The out-of-the-box inspo you need to break a fi tness rut
WORKOUTS
ROAD TEST
SPECIALWeird & wonderful
54 womensfitness.com.au womensfitnessaustralia @womensfitnessmag @womensfitnessauWHAT IS IT?
Remember that scene in Mean Girls when
everyone in the school cafeteria starts
acting like an animal? That’s what Iron
Zuu is like. Kind of. Although you won’t
actually crash-tackle another participant
to the ground in a jungle-style throw-
down, you will tap into your wild side,
because as founder and creator of Iron
Zuu, Nathan Helberg, says, this training
style is all about freedom of movement.
Comprised of 50 per cent functional
bodyweight moves and 50 per cent
weightlifting, a 40- to 60-minute Iron
Zuu class will challenge your muscles,
build strength and increase your range
of motion. “It teaches freedom of
movement by empowering you to moveyour body the way it was designed to,”
explains Helberg. For example, in a typical
Iron Zuu class, in order to complete one
push-up, you’d lower your body to the
ground, shift your weight to the left and
right, then fi nish in the centre. Likewise,
when you pick up a dumbbell, you won’t
only lift it straight up and down – you’ll lift
it out to the sides, too. By doing so, you’re
using every muscle, joint and tendon in
your bod, meaning you maintain a full
range of motion rather than becoming sti.
As well as concentrating on fl exibility
and strength, Helberg says the real focus
of Iron Zuu is injury prevention. “It’s
about being able to look and feel better
but experience less injuries. Since it’s
bodyweight-based, it’s low-impact, but
it still keeps your muscles strong.” And
although you won’t have to smash through
any hill sprints or lunges in an Iron Zuu
class, you will be pushed to your limits.
“We do a lot of work with military elites
around the world, so you can get reallyhigh levels of
fi tness through
Iron Zuu,” says
Helberg, but
that doesn’t
mean the
average Aussie
can’t try it out,
too. “The door is
open. A lot of
people think they
can’t get into some of
the moves, but we have regressions for
every exercise and the trainers provide
constant encouragement.” Come to
think of it, that’s the real di erence
between Iron Zuu and a regular group
class. “It’s all about opening up the lines
of communication,” adds Helberg. “No
matter how many people are in a class,
we try to get everyone to high-fi ve at
least three people. Everything we do in
a workout is extremely hard, but we do
everything we can to motivate you.”IRON ZUU
WF’s Jaymie Hooper fi nds her inner
gorilla with this hardcore training trendPHOTOGRAPHYTRENT VAN DER JAGT