Crawling: The Breakthrough Workout For 2017!
By now, that familiar January sinking feeling is probably firmly with you. You bought the kale, the nut butter, the exercise gear and the new water bottle but you’re still not really feeling it when it comes to actual exercise? After all it’s been cold and miserable and the idea of the gym just doesn’t appeal.
We hear you and we’re here to help!
What you need to do is inject a little energy into your workout with the new crazes that will be hitting a gym near you this year. And number one is the craziest of the lot. It seems that Crawling is set to be the most fashionable work-out of 2017.
Yes, getting down on your hands and knees as you move across the floor is set to be the ‘new planking’. Crawling strengthens your abs while working your arms and legs at the same time. And the best way to maximise the benefits from this type of exercise is to slither like a salamander.
Fitness expert and personal trainer Luke Gray, who runs bespoke lifestyle studio Living Retreats in London’s leafy Primrose Hill, says: ‘It might sound strange but crawling is becoming more popular with our clients and we think the Salamander is the best variation of the crawl. It’s great for mobility and co-ordination, both of which can be forgotten in regular work-outs but which are crucial for all-round well-being. Crawling is also free, easy and something you can do at home without any equipment! As long as you know what you’re doing, you can get great abs and toned arms with a few circuits a day.’
To try out the Salamander for yourself, bend your elbows and stay flat and low to the floor. Don’t drop your hips or compromise your back. Then slowly raise a knee to the corresponding elbow whilst reaching with the opposite arm to move forward, keeping low to the ground as you travel. Continue for up to 4 meters and repeat 4 times. So how does the Salamander work its magic?
‘The Salamander move is a full–body manoeuvre that uses all your muscles and strengthens legs, arms and core. It uses the body’s own weight to create sustained muscular tension and produces great results,’ says Luke. But if you’re not ready to get down on your belly and slither just yet, we have some other ideas up our sleeves.
4 MORE TRENDS HITTING A GYM NEAR YOU THIS YEAR:
PHIIT:
PHIIT combines the toning, core-strengthening workout of Pilates with the high intensity cardiovascular workout of HIIT to create a programme that gives the ultimate in overall fitness.
SLACKLINING:
Similar to walking a tight rope, slacklining involves balancing on a strip of webbing that is fixed above the ground, but not pulled taut. Not only does it help you to balance, slacklining requires the complete use of your body, engaging all of your muscles at once.
MEGAFORMER:
The Lagree form of Megaformer is a souped-up type of pilates that will make you sweat buckets and cause your muscles to burn. Loved by A listers like Jen Aniston and Sophia Vergara, gyms offering the class are opening up here.
AEROBICS:
And for those of you with more retro tastes, ‘80s aerobics, Jane Fonda-style is back and hot once more. Grapevine right!
