Yoga Meets Eminem: How Yoga + Strength + Cardio Sculpts Your Inner Warrior
Life Time Group Fitness - September 18, 2012
Above: Nick Bez in Group Fitness Studio 1 at Life Time Fitness Chanhassen in Minnesota.
Are you scared to try yoga because it seems too “hippie” or “ethereal”? Walk into a Warrior Sculpt class taught by Nick Bez and you'll be greeted by a fitness class lined mat to mat. The heat is sweltering, the top-40 pop music is blaring under the glow of a disco ball and the class is a-buzz with chatter. This isn't your typical yoga class.
Welcome to Warrior Sculpt, a kick-butt Life Time class the combines the most popular workout activities – yoga, strength training and cardio training – with a flowing sequence in a warm room that will de-stress your body and mind.
“One of the things that makes yoga both accessible and challenging is moving and holding one’s body weight. In Warrior Sculpt, we take yoga a step further by adding light and heavy weights,” Bez said.
An instructor with nearly 1,000 hours of yoga teacher training behind him, Bez found his love for yoga at age 25. Upon completing treatment for drug and alcohol abuse, Bez crossed paths with an old friend who convinced him to give yoga a try.
“Despite the early frustrations of sweat running into my eyes and my T-shirt trying to strangle me while in a down dog, I made it to the final relaxation and was swept off my feet by the sensation of actually breathing. As silly as it may sound, I had been alive for almost a quarter of a decade yet had no recollection of ever really breathing.”
The barriers to entry for Bez’s first yoga class are common – yoga is a religion; yoga isn't a workout; yoga is for bendy-flexible people; yoga is [fill in the blank]. But the benefits Bez found far exceeded any preconceived notions about yoga. That’s why he says Warrior Sculpt is the perfect format for the yogi newbie, “The format challenges participants’ integrity and willingness to explore the edge of their flexibility and strength.”
In addition to engaging your muscular system from head to heels, Bez notes you are using the depths of your muscles to control weighted movements throughout the 60-minute class. “From a physics perspective, you are working to control weighted levers. The added layer of challenge directly relates to the increased benefits.”
The heat adds even another layer to test your limits. “For participants who haven't had too much exposure to heated formats such as Hot Vinyasa, the heat can be an unexpected challenge.”
The heat, which is set at 85 degrees, gives our muscles more malleability and assists in the process of detoxification. “Through core work, twisting and other postures involving compression, there are ample opportunities for participants’ central nervous, digestive, circulatory, and lymphatic systems to detoxify and flush. The heat amplifies those benefits.”
In addition to detoxification and core strength, Warrior Sculpt uses traditional yoga poses and sequences to bring participants to their edge. Bez’s favorite pose for his members to practice during a typical class is Warrior Two.
“For my money there is no other posture that is as accessible as Warrior Two. As you root down through your feet, you pull energy up through your legs, all 30 some-odd core muscles are firing, your shoulders are active, and energy is surging through your arms and up through the back of your neck. The pose allows you to feel a very positive power and strength throughout your body.”
In the end, Bez said a Warrior Sculpt class is all about the “fun factor.” He uses clever names for his sequences, such as "Beyonces" for core-work or the dreaded “Pants Off, Dance Off” routine, which is two minutes of mountain climbers.
He also uses popular music to keep his members' activity at peak levels. “Seriously, that hip-hoppy pop song that almost all of the radio stations have in heavy rotation and you'd be happy to never hear again is the one I am most likely listening to at an excessive volume as I drive to Life Time.”
Are you still skeptical about yoga at Life Time? Try it out for yourself. Find a Warrior Sculpt class by downloading the latest copy of the Group Fitness or Yoga schedule via myLT.com.
Bonus At-Home Practice
For those looking to try this practice at home, Bez offers a 30-minute at-home practice that you can accomplish in the comfort of your home:
1) For those familiar with yoga, I recommend starting with 60 seconds in a full or modified forearm plank to activate and stabilize the muscular systems, especially the core.
2) From there, perform a traditional Sun Salutation A series to open and finish preparing the body.
3) Then complete a traditional Sun Salutation B series. The first time do it without weights and the following two sets do with a lighter set of weights.
4) I then recommend moving into Revolved Crescent Lunge on each side followed by 60-90 seconds of crisscross mountain climbers.
5) The last piece of the puzzle includes a brief set of traditional core moves followed by a final relaxation or Savasana.