A Workout Training Session at F45, the New Fitness Club in Yorkville, Toronto

Last week I had a very interesting experience – I was invited to try out a training session at a new fitness club, F45, located in Yorkville, at 110 Bloor Street West in Toronto. F45 has its very own style of training, combining elements of conventional weight training and cardio with functional movements in a high-intensity interval workout all done in 45 minutes. Research has shown that this type of training is more effective burning fat for 15 minutes a few times a week, compared to running on a treadmill for 45 minutes.

I accepted the invitation, so I went there last Monday. The invitation said showers on-site, just bring a towel and your workout clothes. The club offers classes of 45 minutes with a pre-established schedule, so I chose a class at noon, 12 to 12.45 PM. The invitation also said that I could go with a friend, but I ended up going by myself, and then I met my friend downtown at a restaurant on Bloor Street West for a lunch later on, after the workout class.

The class that I took was attended by 15 or so people who looked like the club’s regulars. Everybody was in a great shape, and it was clear to me that F45 was an active part of their lives. I met the trainers – Vanessa and John. The class consisted of a set of about 6 different exercises, and we worked out the entire class in small groups of three people, taking turns at each station for the next exercise, different type. Each exercise was one minute long, then a break of 30 seconds, then onto the next exercise, until we completed the whole round, three rounds in 45 minutes. The trainers guided us throughout the entire session.

I grouped with two other girls who seemed to be friends and who totally were the club’s regulars, and boy, were they fit. They were very comfortable and at ease with all those exercises, considering that each exercise was different. I have been a very lazy gym goer lately, last time I went to gym sometime last December, for a swimming session. So when I went to try this session at F45, I kind of had to pick it up from where I had left it last time, and it wasn’t easy for me. I barely could keep up with my partners, they were way ahead of me at each of those exercises. It was funny how I made a discordant note with everybody else in there, because I was the new bee, and everybody else was so accustomed with this training. And the training itself, I found, was not easy, it clearly requires hard work, patience and focus to yield good results. The exercises were intense and challenging. Sometimes I just couldn’t do it the way it was supposed to be done, at its full capacity, so I did as much as I could. I wish I could say that I am a gym rat, but I’m not. I am a (lazy) gym goer, but not a gym rat. These guys at F45 are true gym rats, and I am saying that not as an offence or sarcasm, but as the sincerest compliment and in the best way possible – I was amazed how fit and in such a great shape all of them were. The only kind of rat that I have ever been was the library rat and the office rat, and I’m still far away from calling myself a true gym rat.

I felt good after that session, and I actually enjoyed this class. It felt good to move my muscles a bit, since I hadn’t been very active in a few months. I had a bit of a muscle pain the following days, which I consider to be a good thing, because it burns out the fat and the dead cells from your body. F45 also offers a 2-week free pass to those who want to try it out before committing to a longer term relationship with the club – visit F45training.ca/Yorkville for more information.

While researching the club, I found that F45 comes from Australia, and it is used by some of Australia’s biggest celebrities such as Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, but also by many celebrities in US. F45 uses functional training, which is the engagement in exercises that mimic or recreate everyday movement. This style of training builds and sculpts lean, functional muscles.

No workout is ever the same. The fixed, 45-minute duration of F45 workouts exists to provide a timing structure to maximize growth and progress. Daily workouts vary. The club have developed 27 different 45-minute workouts, with more currently in development. The workouts are created by the F45 Athletics and Peak Performance Department from a database of over 3,000 different exercises, so members never get the same workout twice. The weekday classes have a 45-minute duration, and it’s one hour on Saturdays.

F45 workouts are fueled and organized by the robust technology systems. A series of TVs mounted on the front wall of their studios provide an organized, station-by-station diagram for each daily workout, plus you get guidance and motivation of the F45 trainers.

F45 uses a team training atmosphere which is the final factor for fueling F45 training’s dynamism. The motivation and encouragement in a group training facility create a pulsing, upbeat environment where goals are met and exceeded.

F45 first opened in Australia in 2012 – the F45 training Co-CEOs struck out to do the impossible, create a group-training facility that featured the most dynamic and effective training styles to date. Not only did they seek to find the best types of workouts, but they wanted to find a way to vary those workouts every day and make them accessible to the masses. They envisioned highly-capable, charismatic instructors to lead the workouts to motivate people to reach their potential. They wanted to create a structured, systemized and powerful training system that could be implemented around the world – and hence F45 was born. The F45 club in Yorkville, Toronto was opened in November 2016.

Photo credit: Courtesy of F45

An XBody Workout Session at Lucid Health and Fitness Studio in Toronto

Recently I was invited to experience the latest European fitness technology, called XBody. It's an innovative technology that gives you a full body workout in only 20 minutes with Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS).

I have been a Goodlife Fitness Club member for about three years now, and I work out about three times a week. That is, my goal is to go there three times a week, but sometimes, when I have a busy schedule, I manage to go to Goodlife once a week or a couple of times a week. I usually work out during my lunch hour at work, as I go to a Goodlife club that is steps away form my office. Sometimes I prefer to go to fitness classes, and sometimes I prefer to work out by myself, depending on my mood on that day.

I didn't know much about XBody before, but I have heard of it. Specifically, I saw photos of at least one of my close friends on Facebook who does XBody, and she has posted photos from her XBody workouts on Facebook. So when I received the invitation from Lucid Health and Fitness studio from Toronto to try on XBody, I enthusiastically said yes.

Lucid Health and Fitness studio from Toronto (located at 99 Yorkville Avenue) has launched this revolutionary fitness system, called XBody, from Europe in Canada for the first time in Toronto. During the XBody workout you wear the Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) suit, a suit that targets all muscle groups simultaneously. In a way, it works like an Abtronic. EMS technology is not new; physiotherapists have been applying EMS therapeutically for decades in cases of muscle rehabilitation. XBody has simply taken this proven technology to the next level!

Imagine a full body suit that applies the power of EMS across all of your major muscle groups simultaneously while you work out in as little as 20 minutes for a full body workout. XBody amplifies your own efforts. The effect is a better, more balanced workout that accomplishes in only minutes what would normally take hours at the gym. XBody works your core like never before and tones and strengthens all of your muscle groups at the same time. XBody technology has been widely used across Europe since 2010 and is currently distributed across thousands of EMS studios in France, Germany, Spain and 27 other countries worldwide.

Last week I went to Lucid Health and Fitness studio from 99 Yorkville Avenue in Toronto to try on XBody. Aman Hasebenebi, the instructor from the studio, greeted me when I arrived. She explained to me how it would work, and then I proceeded to getting ready for my XBody workout. First, I changed from my clothes and I put on a black protective suit to wear underneath the XBody suit. You're supposed to be completely naked when putting on that protective layer underneath the XBody suit, because the lesser the clothes and layers underneath the XBody suit, the greater the effect that the EMS has on your muscles and body. I only kept my thong on.

Then, I was ready to start the XBody workout, and Aman connected me to the main tower that monitored my XBody activity. I started feeling the first impulses, and I compared them to the Abtronic effect. Aman was setting short sequences of workout (a few seconds each), and she was closely monitoring what I was doing and how I was feeling. The impulses were coming onto me like electric shock waves of low intensity, this is how I would describe it. Every time when a new series of four (or so) electric waves were sent through my body by the monitoring machine, I was supposed to contract both my hands and to clench my fists (using contracting balls), in order to "face" and fight back the electric waves. Aman warned me if I don't contract my arms and my hands, and if I don't clench my fists when she tells me to, I will feel "funny".

So one time, at one of the wave sequences, I missed to follow Aman's instructions, and I missed to contract my arms and my hands, and to clench my fists, and I felt the electric waves washing right over me through my entire body, and I felt every single bit of that electric shock going through me. This was the "funny" part that Aman referred to at the beginning of my workout, and in that moment I knew exactly what she meant. I panicked, so I had to stop for a couple of minutes and compose myself. But in just a few moments I was ready to go on again. When you do an XBody workout, it is very important you follow your trainer's instructions to the letter and do exactly as she says. When your trainer says contract your hands now, then you contract your hands now, otherwise you will feel like struck by the lightning (it's just a metaphor, don't take it literally).

Overall, it was a great workout and I really enjoyed it, and I definitely would do it again. Here's some more information about XBody.

XBody builds and tones muscles, and the EMS suit covers all major muscle groups, even the ones you might have missed at a traditional gym. As you train, your muscles work against their own contractions, building muscle strength and tone. It’s easy, and you can’t go wrong.

EMS full body workout activates over 90% of the muscle fibers at the same time during each contraction. As opposed to conventional strength training, deeper muscles are used as well, for effective core strength.

Blood circulation in muscular and connective tissues are also enhanced, which leads to firmer, more toned skin. A bonus to EMS is that it is also an effective anti-cellulite treatment, working to positively break down problem fat accumulation in the body.

It's a balanced all-body training. The built-in electrodes target, stimulate and develop all the muscle groups, even if you don’t. Skilled trainers scale and adjust the level of each group separately so the otherwise “weaker links” of the body can be strengthened. Optimal core strength is a major benefit of EMS training.

When you do XBody training, there is no joint stress. The electrical impulses work on the muscles directly; there is no pressure on the joints, so they are not overworked, which is often the case with weight workouts. The muscle workout makes bones stronger, so they are more resistant to fractures, and indirectly helps avoid osteoporosis.

It also relieves back problems. As there are electrodes built into the training suit along the spinal cord, those rarely trained muscles get worked as well. Muscles therefore get stronger, which can lead to the relief of back problems.

Can you lose weight with EMS? The answer is yes. In the first phase of the training, you lose centimeters; and in the second phase, fat depots are attacked. You also burn more calories because your muscle activity is working five times more, which means that energy consumption will increase, it transforms how the body uses up calories. It is a very effective tool for weight loss and fat removal. EMS has been shown to attack and reduce problem fat accumulations.

When do you see results? You already feel vitalized after the first training session. Visible success, such as a better posture usually sets in after three sessions. Reshaping of your body, power increase and improvement of your skin’s appearance will be visible after six consecutive sessions within a period of three weeks.

No gym bag required! The EMS suit is provided on-site so you literally need nothing to workout. And if you feel intimidated by the body fashionistas and gym rats at more traditional gym sweat-shops, then at Lucid Health and Fitness you’ll be pleased by their clean, intimate studio surroundings and private changing area, as well as one on one style of training.

It is a safe training environment. XBody has been evaluated and approved by the CSA Special Inspection Service as per the guidelines for Field Approval of Health Care Equipment. Training or therapy using XBody’s low-frequency current stimulation is not dangerous. During this process, small intrinsic electric pulses initiate every movement and exclusively activate the striated skeletal muscles. Therefore, the impulse does not seem foreign to the body nor reach the organs or the heart.

Aman Hasebenebi, instructor at Lucid Health and Fitness studio in Toronto

When you do XBody workout, it's very important to contract your hands as the EMS impulses come over through your body. The contracting balls and hearts are great to help you with that.

Photo credit: Victoria West

A Workout Day at Power Institute Fitness Club in Toronto

I work out three times a week with an active membership at Goodlife fitness club from Toronto, and the Goodlife location where I usually go for my workouts is just across my job downtown of Toronto. I joined the club last October, and I go there during my lunch hour at work. When I first started going there, I tried out all the available classes, and three of them became my favourites. On other days I prefer to work out by myself, and when I do that, I usually choose to work my abdomen.

Recently I received an invitation to visit the Power Institute fitness club from Toronto, located at 79 St. Nicholas Street in Yorkville area, and to try one of their fitness programs, as well as a beauty treatment. I gladly accepted the invitation, so one afternoon earlier this month I went to Power Institute to meet their team and to have a good workout.

From what I had found out before my appointment there, Power Institute is the first natural fitness studio to specialize in cutting edge fitness trends and technologies featuring Power Plate, which has been one of Europe’s secret weapons for years. Supermodels Claudia Schiffer and Cindy Crawford are long time advocates of Power Plate technology and Karl Lagerfeld himself attributes his ability to wear skinny jeans in his seventies to the workout. It was also applied by the space program, helping to prevent atrophy in astronauts’ muscles.

Personal training is available at Power Institute, so I had a one hour workout with one of the trainers from the studio, at a Power Plate machine. Well, I have to say it was quite a challenging work out, but I enjoyed every second of it. The trainer guided me throughout the entire workout session, and I completed a series of fitness exercises with his help. Each of those exercises were 45 seconds long (and of course, they can be personalized for each trainee), and I felt I challenged myself to my limits. The trainer was helping me complete those exercises correctly and made sure I was doing them to the full potential of the Power Plate machine and of my own body, and in the same time he wouldn’t let me get overwhelmed by the machine and give up half-way during training.

Comparing to the Goodlife fitness club where I go on a regular basis, I realized the workout one can do at Power Institute is much more challenging and rewarding. Of course, I probably could obtain the same results at Goodlife, it just happens that I didn’t personalize my training there at the same level. When I first started going to Goodlife, I expected to have muscle pain (which I also call “muscle fever) after the first few workouts, and I did indeed have that muscle pain. I had it about three times – once after a quite challenging class, called “Body Pump”, and a couple of times after I worked out my abdomen. And after that, my body got used to this working out rhythm and I didn’t have that muscle ache anymore. But this time, when I went to Power Institute and had this personalized workout session, I had quite a strong muscle ache which lasted for about 36 hours. Even though it was painful, I actually figured this is not a bad thing to occur, because it only means you burn a high amount of calories. I remember when I was in school and I would have this muscle ache after some of my sports classes – I hated it! Now I don’t hate it anymore, because I actually understand its usefulness, and more importantly, the effect that it leads to. And anyway, it doesn’t last for long, so I’m back to being myself again in no time, ready for the next workout.

After the Power Plate session, I also had a beauty facial treatment, courtesy of Lissa Hostland, personal trainer and beauty technician from Power Institute. The 30 minutes powered rejuvenation facial treatment was performed on my face with the help with a treatment machine called Ergolift, which works at different depths of the skin thanks to sequential suction. It also stimulates the targeted cells thanks to variable lift pulse speeds. The Ergolift treatment provides multi-dimensional stimulation on the skin’s surface for a visible rejuvenation effect and youthful appearance of the skin. These facial treatments can be done on a regular basis, let’s say once a week or a few times a week; but also they can be done occasionally, before a party or a social event.

I also published a press release about Power Institute here, if you would like to read more information about this fitness studio.

Photo credit: Victoria West