Living / 12 January, 2022 / Ellie Thompson
If you’re still figuring out how to honour that all-important New Year’s resolution of getting fit, we’ve got just the solution for you: get online. With Echelon’s membership packages, you’ve got instant access to a whole host of the best online exercise classes taught by the crème de la crème of fitness instructors, all via the Echelon Fit app. For those mamas looking for prenatal options, there’s a series of classes built just for you too.
Online exercise classes allow you to workout in your own time, in your own space to ensure you’re always on track. A digital exercise class takes away the stress of getting out of the house in the evenings when you’ve just put the little ones to bed. And once you’ve finished your workout, you can simply roll your mat away, hop off your bike and carry on with your evening.
The Echelon Fitness App is jam-packed with classes taught by world-class instructors and is available via the Apple Store or Play Store. They’ll guide you through each class with full instructions and tips to ensure you’re doing it right. They’ll also motivate you to always reach the next level, from whichever point you’re starting from.
If you’re a beginner and are not sure which class to try, you can take your pick. From heart-pounding, high-intensity workouts, to calming yoga or pilates, Echelon has a wide range of live and on-demand classes for every fitness level and workout preference.
How To Approach Exercise During AND After Childbirth
The Mum And Baby Workout To Ease You Back Into Exercise
Using an exercise bike will help strengthen your heart, lungs and muscles. It’s also an effective way to burn calories and body fat. If you’re looking to invest in an exercise bike, check out the range available at Echelon. All of their connected equipment is built with every home in mind, with compact and sleek designs for easy storage and maneuverability. Engineered to be as quiet as possible, you can even exercise while your little ones sleep and fit classes in around your busy schedule.
If you’re a beginner at cycling, take the “newbie challenge” class to learn the basics. You can opt for low impact rides to focus on form and technique, try an endurance ride to establish a baseline fitness level, or go all-out with Power and Cadence rides. Fancy a ride through Central Park? Then take a self-guided Scenic ride. There are lots of beautiful locations to choose from!
For confident riders, why not challenge yourself on the live leaderboard? The leaderboard allows you to connect with thousands of like-minded members, for a bit of friendly competition to inspire you. There’s also a prenatal cycling series to improve your mobility and strength, keeping you active during your pregnancy.
Right now, you can enjoy £300 off the Echelon EX-5 and £250 off the Echelon EX-3 fitness bikes.
Rowing offers a low-impact total-body workout that’s good for people of all fitness levels to try. Echelon’s range of classes include an introductory class called Beginner Rows and a number of intermediate/advanced classes. Choose from Low Impact Rows, Endurance Rows, Speed Rows and Power Rows. For those looking for a bit of variety in their workout, the Row Bootcamp incorporates bodyweight floor exercises, and the Fusion Rows class includes a medley of drills for a more intense workout.
Right now, you can enjoy £250 off the Echelon Rower.
Echelon’s range of running classes are sure to get you moving, whatever your fitness level. If you’re a newbie or recovering postpartum, why not try the Walking class? It’s a low-impact option that works to strengthen your entire body as you ascend inclines that challenge your cardiovascular fitness.
If you’re keen to get started, the Basic Runs class will show you how to perfect your arm drive, stride length, foot strike, and body position to prevent injuries and become a more efficient runner. We all know variety is the spice of life, and if you find the thought of pounding the treadmill a little boring, the Stride Bootcamp workout is for you. This is a class that incorporates running and strength training for a complete metabolic wake-up call.
For those that like to engage in little and often workouts, or for those busy mamas short of time, check out Sprint Runs, Sprint Hills and Interval Runs classes. These will help you build power, strength and endurance. If you’re looking to increase your speed and stamina, try Echelon’s faster-paced classes: Race Runs, Endurance Runs aand Endurance Hills Runs.
Right now, you can enjoy £200 off the Echelon Stride Auto-Fold Connected Treadmill.
If equipment-based exercise isn’t for you, Echelon has you covered. There are a number of off-equipment classes available under the FitPass membership. This can be purchased on its own for just £12.99 per month, which we think you’ll agree, is a complete bargain. FitPass is also included in all of Echelon’s membership packages.
Here’s an overview of our favourite off-equipment online classes:
Yoga is a fabulous way to increase flexibility, muscle strength and tone while improving respiration, energy and vitality.
The Echelon Fitness app offers an impressive range of online yoga classes. Athletic Yoga is a faster-paced class that builds strength, cardio, flexibility, and balance. Restorative Yoga is a healing yoga practice, where poses are held for longer periods of time to encourage relaxation and calm. Slow Flow Yoga consists of a leisurely paced vinyasa yoga, and the Vinyasa Yoga class links breath with movement at a moderate pace to build strength, flexibility and balance.
Barre classes are inspired by classical ballet and Pilates-based movements and focus on high repetition, micromovement-based exercises, and smaller ranges of motion to achieve results. You can use a ballet barre, chair, arm of a couch, or countertop for this range of workouts.
Pilates is a low-impact workout that strengthens and lengthens your core muscles while improving posture and flexibility. Echelon offer a range of live and on-demand classes with a variety of instructors. Incorporating light weights into this practice is optional.
HIIT workouts are so popular for many reasons, and they’re very effective for weight loss. HIIT, high-intensity interval training, is a total-body workout featuring intermittent bursts of vigorous activity mixed with periods of rest to maximize the cardiovascular system. Weights are optional.
Echelon’s wonderful UK-based Instructor Sage will guide you through a series of prenatal classes to keep you moving during your pregnancy and keep up your fitness routine. These help to not only strengthen your body and core, but increase your mobility.
All prenatal exercise classes are kept to 15 minutes in duration so the exercise is never too strenuous. Classes include:
Echelon’s Upper Body series is low impact, light-weight strength training. It is designed to target arm and back muscles that are integral in maintaining good posture and support your day-to-day activities.
Low-impact, lower body exercises designed to activate the largest muscles in your body. These are key to providing stability and strength through your pregnancy, labour and recovery.
Mobility is an essential part of every mum-to-be’s fitness program. Pregnancy can cause your ligaments to become loose and your joints unstable. In this series, you’ll practice how to maintain the full range of motion through your joints, whilst also strengthening the muscles surrounding them to create the stability you need to stay fit and mobile.
You can download the Echelon Fitness App today, via the Apple Store or Play Store. Echelon’s membership offers access to five separate user profiles, which means you can add up to four family and friends too. The Echelon Fitness app adds new daily content so you can adjust your fitness goals and find new favourite sessions to keep you motivated.
The Best Mother & Baby Fitness Classes In London
Delicious Smoothies And Juices To Brighten Up Dull (Or Dry) January
Heelys, the original two-in-one wheely shoe launched in 2000, is preparing for the upcoming Easter holidays with its new spring collection. Ideal for encouraging an active, healthy lifestyle, the stylish designs will ensure kids (big and small) will roll through the holidays with ease.
The collection consists of 19 designs, including three brand new Heelys shapes: Reserve Ex, Reserve Low and Pro 20 Half Flood. The Reserve Ex has a basketball shoe style, while the Reserve Low and Pro 20 Half Flood tap into the current Y2K trend for an extra chunky sole.
Match your Heelys to your mood, with designs split across two main aesthetics – a darker colour scheme vs. a lighter, spring-inspired palette. Think camouflage print, graffiti text and paint drips contrasting with pastel colours, tie-dye, metallic laces, foil and rainbow print.
Available in the UK and Europe on the Heelys website and retailers, the collection is available in sizes C12-7 across single or two-wheeled styles. RRPs range from £49.99 to £69.99.
Kids' Fashion / 20 March, 2023
