Body power, a low impact sport

Body power is an activity that has become very fashionable in recent months. And it does not surprise us, since it is an intense exercise and with which we start the whole body, improving the cardiac system.

Body power is a very complete activity that helps us tone our muscles while doing cardio. It consists of merging two sports modalities and is full of benefits for our health.

A low-impact activity, but not suitable for everyone. Throughout this text we will explain what it consists of, how it is practiced and who should not enter a body power class.

What is it?

Body power is also known as power gym and is an interesting mix between the classic aerobics of a lifetime and weights. A powerful cardio activity that lasts no more than 45 minutes and with which we work all muscle groups, and we manage to shape and tone our body, increase strength, lose fat and increase physical resistance.

During the body power classes we will use discs, bars, steps, dumbbells, tapes , and all kinds of accessories to perform complete exercises. In these body power classes there is usually an instructor who guides the rhythm, as happens in aerobics classes with background music. They are fun classes where you only stop for a few seconds to catch your breath and drink water.

It is a frenetic pace that gives us results in a few weeks, as long as we mix it with a healthy lifestyle that includes a varied and healthy diet.

With each exercise we do we will be able to exercise such key and important parts of our body as legs, arms, back and abdominals. A physical effort at the height of very few, since later we will say that not every man or woman can access these classes.

Una clase de body power

As practiced

To practice body power or body gym, we just have to go to a gym and ask about these classes. The other option is to buy the basic accessories and use YouTube videos. The basic accessories with steps of different heights, bars, discs of different weights, dumbbells, resistance bands, etc.

As a general rule, they are group classes and do not usually last more than 45 minutes, given their high intensity. The basic and most repeated exercises are squats, lunges, push-ups, leg extensions, weight lifting, sit-ups, trunk push-ups, pelvic floor exercises, etc.

The class begins with a warm-up of about 10 or 15 minutes, continues with a very intense training of 25 or 30 minutes and finally a complete stretching session. It is recommended, for best results, that we do body power at least 2 times a week and a maximum of 4 times . It is best to intersperse this intense training with swimming, running, free weights, flexibility exercises, etc.

Profits

Some of the benefits we have already revealed in previous sections, but now we are going to delve into the main ones and those that everyone highlights when they take body power or body gym classes for several weeks.

More self-esteem and self-confidence

Playing any sport helps improve our mood and psychological state by reducing levels of anxiety and depression and burning all the stress and nervousness accumulated throughout the day.

If we add music, the frenetic rhythm and working surrounded by other people to the fact of playing sports, our serotonin levels skyrocket. Furthermore, by improving our personal image, we also gain more self-confidence and can help others feel just as good.

Weightloss

In each session we lose an average of between 500 and 600 calories , in addition, by working all the muscle groups we manage to improve our figure. With this weight loss, we improve our physical condition and move away from serious problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes, cholesterol, etc.

In addition, losing weight improves the health of our joints and when we see ourselves achieving our goal, it also improves our mood and self-esteem, as we said before.

Strengthens bones and muscles

Body power is a low impact activity or almost none with which we can strengthen our bones thanks to the intense work of our muscles, we also improve the flexibility and health of tendons, joints and cartilage.

The bones have a shield and that shield is the muscles, cartilage, tendons, etc. If all that amalgam is healthy and we have good muscle mass, our bones are strengthened and thus we avoid breakages and injuries that can arise from falls, silly bumps, slips, pushes, etc.

Is there a muscle more important than the heart? With these moderate and high intensity exercises we manage to improve our resistance, so that we increase cardiovascular health.

Un homnbre haciendo body power

Improves coordination

Starting from the basis that our bones will be more protected, if on top of that we considerably improve hand-foot coordination that is so basic for human beings, we avoid falls, sprains, bad postures , we improve reflexes and brain activity when taking quick decisions in case of falls and even being functional exercises, they will improve our day to day life, such as bending down to pick something up or holding on longer playing with nephews.

Who can not practice it

The body power or body gym is not suitable for everyone, based on the fact that a minimum age of 16 or 18 years is recommended to start , since the use of weights can influence the height of adolescents after causing atrophy of the growth plates.

It is also not suitable for those with high blood pressure, very high cholesterol, heart problems, or who are overweight . Before entering this class, you have to improve your physical and health conditions, to face this hard cardio training.

If we suffer from cervical or lumbar problems , regardless of our age, it is not a good idea to practice body power. If the soreness is minimal or non-existent, but there is a slight injury, the exercises can be adapted. But in the case where there is pain, it is best to choose another type of training.

Pregnant women , regardless of the stage of pregnancy, should not enter the body gym, given the risk it poses to them and the future baby.