Brighton Fitness Festival July 13th 2024

Festival Vibes 

On a bright day sandwiched between some sombre summer weather, the sun beat down on fitness fanatics and intrigued onlookers as The Brighton Fitness Festival took place on the Hove Lawns. Positioned just a little outside of Brighton’s city centre, with stages set alongside seaside vistas, attendees enjoyed a whole day of fitness and wellness activities presented by companies that operate within the local area. Plenty of classes and challenges were available to take part in, as well as recovery solutions. There were also local food vendors to keep attendees fuelled for a fun filled day.  https://brightonfitnessfestival.co.uk/

Group Exercise Classes

During the festival I participated and watched group exercise classes currently on offer. These classes aim to get you moving and most of all promote enjoyment of being active. There really was a large variety, something for everybody. All kinds of coaching styles, plenty of music, for all tastes and lots of new and exciting equipment that I got to try my hand at.

Punch it out

I was energized by the high intensity and pumping Drum and Bass beats from Fight Klub https://www.fightklub.co.uk/brighton/. I watched people jab hook and count their reps with gusto. My punching practice then continued at ABC Boxing https://brightonhoveabc.co.uk/ stand, where it was my first time ever putting on a pair of boxing gloves. I was tasked with beating an appointment with one swift blow. I was reassured that I wasn't the only person who found it cathartic to get out any lingering anger with the use of the gloves and pads. 

If there was any lingering frustration, it was soon to be dispelled as I tested my grip strength at https://athlesium.com/ stand, with my eye set on the prize of a brand new t-shirt I knew I had to muster all my might as the target weight was set at 40KG, I was certain this would be a challenge. I came a fair way off the target, so I think more time working on and perfecting my monkey bars and farmer’s carries would help me out here.

Groovers and Movers With Dancing Feet

Everybody was feeling the summer vibes, as the Natural Fit https://naturalfit.co.uk/hove/ Latin Grooves class took to the main stage, commanding the crowd, in a beautiful, bright red feather headdress and matching fiery dress Marta got us all up on our feet, even the people outside of the arena, dancing and bopping along to the Copacabana as a crescendo to her class.  

There were many group exercise classes to get involved with throughout the day and the participation and energy of the crowd was high, everybody was enjoying their favourite classes or trying out something brand new. 

Adventures In New Equipment 

I was excited to try out more new equipment at the Jordan arena https://www.jordanfitness.com/. I had my eye on two large hexagons lying in the grass that looked a little bit like a cross between, a Plyo Box and a tyre. Or perhaps a giant piece of children’s soft play equipment, I was curious to say the least. I felt welcomed and encouraged by Toby and the team who put me through my paces with an EMOM circuit. I battled the battle ropes and perfected my air squats along with getting to grips with flipping the strange hexagons. (The TufNut). I finished my circuit feeling I had worked hard, I left with a goody bag and big smile on my face.

As I continued my journey around the outside of the main arenas, I was treated to a hefty dose of friendly competition, as I watched competitors at stands, take part in functional circuits, test their plank strength, their golf swing and even challenge their one footed balance.  

Time to Relax

There were many more relaxing options to explore during the festival as well, including yoga classes and a chance to book into sessions at Float Spa. https://www.thefloatspa.co.uk/ Then once I was in need of soothing those aching muscles and recovering from all those HIIT classes I’d attended, I could have relaxed with a massage, meditation, sound baths and even a chance to pop in the sauna by Luna hut Sauna. https://www.lunahutsauna.co.uk/the-saunas

Baked Goods, yum! 

I indulged a little at the FIKA bakery tent. https://www.fikabythesea.co.uk/, FIKA have a couple of premises in Brighton and Hove, they specialize in Swedish, artisan style baked goods. I loved the delicious blueberry pastry and had to honestly, resist the urge to go back to buy more. Other healthy food options were available throughout the day too, and I topped up my energy reserves with drinks of NOCCO https://nocco.co.uk/news/ and RedBull https://www.redbull.com/gb-en/energydrin/ this kept me going during the afternoon.

Man, I Feel Like Woman, YeeHaw!  

To round up the afternoon, I assumed the role of cowgirl and donned my imaginary boots and got ready for, yes you’ve guessed it, Line Dancing.  A handful of sparkly red cowboy hats were given to the crowd by the instructor, which glimmered in the still sizzling hot sun, then the group was ready to learn the routine with plenty of swagger. I belted out a Yeehaw! or four and was feeling like Shania Twain in no time. 

Keeping Up The Intensity

I joined a totally shredded class instructed by www.gracec.coach and quickly realised that my quads were feeling very tired by the end of the day, but I pushed hard to stay with the workout, enjoying the 90’s Garage vibes and knowing that my legs would be stronger for this one! even though I was thinking to myself, no more lunges!  

Industry Leaders 

I was feeling very happy to be taking a seat to finish up the day at the main stage. I enjoyed hearing from industry leaders including, Sam Barber Andy Smith from Pro- Fitness , Mark Diaper the CEO of GYM BOX, and Paul Barber OBE CEO of Brighton & Hove Albion football club.

They imparted their knowledge on the industry as a whole and gave valuable advice to newly qualified PT’s on how to market themselves for a successful career. They covered guerrilla and disruptive marketing along with how to continue to forge professional, partnerships within your business. There was a sprinkling of football predictions for good luck as England's UEFA Euro Final against Spain was now, just one day away. 

Conclusion

Overall the event was enjoyable and insightful, I found out about companies that provide learning, workouts and recovery solutions that I was unaware of. Being able to keep my workouts fresh and exciting provides great motivation to continue training. Finding classes or training systems that are both enjoyable and novelty, makes it easy to join a class, for the sheer fun of it. Or try out something new that could lead to a new passion. This event showed the vast array of ways that exercising is available across Brighton and Hove I would recommend for all fitness enthusiasts.   

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Joe Wicks, The Body Coach hosts a 5km run on Brighton Beach Sunday 1st September 2024

I’ve got to admit I’m not always the biggest fan of targeted adverts on my social media but every now and then I am extremely happy that something pops into my feed unexpectedly. About a week ago a post appeared that really grabbed my attention and stopped me from scrolling any further.

What I saw in front of me was so, honest and inspirational…

Fit Box Brighton, and their Instagram post that inspired me to join this run  

Image credit Joe Wicks/Jim Carey

“In 2018, I opened up to Joe Wicks about my life struggles, and his words “never give up” have stayed with me since. After overcoming mental health challenges and drug addiction, I transformed my life and ventured into the fitness industry. Starting with outdoor bootcamps, I improvised, threw in some exercises, and to my surprise, people kept coming back, paying me more.  Realizing I had struck a chord, I found immense joy in teaching and discovered a new found purpose that led me away from drugs and isolation towards a fulfilling sense of achievement.  My journey in this industry has been nothing short of extraordinary, and I’m grateful to now be able to support others facing similar struggles. I am grateful to still be here today.” 

Join us for a 5km run along the seafront, Joe Wicks is headed to Brighton! 

I thought that this was a brave way to illustrate how a person can be inspired by another.  How powerful their message can be and furthermore, being able to pass this message on to even more people, continuing the encouragement to “never give up”. My next thought was “That's so cool, a 5km run with Joe Wicks on the seafront” and in a flurry of excitement I quickly clicked on the link to register my interest. 

Get busy in the kitchen or join an online workout with Joe

For the past couple of months, I’ve been trying to eat a healthier diet, which isn't always easy for a foodie like me! But I’ve been really enjoying the recipes in the books by Joe Wicks, so much so that I went ahead and purchased as many of the different plans as I could get my hands on. As my excitement and gusto grew, at one point I even accidentally ended up with a duplicate copy, which I passed on to my sister, who subsequently passed it to a colleague, who was also enthusiastic to give the recipes a go. Especially after smelling my sister's delicious leftovers wafting through the staff room on a regular basis. 

I’d never really followed Joe’s work before this year, but I was fully aware of his workouts and his large fan following. He is a household name here in the UK and beloved by families across the nation.  In 2020 he had whole households getting fit whilst schools were closed due to the pandemic. Families turned their lounges into makeshift gyms exercising along with him via his YouTube channel, where 80 million views turned into half a million raised for the NHS. His current work still centres around getting people moving and staying active, with an emphasis on helping people to smash their goals.

A selection of Joe Wicks books, with recipes and workouts to keep you on track.

I am still currently cooking many of the recipes from the books old and new. They taste absolutely amazing! Some of the benefits of Joe's recipe books include the ingredients being measured as “serves one” fantastic if you are cooking for one. They are easy to prepare and cook, using mostly ingredients that you would commonly already have in your fridge or cupboards, which in my opinion is handy,  because who likes to hunt around the store for obscure ingredients?. Overall they provide healthy and wholesome meals, great for everyday of the week. 

It seemed like perfect timing that I would be able to join Joe in Brighton on one of his 5km runs, become  a part of this ever growing community of like minded people and show him gratitude for the work that he was doing.

On the day of the run Brighton was also hosting a triathlon along the seafront, so our run was due to take us on what could be considered a bit of an unconventional route, away from Hove and towards the Brighton Marina. 

The run begins at the pier…

As the crowds gathered eagerly at the Brighton Pier at 8.30am, Joe took a position high above the crowd, to get proceedings underway. There was an undulating excitement as the crowd waved to Joe for his social media, and then we were off on the run. 

As I set off there was a relaxed and fun feeling, Joe was up at the front leading the way as pictures were taken by photographers and spectators. Joe captured more footage on his mobile phone and even managed to take selfies with fans whilst he continued to run along the coast. I passed by Sea Lanes, I saw people working out and more onlookers had gathered to cheer the crowd as it passed by. To keep the party atmosphere going during the run, I enjoyed the latest house tracks, provided by Run & Rave, as beats pumped out of their very loud and very cool speaker backpack. The music really lifted me and helped me along to the halfway mark. At the Marina I was greeted with inclines in the form of the cliff walkway and I was starting to feel my legs tiring a little. The sun was beating down on me on now on what was turning out to be a very hot and humid morning.  As I made the turning point, I doubled back, my pace had slowed considerably but seeing all the runners' smiling faces pass me helped me feel energized to continue on for the second half of the run.  Running back towards the pier, the terrain underfoot changed back to a boardwalk on top of the pebbled beach and I felt relief because I was back on the flat.  I ran over the iconic Volks Railway line and with beautiful views out to sea, I continued on back to the pier.

On the return to the pier, Joe took the time to speak to participants, sign autographs and take photographs. There were families with children, babies and even some furry friends joined in with the selfie extravaganza.  It was a great way to top off the run. 

Overall it was great to see so many people taking part in this run. Joe says “It’s about getting people out, it’s about their mental health and a sense of community”  and he definitely delivered this on Sunday, bringing people together to enjoy a friendly and relaxed run.  With chilled vibes and no worries about finishing times, just participation, lots of smiles and fun for all. If you get a chance to take part in his next 5KM run event I highly recommend it.