Jaymie says...
The second Helberg started
rattling o names like ‘polar bear
push-ups’, ‘frog squats’ and ‘bear
crawls’, I was a little sceptical. It
all sounded a bit too gimmicky –
as if my go-to moves had been renamed to make
them sound more interesting – but 15 seconds into
our warm-up of frog squats, I knew this class would
be hella hard. As I repeatedly dropped my hips and
swung my hands between my legs, I could feel a serious
burn in my quads and glutes. It was a tiny movement,
but oh-so e ective – just like every other exercise in
the Iron Zuu artillery, Helberg told us.
After the warm-up, he asked my fellow WF pals
and I to jog on the spot, then run through the room
and high-fi ve each other. I’m more of a solo exerciser, so
having to use precious energy to interact with others felt
a little odd at fi rst, but right from the get-go, Iron Zuu’s
‘human touch’ made me feel like I was part of something
bigger than simply getting my sweat on. I felt included,
and as a result, I was excited to see what was next.
Once we scored at least three ‘touches’, Helberg got
our heart rates up with a series of bear crawls and gorilla
swings. Yep, we crawled like bears and sashayed to the
sides like King Kong, and boy, did it hurt. We hadn’t
sprinted on a treadmill, smashed out 100 burpees or
completed 500 skips, but I was seriously pu ed. Helberg
explained that although the movements are low-impact,
they’re designed to get your heart pumping and burn
serious kilojoules. The moves were a little awkward at
fi rst, but I defi nitely felt like I was using every muscle
in my body, which could only be a good thing.
Throughout the entire class, Helberg reminded us to
keep the high-fi ves and back pats coming and to verbally
encourage one another. Although I usually prefer to grit
my teeth and stay silent, shouting, “Come on, ladies, you
can do it!” was actually fun. Every time someone else
responded with their own motivational yell, it made
me want to keep going so I didn’t let them down, so I
decided the whole cheerleader thing was pretty genius.
Towards the end of the session we picked up a set
of dumbbells and completed shoulder presses and bicep
curls in combination with bear crawls and wide-legged
tricep push-ups, which Helberg called ‘polar bear
push-ups’. The mix of weights and cardio got my heart
rate up in an instant. Every muscle in my body was
engaged, but I didn’t feel the familiar niggle in my knees
and hips that happens when I run or complete a regular
HIIT sesh. This, Helberg explained, is because each
move is functional – something you’d do in everyday
life, which allows you to strengthen and protect your
muscles instead of shocking them into injury.
By the end of the workout I was a sweaty mess, but
I felt more limber than when I’d fi rst walked into the room- and I was defi nitely wearing a bigger smile thanks to
all those high-fi ves and encouraging cheers.
TRY IT YOURSELF:
Ready to tackle the bear crawl? Head to thezuu.com.au
to fi nd participating gyms near you.womensfitness.com.au womensfitnessaustralia @womensfitnessmag @womensfitnessau 55
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