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.

Brighton Fitness Festival July 13th 2024