At Green & Blue Studios we’re best known for our Yoga and Aerial classes and there’s no doubt, those are things we do really well. But there are lots of other classes on our schedule that many people skip past. Today we want to tell you a little bit about them; why we offer them and the benefits you can gain from taking part.

If you’re frustrated with your progress in your aerial or yoga practice or just want to improve more quickly (and assuming you’re already practicing regularly), our recommendation is to start to introduce some other activities into your routine. This is known as cross training and there are some very good reasons to do it:

It’s highly effective for the body, helping you to rapidly achieve an improved level of strength and fitness
It keeps your body guessing; the truth is, you stop seeing physical benefits pretty quickly if you only do one type of activity
It helps you to avoid injuries
It helps to keep you interested and motivated

Many of you already know Anabel, the founder of Green & Blue Studios and the person who coordinates our schedule. She knows the benefits of cross training first hand and considers it the single most important ingredient in her own training regime. Her first loves (after her beautiful boys, of course) are yoga and aerial, particularly aerial rope, but she knows that, by combining them with a range of strength and cardio activities, she’s able to achieve much better results. In addition, but no less importantly, she has been able to train at a very high intensity for many years without suffering a single major injury (notwithstanding the occasional rope burn).

Cross training helps you to build a base level of strength and cardiovascular fitness, meaning the body is much better prepared for whatever you throw at it. Anabel has included specific classes in our schedule based on the experience she has gained from her own training, and the results achieved by her private PT clients, during the many years she has been working in this field. When selecting the classes we offer at Green & Blue Studios, this experience is very much at the front of her mind. It’s essential that we offer high quality classes with brilliant coaches, but also that those classes that work together in a coherent fashion.

Of course, there are many people who have no interest in yoga or aerial and just want to do our strength and cardio classes. That’s perfectly fine, too. In fact, we have a brilliant group of people who have been taking part in our cross training classes for a while now… Team, we take our hats off to you, the progress you’ve all made is mindblowing, you’re getting so strong!

If you’re interested in giving cross training a try, the classes to look out for are listed below. If you have any questions about any of them, we suggest having a chat with Anabel in the studio, she will be able to advise you about which ones to try:

Calisthenics - Strength training predominantly using your bodyweight (although we do incorporate some equipment).
HIIT - Cardio fitness. HIIT is High-intensity interval training. It is a way of training alternating short periods of intense or explosive anaerobic exercise with brief recovery periods. Expect these classes to feature our brand new Rogue air bike and Concept2 SkiErg machine, as well as some classic floor exercises. Also, did we mention our new monkey bars?
Functional Training - Training for strength, alignment and functionality. Functional training helps you to perform activities in everyday life more easily. The emphasis is on core strength and stability.
Bootcamps - Our bootcamps combine elements of all of the above, giving you a very complete workout.

Our recommendation is that you use these classes to build your base level of fitness. The other activities you love can then be added on top, whether that’s yoga, aerial, or something completely different - cycling, running, football, dance… basically anything.

Try a few of these and then go back to your normal classes and you won’t believe the difference.

Cross training at Green & Blue