If you have been to other gyms before checking out New Moves (then again, in this era, who hasn't?), you would probably be a little surprised to see there are no exercise machines at all. New Moves, a new fitness centre in Maneeya Centre, has none of the expected gym trademarks _ no treadmills, no barbells and not even traditional dumbbells.
No exercise machines are used at New Moves.
Instead, the small-but-cozy fitness centre is packed with cutting-edge exercise tools which, quite frankly, are hard to figure out on your own, but fun all the same.
Something as simplelooking as a weighted baseball bat is actually quite challenging.
The idea for New Moves, according to its master trainer and founder Rob Cook, is to present a new fitness ideology to erase sour attitudes towards exercising.
"I wanted to educate people about how the body works, and with traditional machines only certain body parts are exercised. The muscles are in fact intertwined, so they would benefit more from exercise with movements, not just from limited and restricted movements on the machine," said Cook, who has spent years working with sports teams in the UK, athletes and regular individuals.
New Moves, which opened on July 10, introduces a new fitness centre concept. The whole place is one empty space with tools such as kettlebells, TRX ropes and sandbells (cushy sandbags used instead of dumbbells) available for use in the classes and personal training sessions. Cook explained that the best equipment for exercise is the body, and these tools are just a guide. The equipment allows free movement, making the session enjoyable and different. The only restrictions are your imagination and understanding of how the body works.
Rope walking stimulates the brain to learn new movements.
New Moves offers six classes, from a rigorous programme designed to get your fitness levels through the roof, as in "Pumped for Performance", to a quick session you can squeeze into your lunch hour, as in the 20-minute "Lunchbreak Blaster'. Each class has been designed to feel more like play than exercise.
There is no strict timeframe for the classes here, as Cook believes the goal is not to fill the hour, but to focus on effectiveness and intensity.
"Some classes might last 40 minutes, or some over an hour. It depends on how many people are in that class. Our trainer has to focus on each individual to create an intimate environment and make sure that each person is doing it correctly and benefiting from it. That's the whole purpose of the session." He added that each class only takes up to 12 people, and for a 12-person class, there will be two trainers. The tools are fun to explore, and the trainer will first explain how each works. Something that looks simple like a weighted baseball bat is actually quite challenging, while an ordinary tool like a big rope turns out to be an excellent way to release tension and tone your arms just by whipping it onto the floor.
Cook said that the tools might feel unfamiliar at first, but after explanation and exploration, most people love them and have fun. The new method also means the brain gets to work and some under-used muscles spring to life as well. The idea of functional training is designed to get you back into a frame of mind where workout is when the body really gets to work in natural movements, not restricted by machines. It involves lateral movements and other movements that treadmill machines don't offer.
Rob Cook, founder of New Moves, using kettlebells as a method of strength training.
"Exercise should be fun and functional. What we try to achieve here at New Moves is to let our clients learn something, not just to sweat it out or to get stuck in the same, repetitive movements. When you learn something new, like walking on the rope here, your brain gets to work as well, and later when a situation requires your muscles to perform this task, you'll be able to do it better," explained Cook. Another good point of New Moves is that, unlike chain fitness centres, it doesn't push for long-term membership. Members can join for a short period of time for unlimited access or buy a certain number of sessions. Cook, the mind behind this new concept, said he's not in this just for the money, but to provide a fun and encouraging exercise experience also.
New Moves is located on 2nd floor of Maneeya Centre on Ploenchit Road. Call 02-652-0539 or visit www.facebook.com/newmovesbkk
