Custom sessions and low-impact movements: the boutique gym arrives

The benefits of the practice are well known: strength, flexibility, balance to name but the most relevant. Without neglecting the overall reshape effect: the conquest of a harmonious and well-distributed muscular tone throughout the figure. But achieving results demands constancy. So as not to skip training at the weekend or while travelling, there is the Italian digital platform ActivePilatesClub, which allows you to train flexibly and anywhere, at home, while travelling and even outdoors, because it involves free-body exercises or using small, easily transportable equipment. The library of over 400 on-demand video workouts, which can be accessed via the web and iOS and Android apps, allows you to choose according to your starting level, the time you want to dedicate - from 10 to 45 minutes - and the focus: full body, specific areas, posture and mobility. There are also short but intense flash workouts at the wall and seasonal offers, such as the Bikini Program before the summer or the current Back in Shape. There is also a customised Pilates section on the site, with courses developed for specific needs such as cervicalgia, abdominal diastasis and pelvic floor. The schedule is updated periodically and it is possible to request a personalised schedule of video workouts, as well as one-to-one lessons on zoom (annual subscription 179 euros, activepilatesclub.com).

CAKING THE INDOOR WAVE

Il Retreat Wellness di Milano che, oltre alle lezioni di yoga tenute da professionisti esperti,organizza il corso di Surf Fitness, un training funzionale ispirato ai movimenti dei surfer

Similar to snowboarding, surfing requires dynamic balance, coordination, endurance and a strong core. At Retreat in Milan, you can try it in the dry with the Surf Fitness CTS Method® course. It is a functional workout inspired by the real movements of surfers. The board used is not just scenographic, it is a specially designed and studied tool: multidirectional unstable surface, like a real wave, curved base for performing the toe to heel movement of carving, modular instability, grip and support points for standing, plank, prone and seated exercises. The one-to-one or small-group class, with a maximum of five people, integrates the elements of a full-body workout - cardio, strength, core -, lasts about 45 minutes and is joint-overload proof. The main principles are No Rest, i.e., alternating different muscle groups, Interval Training with peaks of high intensity alternating with more restrained phases, and multiplanar movements where one works in rotation, extension, and flexion. Surfing-inspired exercises include the popup, i.e. getting up on the board, the carve with isometric squats and lateral oscillation, the paddle, i.e. paddling in a prone or kneeling position, and the duck dive with fluid pushing movements. To which are added those for the core and stability, such as planks and maintained contractions, more intense than when doing them on the ground because on an unstable surface, on/o board & plyometrics, in other words getting on and off the board and changes of direction (single entry 25 euro; 5 entries 125 euro; 10 entries 200 euro, retreatmilan.com).

COREOGRAPHY FROM ÉTOILE

Graceful Strength Method. ©Aniel in drama

The control and strength of Pilates, the fluidity of yoga and the work at the barre, used by dancers, are the ingredients of Graceful Strength Method, created by Lauren Arps, an American dancer and teacher based in Milan. Four courses are proposed: Foundation, a full-body choreography with elements of ballet and yoga, suitable for beginners, improves posture, strength and flexibility; Ballet sculpt, a more advanced and faster barre work, which tests balance and includes pointe work; Ballet burn with low-impact toning and strength exercises, using loads and weights for ankles and wrists; Stretch & flow, which involves a slower pace to allow work centred on mobility and flexibility, also integrating yoga movements, stretching, at the barre and on the mat. The sequences actively involve the whole body, without ever becoming automatic. The musical selection also helps in this sense, as does the lighting in the room: each is associated with a different colour, according to the principles of colour therapy. Orange for warming up, red for toning up, blue for relaxing and stretching. Lessons last 50 minutes, in small groups of up to ten people (one lesson, EUR 18.67; monthly subscription, EUR 224 with unlimited access to lessons, gracefulstrengthmethod.com).