If you thought HIIT training went out the window with pregnancy, think again. Transition Zone in Parsons Green proves that whatever trimester you’re in, you can stay fit with one-to-one coaching, as Jemima Boost finds out
Pregnant woman are often told about the importance of having a balanced diet but when it comes to discussing matters of health, a balanced exercise regime is subject to less attention. While it’s commonly agreed that the best approach is to stay fit but not over do it, fitting this into a busy lifestyle and knowing just how much ‘overdoing it’ is can prove quite a challenge. Well here lies the beauty of Parsons Green’s Transition Zone.
Although Transition Zone’s website promises to make you ‘train harder’, don’t be frightened, it also promises to make you train smarter – and that’s much more up my street.
Inside the New York loft-style gym space in Fulham are various zones dedicated to HIIT training and manned by expert coaches. You’ll find everything from Power Plates to TRX, boxing and Reformer Pilates Chairs– all of which, with a little help from those who know how, can be adapted to fit around the bump and your level of fitness.
Owned and run by Claire Finlay, a personal trainer who takes holistic approach to fitness, the Transition Zone combines fitness with therapies such as massage, offers nutritional advice and there’s the bang on trend Recovery Café serving cacao protein balls and a rainbow of cold-pressed juices. Despite this, you’ll be pleased to hear that Claire doesn’t take a ‘holier than thou’ outlook to health and fitness and confesses to enjoying her vices, coffee and chocolate, although she doesn’t drink. Something she’ll have in common with her pregnant trainees.
There’s no denying that classes at the Transition Zone are tough and certainly up a level from the gentle yoga sessions where “I’m just here for the Savasana” has never rung truer. But Claire (who has her own daughter) knows just how much to work your sleepy, bloated muscles and how far to push you.
She took me through my paces on the TRX straps, using lunges to work my upper thighs, while getting arm muscles going at the same time. Although Power Plates are out of the question during pregnancy, we did have a go on the Reformer Pilates Chairs. I seemed to have left my coordination somewhere between week 12 and now but Claire expertly used her core to work her way through sequences and postures, showing off her amazing abs and giving me something to aim for post-baby.
Claire will create bespoke training programmes for you during your pregnancy, taking into account your regular fitness regime and adapting it to work around the baby and your new body, or you can just pop in for pay-as-you-go sessions. Transition Zone runs post-natal bounce-back training packages too that will get you back into shape, and judging by Claire’s body, you can trust she will do just that.
Find out more about classes at transitionzone.co.uk
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