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Lifestyle

Futuristic fitness is a reality at this year’s Fitness & Health Expo

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Welcome to the future of fitness. Each year, the biggest and newest brands in fitness gather together to whip the cover off their latest inventions and developments and this year’s Fitness & Health Expo at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre (April 29-May 1) is shaping up to be a showcase of some of the most interesting products the industry has ever seen. The World Loves Melbourne is looking forward to this year's event as the standout event on the fitness calendar.

Not all of the products and exercise classes can be revealed in advance but here is an advanced sneaky look at some of the big developments:

  • Cycle into the next dimension. Virtual reality and exercise merge in this immersive fitness concept studio from Les Mills. THE TRIP is a 45-minute sensory cycle experience like no other that uses digital projection on cinema size screens to create new worlds to cycle through. You might climb the side of an impossibly steep glacier, chase futuristic riders, sprint across lava flows or ride through a space age city. You’ll almost forget you’re working out.
  • Virtual PT. Not everyone can afford a trainer to monitor every exercise they do in the gym but the benefits of correct technique are endless. In steps the Virtual Personal Trainer from Versus with a high tech solution. The exercise station corrects your technique while you workout by monitoring your movements and displaying helpful improvements and warnings on-screen. It even counts your reps for you. It can monitor a range of activities from bodyweight exercises like squats and lunges to dumblell and kettlebell work. Coming to a gym near you soon.
  • Have a cuppa to recover. For those who don’t fancy protein powders or supplements why not sip some tea instead to recover after a workout? Full of organic goodness, The Organic Trainer Exercise Tea has anti-inflammatory properties while also helping to reduce bloating, give an energy lift and assist the body’s fat-burning process.
  • Submerged spin. Aquaspin is a revolutionary fitness technique, which combines the efficient principles of classical stationary indoor cycling (spinning) with the healthy and soothing powers of water. Aquaspin uses the benefits of water buoyancy and resistance to make the exercise motions and sequences gentle yet vigorous.
  • Workout wear that thinks. It’s the smartest shirt that’s ever hung in your wardrobe and it wants to help you get fitter. Meet the Hexoskin. The shirt measures body metrics like heart rate and breathing rate – all you have to do is wear it. For females, MYZONE has released the MZ-3 Sports Bra where all monitoring is conveniently built into the bra. No more clunky heart monitor straps.

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  • Treadmill upgrade. Move over treadmill and make way for the SKILLMILL, coming to a gym near you soon. Created by Technogym, this non-motorised product allows you to move in any direction – forwards, backwards, sideways – and at any speed or intensity level, from a sprint or high resistance sled-push in full forward lean position to a cool down walk. Inspired by the way athletes train, it’s designed to improve power, speed, stamina and agility.

 

  • Get a leg up with some self-motivation. We all have our favourite motivational quotes and phrases that we repeat to ourselves when we want to push our workout a little harder. Now you can have a permanent reminder by plastering your fav get-up-and-go tagline down the leg of your compression tights. Hyperbeat can print any phrase in almost any colour on full-length or ¾ tights to keep you upbeat in your own personal way.

 

  • The gym heads outside. Once upon a time you had a choice – workout on machines in the gym or do an outdoor class with a PT. Now you can do both with the first-of-its-kind-in-the-world 360gym. Coming to a personal trainer near you, these fully portable gyms allow you to perform a huge array of indoor gym machine exercises like bench press, lateral pulldowns and barbell squats at any outdoor location, from the park to the beachside.

Director of the Fitness & Health Expo Shaun Krenz said that this was an exciting time of year for the industry and equally for consumers looking for the latest in fitness ideas, equipment and fashion.

“This is where the newest ideas in fitness come to life. We’re seeing not only new ideas but also twists and improvements on existing products and activities as fitness brands drive to create better, more efficient workouts and tools and compete in the incredibly competitive and ever-changing fitness space.”

Head to the Fitness & Health Expo to see the latest equipment and accessories, watch healthy cooking demonstrations, train with celebrity trainers and watch live sporting events.

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The Fitness & Health Expo will be held April 29-May 1 at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre. It’s open to both the industry and general public from 10am – 7pm on Friday and 10am – 5pm Saturday and Sunday. For more information visit www.fitnessexpo.com.au and follow Facebook and Twitter for updates on features, timetables and celebrities.

General visitors can pre-book tickets online and save up to 30%  – early bird tickets available until February 25 for $21 for a one-day adult ticket. If you work in the industry, entry is free if you pre-register online and provide the appropriate identification.

For more information visit www.fitnessexpo.com.au and follow Facebook and Twitter for updates on features, timetables and celebrities.