Dry January, cutting out sugar, Veganuary, waving goodbye to gluten…who didn’t spend last month punishing themselves with drastic New Year resolutions in response to an extended period of festive indulgence? Whilst these dramatic life changes should be setting us up for the year ahead and undoing some of the self-inflicted December damage, you’re better off simply moderating your lifestyle and up your fitness game for the rest of the year to allow yourself to enjoy next Christmas guilt-free.
Keeping fit in London should be simple with the plethora of options available to you, but it’s often hard to find the time – and the motivation. Whether you’re trying to squeeze in sunrise yoga at the Shard or spinning at lunchtime with a busy job, active social life or young family, it can be tricky to drag yourself out into the February drizzle and make yourself exercise. Enter Chardét Ryel, founder of Corpão Fitness (which roughly translates as ‘amazing body’ in Brazilian Portuguese).
A sassy Brazilian-American, she’s passionate about bringing the culture and celebrated body shape over here, and getting people to exercise the Brazilian way – with laughter, dancing and a focus on enjoying yourself. Forget thigh-gaps and slogging away on the cross trainer – Corpão Fitness encourages women to celebrate their curves, tone up and have fun whilst you’re at it. With ten years in the industry, Chardét is a pint-sized breath of fresh, tropical air; all big smiles, good humour and boundless, encouraging enthusiasm; a far cry from other PT experiences that have left me feeling unfit and useless or simply pushed too far. Her personal brand of fitness ensures you never get bored, incorporating moves from ballet, samba, pilates, weight-lifting and even Brazilian martial art capoeira, helping you build a sexy, strong body without extreme dieting, running or excessive lifting.
If classes are your thing, Chardét holds a variety of different Corpão Fitness classes across London, from the Brazillian Burn on Monday nights to Brazillian Barre on Wednesdays, and also runs monthly Curve Building Workshops, with classes starting at just £10. Sessions can be booked at corpaofitness.com – look out for the new Latin classes by candlelight that are set to launch soon, too. If that all sounds too energetic to begin with, why not ease yourself in with her Brazilian flow yoga class on Yogaia.com, streamed here: www.yogaia.com
For ladies who prefer a more personal touch, Chardét offers a 60-day Sesenta Challenge and works closely with you to understand your lifestyle, diet and exercise preferences. From this she creates a customised personal training program and nutrition plan that works exclusively for you. Starting with an initial fitness assessment, she records your weight, BMI and body measurements, and spends an hour-long session with you gently testing your limits, evaluating your strengths and, if you can bear it, taking pre-program photos. What follows is a tailored weekly shopping list and structured meal plan, ensuring you’re eating well but you’re getting enough calories to fuel your work outs.
For busy London types, one of the best features of Corpão Fitness is that training can be done at home, pretty much anywhere there’s room to swing a cat. Here at StyleNest we tested the programme out for three weeks and three times a week Chardét came to our home and worked with whatever space was available, be it a kitchen floor, living room area or even spare bedroom. Armed with mobile equipment and a wicked sense of humour, each 60-minute session flew by – and that’s coming from someone who is essentially allergic to exercise. Each week also included a customised gym session at my local, showing me how to make use of the machines in the most effective – and fun way.
After each session, expect to receive a summary and copy of each work out – as well as short videos, in case you’ve forgotten or want to check your form. Each video demonstrates a signature Corpão move, from the Pilates Ball Quatro Apoio (nicknamed the booty pulse) to the Benção Kick. Exercises are focussed on toning, burning fat and creating a strong but feminine shape, giving all the muscles in your body a full work out. Crucially, although each rep was challenging, none were impossible or sent me running for the hills, finally breaking my lifelong aversion to exercising. StyleNest readers can exclusively access them here, if they use the password corpaopt.
Each personalised meal plan is comprehensive and easily catered for in your local supermarket, and encourages you to cook more, which is no bad thing. Over the course of three weeks, I enjoyed delicious meals such as pan seared tuna crusted in coconut flakes and black pepper with bok choy, mango gazpacho, sweet potato pancake ‘sandwiches’ with sautéed chicken and more fruit and veg you can shake a stick at. Work out days include a snack alongside the three hearty meals, ensuring you never feel hungry and your body is getting all the nutrients and energy it needs. Whilst the odd treat is allowed (you’re human, after all), you will be expected to email over your food diary at the end of every week, which allows Chardét to analyse any meals with hidden sugars or fat and make sure you’re eating enough – no meal skipping allowed here!
On-call from the first session all the way to the last (and beyond), she’s available at any time to answer any diet and training questions, and even to panic message when out to dinner, to help choose the healthiest thing on the menu. At the end of the 60 days, Chardét will retake all your measurements and evaluate the plan. Once the challenge is over you can expect to keep in touch, and you’ll receive with a Corpão Fitness post-program guidelines and tips, as well as recommendations for all the right mobile equipment to buy to help make even your smallest space the perfect place for a work out.
For more info on the Corpão Fitness PT sessions or to enquire about starting your own Sesenta challenge, visit: corpaofitness.com