ILLUSTRATION
ADAM HOWLING
cycling waist deep in
ozone-treated water
while being massaged by hydro jets and
watching TV – doesn’t that sound like it
might be too much fun to be healthy? And
yet aquacycling, the latest trend sweeping
health clubs across Europe, is, according to fans, a great
way to lose pounds, get fit and keep cellulite at bay.
Since starting life a decade ago in an Italian hospital,
where it was used to aid rehabilitation, the fitness regime
has become particularly popular in France. The first
commercial centre opened in Paris five years ago and now
more than 800,000 customers frequent 85 centres in cities
around the country. It works, so they say, as water
provides 12 times more resistance than air, so your leg and
bottommuscles receive a serious, but entirely
non-impact workout. Each half-hour session
burns a minimum of 300 calories.
Meanwhile, water jets pump
out bubbles, aiding lymphatic drainage
and helping to firm skin.
Add ambient lighting, flatscreen TV
and wireless headphones, and you’ve
got something that feels
100 times more
luxurious than
your usual
spin class:
like its richer, thinner, celebrity friend or a wildly more
glamorous sister, perhaps.
Over the past couple of years, these watery wheels
have cycled their way into Belgian, Portuguese and
Italian health-club pools. Then, this summer, along with
Hydrojoggers – yes, that’s an underwater treadmill – they
arrived in London at the UK’s first Hydrofit centre.
Onmy visit to the Chelsea site, I’m told that I fit the
profile of the typical user: 90% are women, some come in
twice a week to banish cellulite. But the underwater pedals
also attract those recovering from injury, the overweight
or aged (all of whom require non-impact workouts), not to
mention footballers and ultra-marathoners who visit for
weekly, toxin-flushing sessions.
Stepping off the bike after 30 minutes, I certainly
feel light-headed and my muscles are
definitely fatigued. At £30 (€35) per half
hour, it’s expensive and, to get the benefits,
you have to be self-motivated (don’t just
pretend you’re in a Jacuzzi), plus it can feel
a little clinical. But the upsides are
unmistakable: that night I sleep like
a baby and dream of a
world where all
exercise is
this easy.
hydrofit.co.uk
I fit the profile
of the typical user:
mostly women, who
come in twice a week to
banish cellulite
1 2 1
“Meet spinning’s glamorous sister”
Does cycling + swimming + jacuzzi jets = the most luxurious way to burn calories
ever? Quite possibly, says
Lucy Fry
as she gives aquacycling a spin
W I T N E S S
T H E F I T N E S S
L O N D O N
V I E W P O I N T S
