February 2017
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Fitness<br />
Unstable<br />
One of the coaches who trained<br />
me as a personal trainer was<br />
an old-school Royal Navy<br />
instructor. He had a bee in his<br />
bonnet about "core strength". It<br />
was not enough to have strong<br />
abs, he thundered, if you had<br />
weak joints and a weak "sense<br />
of balance".<br />
He was, of course, correct. One<br />
way to strengthen the brain's<br />
ability to balance – as well as<br />
joints and core muscles – is to<br />
use an unstable base.<br />
A good example is a Bosu, a<br />
sort of half Swiss ball with a flat<br />
platform. Squatting, lunging<br />
or doing press-ups on it, for<br />
example, will do you wonders.<br />
Cheaper, and arguably even<br />
more challenging alternatives,<br />
are hedgehogs (domed spiky<br />
rubber balance pods) and<br />
wobble boards or pads.<br />
Upside down<br />
We spend a lot of our daily lives<br />
with our backs bent forward,<br />
for example, when working at a<br />
computer. Being upside down<br />
can help balance this out.<br />
A good way to start would be<br />
with a Beginner's Bridge. Lie on<br />
your back, with your knees up<br />
and feet flat, arms by your side.<br />
Lift your hips as high as they<br />
can go and puff up your chest.<br />
Wiggle your shoulders together<br />
and put your hands, palm to<br />
palm, under your body to help<br />
get the arch higher.<br />
This is great for your<br />
hamstrings, bum and back, and<br />
is the stepping stone towards<br />
more challenging versions and<br />
more difficult inversions such as<br />
handstands.<br />
Core<br />
values<br />
Roger Love, a local personal trainer,<br />
continues our A-Z of fitness with... U<br />
Urban Escrima<br />
A martial art, using sticks, that<br />
is long-established in Hackney.<br />
Based on the Filipino art of<br />
arnis (also known as eskrima<br />
and kali), it has been throughly<br />
modernised.<br />
Whatever you can do with a<br />
stick, you should be able to do<br />
unarmed, too.<br />
Classes are run by Nigel<br />
Daniel and Charlie Warren at<br />
London Fields Fitness Studio<br />
on Tuesdays and Thursdays<br />
and Qmotion fitness centre<br />
at Queen Mary University,<br />
Mile End, on Mondays. If you<br />
are looking for other martial<br />
arts options, Fight Zone in<br />
Pritchard’s Road, near Broadway<br />
Market, is a great place to start.<br />
Check out urbanescrima.<br />
com and fightzonelondon.<br />
co.uk for more details.<br />
Roger Love is a personal trainer<br />
based at Netil House, Westgate<br />
Street, Hackney. hackneypt.com<br />
LOVEEAST FEBRUARY <strong>2017</strong> 41
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