Looking for a workout that truly sets your metabolism on fire? Gayle takes on the Metafit challenge…
My thighs are burning, my heart is attempting to burst out of my chest and I’m sweating buckets.
Welcome to Metafit – one of the most utterly brutal forms of workout I’ve ever experienced.
Sessions are run across the country but this one takes place at Energie Fitness Dundee.
I’ve plumped for an after-work slot, at 5.30pm on a Tuesday – a brilliant way to de-stress after a day in the office.
For those who don’t have a clue what Metafit is (neither did I), it’s a high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workout which gives you an all-out, 100% physical blast through quick, intense bursts of exercise, followed by short recovery periods.
It’s not choreographed, so you don’t need to learn any cringeworthy dance moves, but you do need to perform some simple bodyweight exercises designed to fry fat and sculpt muscle. Yep, it includes burpees and press-ups…
The technique keeps your heart rate up for hours after the session, meaning that you burn more fat in less time.
Metafit sessions last around 30 minutes, including a warm up and cool down, and while that might sound like a walk in the park, believe me, it’s not.
Arriving at the studio, I admit to instructor Victoria Sheridan that I don’t know what to expect.
“Don’t worry – just follow the instructions!” she smiles reassuringly.
Before pressing play on the pre-recorded music and instructions (which have timings and countdowns between reps of exercises), Victoria demonstrates each move.
“There are nine exercises in total and we go through them three times,” she explains.
“There are bear crawls (and reverse bear crawls), mountain climbers, hip hingers, squat walks, low travelling lunges, wide grip press-ups, explosive jumping jacks, frog jumps, and burpee hurdle jumps.” Arghh, is all I’m thinking.
There are mirrors around the studio which help you to see if you’re doing the moves correctly, although, to be honest, there’s not much time to think about perfecting anything – you just crack on and do it.
The accompanying music is dancey and upbeat, and a voice prompts participants while Victoria, up front with the centre’s health and fitness manager Brad Thoms, shows us what to do.
While I consider myself pretty fit (regular readers will have heard me waxing on about how I run, walk, do yoga, pilates and ride horses), I’m not convinced I’m “Metafit-fit”, if that makes sense.
I battle my way through the first set of exercises, struggling with the burpee hurdle jumps (a burpee followed by a jump to the side) and almost collapse during the explosive jumping jacks.
What’s an explosive jumping jack, you may ask? Other than hellish, it’s a move in which you squat, reach down and touch your feet, and then, with an explosive jump, rise up into a jumping jack – also known as a star jump.
You then come back down into a squat and touch your feet again. That’s just one rep.
After each interval – usually up to one minute or 45 seconds – you should be out of breath, drenched in sweat and begging for a rest.
Alas, the rest periods are minimal but they should give you just enough energy to get ready for the next mega blast. Believe me – you need that break!
Mountain climbers are do-able – and they’re supposed to set you on track for a six-pack.
How to do one? You drop to a press-up position and bring alternate knees up to your chest as fast as you can. Tough stuff.
The squat walks and low travelling lunges are fairly self-explanatory.
I only manage a few wide grip press-ups, because I’m utterly useless at any kind of press-ups, but it’s ok to hunker down on your knees for this one.
In fact, if you do struggle with any of the exercises, Victoria and Brad are happy to offer alternative, less strenuous moves.
Ultimately, it’s up to you how much you want to push yourself, but the hope is you’ll want to push yourself as hard as possible.
I did exactly that, and I truly felt the burn – throughout the session and into the next day, when the simple acts of sitting down and getting up elicited a few choice expletives. That, to me, is a sure sign that I worked my butt off.
Brad says a Metafit class can burn between 200 and 350 calories, depending how much you go for it, while also toning every muscle in your body.
As an added bonus, you continue burning fat – and calories – for up to 24 hours.
“It’s very high-impact and can be tough on wrists and ankles so it wouldn’t be advisable for everyone, especially pregnant women, people with joint injuries or heart conditions,” he says. “But it can be adapted to the individual and it definitely gets great results.”
Brad says a Metafit class is much more effective than running or jogging for an hour.
That’s because when you run, or do the same workout all the time, you tend to plateau.
“That means your body has got used to what you’re doing and you stop seeing benefits,” explains Brad.
“To see benefits, you need to switch up your workout and make adjustments that challenge your body to work in new ways.”
It’s important to get loads of rest and recovery after a session, to fully reap the benefits.
Brad advises doing a class no more than three times a week, but personally, I don’t think I could take the pain of doing more than one!
The great thing about Metafit is that it offers an intense workout in a very short time, giving you the freedom to crack on with your exceptionally busy lifestyle. And that can only be a good thing.
info
Created by a former Royal Marine commando and a national gymnast, Metafit combines traditional bodyweight exercises with the latest high intensity interval training (HIIT), working on the premise that in order to burn fat, you need to boost your resting metabolism.
