GX SKILLS
TWEAK THE
TRADITIONAL
By using progressions to add intensity, rotation and complimentary exercises, you can bring traditional
moves kicking and screaming into today’s classes, says group fitness guru, Marietta Mehanni.
s a fitness concept, group
exercise is here to stay – but that
doesn’t mean that formats and
programs don’t change over the years,
responding to shifts in science and trends
(an opinion I’ve expressed previously
in this magazine ). The same applies to
the exercises we instruct in those classes:
by looking at them from a fresh angle we
can both rejuvenate them and enhance
their efficacy.
A
What’s wrong with traditional?
The first question that begs to be asked
is what is traditional? In a group exercise
setting, traditional muscle conditioning was
squats and lunges in standing, and then floor
exercises that would target specific muscle
groups, which in the past were referred to as
‘problem areas’. These would include various
leg raises, abdominal curls and push up
18 | NETWORK WINTER 2018
type exercises, and a high number of repetitions were performed.
Women enjoyed doing these exercises and often claimed that
they were beneficial. It could be debated as to whether or not
this was actually the case, but we can’t underestimate what an
individual believes to be effective... These exercises required no
equipment other than body weight and a mat. They were simple to
perform and required minimal coordination, so most people could
do them and they did create muscle overload.
A little tweaking…
Over the past 30 years there have been considerable changes
in the fitness industry and some of them can be applied to these
traditional exercises. Understanding that our lifestyle has changed
our biomechanics considerably, we can tweak these exercises
to ensure that we are also targeting muscle imbalances and
weaknesses, as well as incorporating vestibular stimulation and
more joint actions so that each exercise can progress to involve a
full body action rather than a single joint movement.
It’s important to note that the key to successfully tweaking
exercises is progressive overload. Your class participants have a
range of abilities, and not all of them will be able to do the final