Day 50 ! ViPR

We spoke about fads that come and go on Day 23 Zumba and I think ViPR would probably fall into the maybe-next-new-trend-but-didn't-quite-catch-on category. ViPR are those hollow, but weighted tubes you may have seen hanging out in the corner of your gym collecting dust. One of those pieces of equipment that, unless someone has explicitly taught you how to use, you steer well clear of in case you end up looking like a plonker doing the wrong exercise with it.

In fact, I'm told by the lovely Instructor Lizi (the very same from Day 48 Core Stability) that they were in fact developed about 4 years ago for ice hockey players as an exercise to give them improved all-round functional movements instead of having them work on isolated muscle exercises (e.g. boring bicep curls, tedious triceps dips or lacklustre leg extensions). So maybe Mr. ViPR doesn't care that they didn't hit the mainstream after all.

I've realised you might be thinking now that this is an unpopular and past-it class. But, at the end of the day, if it's a class you enjoy and gets you to the studio for a workout, who cares if it's trendy? And hell, if it gets you out of bed and to a 07.15am class on a Friday (Friday! Where is the sanctity of TGIF's late start?), then you get double virtuous points. @80daysoffitness (ma twitter name innit) - deux points.

So, with my eyes still small (-er, I am after all Asian), I arrived early (yes, early for a Friday 07.15am) after the scare from missing a class earlier in the week due to it being fully booked. Booked in person. At 10.15 (don't people in London work?). Anyho, my worry was unnecessary as when I arrived at the studio, there was Instructor Lizi, myself and one other student. One. We waited, we had a wee chat, then bam, a host of other ViPRs arrived. 9 others, in fact. And, so the ViPR circuits commenced! 11 ViPRs, 6 stations…and it went a little something like this:

Station 1:  Hold ViPR horizontally at neck-level and sidewalk while squatting low.

Station 2: Flip ViPR lengthways in front of you, squat, run to the back, push-up and repeat.

Station 3: Thread the needle (/the ViPR) by lifting overhead and bringing under your legs and repeating on other side.

Station 4: Overhead lunges. Grrr.

Station 5: The box: dead lift, push ViPR vertically to the left, then right and finally overhead

Station 6: Ice skaters! Pretending you are ice-skating and the ViPR is a giant (heavy) hockey stick.

It was either the circuits-set up, the novelty of using the ViPRs, the good pop tunes (no smooth grooves this morning! See Day 48 Core Stability) and/or perhaps the enthusiastic Instructor Lizi and fellow ViPRs but the class passed surprisingly quickly. And because each station had two weights of ViPRs, it was a decent work out – you can leave at 8am on a Friday morning knowing you’ve started the day right. Deux points!

The Need To Know:

- Where: Aquaterra’s Highbury Pool and Fitness Centre (nil points for originality. Breaktime on this venue for a while now…)

- Nearest Station: Highbury and Islington (1min)

- When: @Highbury P&F, Tues 12.45 (45mins) and Wed 11.15am (45mins)

- How Much: Drop-in around £7.50 for single class

- Special Note: The aquaterra website has an exercise class finder which lets you search classes across all their venues by day, venue, times and even for women-only classes. See Day 34 Reggae Aerobics for another class review at the venue.

The Want to Know:

- Who’s it For: For those who like snakes

- Sweat Scale: 7/10.

- Strength / Cardio / Flexi / Tone: Strength and toning (depending on the weight of ViPR you use)

- Complexity: 6/10. Not complicated to pick up

- Fun Factor: 7/10

- Changing Facilities: See Day 48 Core Stability

- Instructor Inspiration: 7/10. Energetic friendly this time! 

The Stats:

- Total Time: 37mins

- Calories Burnt: 203. 5.5calories/minute – in line with Day 31 Sweaty Betty Bootcamp and Day 40 Fit-For-A-Princess Outdoor Workout

- Average Heart Rate: 127

- Max Heart Rate: 159 

Bazooka! With Instructor Lizi!

Like the Fangs of a ViP(e)R, No? Ha.