Physio Fitness – Urban Sport of the Week

What is Physio Fitness?

Physio Fitness is a low-impact exercise class which is designed and innovated to pair elements of physiotherapy and body reparation with medical fitness and sustainable training. It’s a great class for anyone with an injury or who can’t participate in high impact classes.  

What can you expect?

Sportwerk is a super sleek, modern building with a polished gym area and a trendy cafe, bar and workspace. It’s a unique, one-stop-shop for people to recover from injuries: Physiotherapy studio, a gym and an exercise studio all rolled into one. Everyone who works here wears a blue tracksuit which gives the studio a slight Back To The Future vibe.

We were trialling Physio Fitness, an exercise class designed to help strengthen and rehabilitate those suffering with sports injuries. We walked straight to the bright exercise room where our blue-tracksuited trainer, Jan, had laid out a mat and a medicine ball for each of the six of us in the class.  

How was the workout?

Jan instructed us to lay down on our mats, hold the medicine ball in front and pulse upwards. We took it in turns to count to ten and it was only then that we could relax and move on to the next exercise.

Because Physio Fitness is all about rebuilding your framework the exercises were mostly core-work. Jan instructed us to do medicine ball sit-ups, again each of us counting to ten until we’d reached the last person. Although the class was low impact it wasn’t long before it felt like my stomach muscles were on fire. The fact that we were the ones counting made it even more torturous, and if we sped up the counting we’d have to start from the beginning.

After our sit-ups we did a series of hip raises which worked our glutes and lower backs. It was a welcome relief after all the ab work but quickly turned into another painful experience; the class truly works every aspect of your core strength. One exercise required we hooked our feet on the ball and pushed our legs out so that we were planking and crunching at the same time. After all those sit-ups the pain was excruciating.

Our final stop: legs. Jan instructed us to lunge and pulse. Every now and then he’d shout “stop!” and we’d have to hold the lunge as low as possible for ten or twenty agonising seconds. Jan combined this with some deep squats where we sat down and up on our med balls, again stopping us halfway through to sit static in mid-air until it was all over and we could stretch it out.  

How did I feel after?

Despite the pain, many of the exercises were great for my posture and alignment. I could feel that my back had straightened and I wasn’t slouching so much over the next few days. Needless to say my abs were sore for several days afterwards – anyone who goes to this class regularly will have abs like a cheese-grater.  

Benefits of Physio Fitness

The exercises are all low-impact but will still get your heart rate up – who says you can’t exercise when you’re injured? This class helps reduce stress by keeping you focussed on the exercises and you’ll be practicing mindfulness by counting your own way through. These exercises help realign your posture and strengthen your core muscles to reduce your risk of any future injuries.  

Don’t forget to bring…

Your workout gear, a towel and abs of steel.  

Urban Sports Club has tons of physiotherapy and Pilates partners across Germany, Italy, France and Portugal. Take a look at our site to see what’s happening in your area.

For all their latest news, events and classes take a look at Sportwerk’s website.