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FUNCTIONAL TRAINING WALK ON THE


Crawling on all fours, swinging from bars, leaping from obstacle to obstacle: there’s a whole new breed of group exercise class that draws inspiration from the animal kingdom, focusing on natural, bodyweight-based movement – rather than the use of equipment – to deliver a full-body functional workout. Crucially the classes are also great fun, helping members rediscover the joy of movement. We take a closer look…


ANIMAL FLOW


WILD SIDE A


nimal Flow combines quadrupedal and ground- based movement with elements from bodyweight-


training disciplines to create a fun, challenging workout emphasising multi- planar, fluid movement. Its wide range of exercises and movement combinations are grouped into six components, with a typical class moving through each of the six sections and then putting them together into a fl uid ‘fl ow’ at the end.


Animal Flow is built on six components which are then combined into a sequence


70 Read Health Club Management online at healthclubmanagement.co.uk/digital


THE SIX COMPONENTS ARE: 1. Wrist mobilisations – particularly important as you spend a lot of time in the class on your hands. 2. Activations: Static holds to connect the body, including Static Beast Hold and Static Crab Hold. 3. Form-specific stretches are full body stretches that start in an animal form and then move through a wide range of dynamic motion to increase a person’s mobility and flexibility. Examples of the stretches include the Ape Reach, Beast Reach, Crab Reach and Scorpion Reach. 4. Travelling forms are cardio exercises that mimic animal movements, starting with the ABC: Ape, Beast and Crab. 5. Switches and transitions are dynamic movements performed one after the other, creating the ‘flow’ in Animal Flow. Examples include the many variations for Underswitches, Side Kickthroughs, Front Kickthroughs and Scorpions. 6. Flow combines the moves, linking them together in a fluid sequence. Originally launched as a signature class


at Equinox, Animal Flow is no longer exclusive to that operator and is now available in a number of gym chains.


February 2015 © Cybertrek 2015


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