This much-talked-about sport has been around for around thirty years and gives you a dynamic workout using exercises that combine strength training and cardio.
Did you say “body sculpting”?
Created in the 90s, body sculpting is a muscle-building method. It combines step and body dump exercises. The aim: to work the muscles in depth and improve the cardio-vascular condition of the practitioner.
A session generally lasts 45 minutes. Short 5-minute cardio and muscle-building exercises follow each other at a fairly intense pace. The session is set to music to set the pace for the group and make it more fun. As well as the sport and health aspects, body sculpting is also an opportunity to let off steam and release all the tension built up during the day.
The upper body is very much in demand. The abdominal muscles and arm muscles will therefore get a lot of work. Body-building exercises are performed using accessories such as dumbbells, poles or elastic bands. For cardio, step movements will put your glutes, thighs and calves to the test. So every part of the body will be working during a session.
Why do body sculpting?
Getting back into shape often means improving your cardio capacity, losing weight, gaining endurance and building muscle. Body sculpting does all this. The exercises on offer firm and tone the body.
The muscles work in depth, which will be much more effective in the long term. Because the sessions are intensive, you’ll burn a lot of calories. Even if a session is ‘relatively’ short, between 30 and 45 minutes, you’ll easily burn off between 400 and 500 calories. With regular exercise, ideally three times a week, you’ll burn fat efficiently and build muscle. If you keep up this pace, the results will be obvious in just 6 to 8 weeks.
Who can practice body sculpting?
Anyone can do body sculpting… or almost anyone. As the sessions are intensive, you’ll need to take it easy at first and adapt them to your abilities if you’re returning to sport after a long break. Start slowly, and build up gradually. Perhaps start with pilates before returning to body sculpting at a later stage. There’s no point in taking the risk of injuring yourself and making it impossible to practise any sport for a long period. You should start all over again a few weeks later.
You should also be extremely careful if you suffer from any particular ailment. If you suffer from joint, muscle or tendon pain, high blood pressure, cardiovascular problems or diabetes, seek medical advice before you start. If you still want to try body sculpting, adapt your workout to your abilities to minimise the risks.
What equipment do I need?
All kinds of accessories are used to improve the body’s work during body sculpting movements. There are, of course, different types of weights. Some exercises are performed with a stick or a wooden bar, others with strength elastics.
Practice at home
You can practice body sculpting at home. Many trainers offer body sculpting sessions (free or not) at home. The sessions can be live on the web. All the participants are connected at the same time and follow the trainer’s instructions. If the sessions are recorded, you can do them at a time of day that suits you.
If you’re practising at home, you naturally need to be careful to follow the instructions carefully to avoid injury. You’ll also need to buy the necessary equipment, or replace it with what you have on hand. A chair and water bottles can sometimes do the trick just fine.
Indoor practice
Most of the time, however, body sculpting is done indoors, under the supervision of a trained sports trainer. In this case, the gym generally provides all the equipment needed to practise the discipline.
All you’ll need is a suitable, comfortable outfit – the same as you’d use for fitness, for example – and a pair of sports shoes suited to the activity. It’s important to choose your sports shoes carefully because they need to support your ankles properly. If you’re a runner, for example, your shoes won’t be suitable, as the support and support are completely different from those for indoor sports.
Finally, remember to pack a compartmentalised sports bag to separate your shoes from your clean clothes. A multi-pocket bag like Karkoa’s crossfit bag will be perfect for body sculpting.
