Fitness

Everyone has their own favorite way of spending the turn from an old year to a new one, whether it is about hibernating with family or painting the town red with friends. Here, some of the instructors from our Flex family share their plans and also give some valuable advice on how to start the new year in fine fitness style.

Anna Agawa is one of Flex’s two aerial instructors. She recently took some time out of her FlexKids and Teens aerial class to find out exactly what it was that the kids loved about playing around in silks. Apart from how much fun they have, it’s the swinging and the flipping they love. And most of them find it helps with their flexibility, strength and other sports, plus adds to their confidence too.

Flex instructor Elvin Beh has taught Pilates and Gyrotonic for some time, but earlier this year he fell in love with Xtend Barre. Originally from Malaysia, he moved to Hong Kong 22 years ago. He had taken up ballet as a hobby at age five, and it became his career despite an early ambition to be a business administrator or economist. A professional dancer with the Hong Kong Ballet Company for seven years, in 2004 he certified in Pilates BASI method and in 2006 the Gyrotonic Expansion® System. Now a teacher of XB too, he brings his multiple talents to Flex’s team.

Originally from Melbourne, Pim Sereika has lived in Hong Kong for nearly three years and is a physiotherapist with a special interest in women’s health and clinical Pilates. Here, however, she tells us about why she loves Xtend Barre, highlighting how effective it is, but also from her professional standpoint, how safe it is too.

Anna Agawa was born and raised in the Philippines, and has lived in Hong Kong for five years. Katie Duff grew up in Victoria, Australia and having lived in Hong Kong previously for seven years she returned again this year. Both dancers have incorporated all kinds of fitness into their lives to complement their stage

Did you ever wonder why a Pilates class always follows the same sequence of moves? Back in the 20s, 30s and 40s when Pilates was creating his Contrology, he designed it to counter the inactivity of modern life. Therefore his exercises worked, in a brilliantly intricate and biologically logical way, to restore our natural rhythm and coordination. Following the physical development of humans, he started with the 100s, where you are prone like a baby and breathing to the fullest extent, gradually moving the body to its upright position, with each exercise preparing for the next. Flex founder Heather Thomas-Shalabi explains how it works.

Katherine Smidt and her family moved to Hong Kong 23 months ago and Katherine took her first Pilates class with Anna at One Island South about a year later. It was love at first class. A long-term swimmer, she is addicted to fitness, and particularly appreciates the help Pilates gives her with her swimming, as well as her core, glutes, posture and even endorphins. She is currently following instructor training so she can share the practice’s benefits when she returns to her husband’s native Germany.

The crisp, clean air, the beauty of a mountain covered in snow, and the exhilarating speed, balance and control that comes into play when hurtling through that beauty, makes ski holidays incredibly popular. If you want to avoid that creakiness you wake up to on day two, then it’s a good idea to strengthen those ski muscles that don’t get a look-in for the rest of the year. Coming up soon is Flex instructor Megan Farrugia’s ski workshop, which will go way beyond adding wall sits to your workouts. She explains why Pilates is so valuable for skiers…