.

The progression of using different types of Pilates equipment has been a great way for members to track their success. “Pilates was originally designed as a way for people to be able to measure their progress. There are moves like the teaser that can be done using different pieces of Pilates equipment to either provide support or a challenge,” Obi explains. “We are really seeing people paying more attention to their growth and celebrating when they can finally do that move they couldn’t before. Months ago, they may have needed the push-through bar on the Pilates tower to help them up into the position, but now they are able to do it on top of the reformer.”

As more people become interested in lowimpact forms of training that incorporate breathing (read: less stress) and focus on improving posture from sitting all day and leading more sedentary lifestyles.

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