What is BLAZE?
BLAZE is a high intensity interval training (HIIT) session like no other, exclusive to David Lloyd Clubs. A dynamic workout that combines mixed martial arts, intense cardio and strength training, it’s a boutique-style HIIT class synced to upbeat, motivating dance music.
Targeting the entire body, it offers the ultimate full-body workout – with a unique twist.
What’s the twist?
Throughout the class, attendees are invited to wear a heart rate monitor that will track their progress in real-time, encouraging healthy competition amongst class participants or simply inspiring participants to beat their personal best.
The class is led by one of our highly trained BLAZE Instructors who will encourage participants to work harder and get into the red zone in certain parts of your workout (90-100% – where they’re exerting maximum heart rate effort) – it’s at this rate of effort that you will expand aerobic capacity, build lactate threshold, increase endurance and stamina, improve speed/power, improve recovery and crush those calories.
What can I expect to do in a session?
On arrival at the class, participants strap a MyZONE heart rate monitor around their chests which links to a screen in the studio. Activity is classified into ‘blue’ green’, ‘yellow’ and ‘red’ zones, with the red zone being where class members are working their hardest.
The BLAZE studio is home to three different workout zones. At each zone, you’ll find equipment for a different set of exercises. For example, Woodway treadmills at our cardio zone, a bespoke weight bench called the BLAZE box in our strength zone with suspended punch and core bags for mixed martial arts in our combat zone. Participants move between these zones; running, lifting weights or boxing and doing martial arts for three minutes at each station.
Large format screens display the overall class time as well as a ticker clock for each interval and set, and with each timer linked to lighting, music and audio countdown prompts, exercisers and instructors alike are given complete freedom to lose themselves in the workout instead of fiddling with stopwatches, mp3s and phones.
As the class moves around, the activities change, all the while working in time to different coloured lighting and dance music that plays over the class. The whole class lasts 45 minutes, but there is also a 55-minute class if you’re after more of a challenge.
What results can I expect to see?
The combination of training techniques within BLAZE can have impressive results. Blaze is effective for increasing cardiovascular fitness, sculpting your physique and increasing metabolic rate. In a 45-55-minute BLAZE session you can potentially burn anything between 500-1000 calories
Some of its benefits are:
- It will increase your metabolism as you continue to burn calories for up to 24-36 hours after a class. This is extremely effective way of burning calories opposed to exercises such as jogging, where burn stops with the activity.
- It elevates your ability to uptake oxygen, building your overall aerobic capacity, meaning you can run further and faster for longer.
- Over time, HIIT sessions are able to increase the flexibility and elasticity of arteries and veins, better than continuous aerobic exercise is able to.
- Committing to a regular exercise class is one of the easiest ways to kickstart a new fitness routine.
Since its roll out at David Lloyd Clubs, the class has been a huge success. BLAZE is fun, motivational and, our members tell us, totally addictive, as participants keep coming back to improve their performance.
See what all the hype is about and try a BLAZE class now.
Comments by George