Exercise takes a slow turn
FITNESS programmes like CrossFit and SWEAT 1000 have been massive trends, but in 2016 there will be a backlash with a less extreme form of keeping fit. Hello slowercise.
Bootcamp-style fitness capitalises on a concept that has propelled humanity since we bench-pressed boulders in caves — competition — and that, say some, explains its popularity. “It’s a reflection of our Type A society,” says one bootcamper-turned-slowerciser. “You feel you haven’t worked out hard enough if you don’t puke in a class now and again.”
But the hype seems to fading, according to the American College of Sports Medicine. In its global survey of 2016 fitness trends, the bootcamp fad has dropped out of the top 20.
Not only will gentler exercises such as yoga and Pilates recruit more members from the burnt-out bootcamp masses, but we can expect new forms of slowercise to hit the fitness market. Who knows, perhaps we’ll be paying a fortune to slowly wiggle our toes for 90 minutes.
More people are questioning the “no pain (or puke), no gain” idea, says Jacqui Draper, who runs Pilates by Jacqui in Roodepoort. “You get a quick fix,” she says. “But people are discovering they can achieve the same results from exercise — and over the long term — if they do it slower.”
Many bootcampers come to her classes after they’ve injured themselves. “Pain has been seen as inevitable when you’re a bootcamper. Callouses from deadlifts are badges of honour,” says one CrossFitter. “But over a long period, pushing yourself so hard can be debilitating.”
We’re already sprinting on a treadmill most of the time — raising kids, building our careers. Draper says more people are using that hour they have in their day for exercising to relax, in addition to staying fit. “Many of my clients say it helps them sleep better.”
Extremercise was, arguably, about selfflagellation. Slowercise is about giving your inner overachiever a cuddle.
“You’ll always get the ADD characters who are into highenergy exercise,” says Bryanston fitness expert Tracy Dawber. But more people are “looking for a quieter form of stress relief” to help them switch off and build the mental resilience to cope with the increasing demands of society, she says.
Slowercise focuses on the mind-body connection. “You have to concentrate and turn internally.” The bootcamp approach, on the other hand, is “very much in your face”.
Perhaps the counter-trend is just a matter of people seeking a chance to recover and we’ll soon see bootcamps making a comeback.
“People are feeling worn out,” says one slowerciser. “There’s this need to be perfect in every sphere of our lives. So why must we kill ourselves to look good?” — Leigh-Anne Hunter