BalanceMayIssue2017 - 11

F

guide

Serious
Army-style fun

S

A

ST T I M E

R'

IR

TO...

There's no candles, chanting or whale music here,
just old-fashioned hard work, says Jamie Glassman
photography by IAKOVOS KALAITZAKIS

BRITISH MILITARY FITNE SS, FI N SBURY PARK

ILLUSTRATION: GEMMA CORRELL STYLING: THEODORE ADOLPH-REGISFORD GROOMING: VICTORIA BOND

Y

ou've probably walked past
plenty of BMF (britmilfit.com)
classes if you've wandered
through any one of 30 London parks
on a Saturday morning or on various

 With no free weights
or machines in sight, get
used to the idea of classic
exercises such as squat
thrusts and star jumps rather

evenings throughout the week.
 You may have seen groups of people
in multi-coloured bibs doing sit-ups in
the mud while a soldier barks orders
at them. It looks terrible. More precisely,
it looks like the worst PE class you ever
had at school, multiplied by squaddie.
 

than kettlebell swings or stability ball
hip flexes. And if you do have a nice
pair of Lululemon leggings or a sparkly
Sweaty Betty top, it's best to keep them
at home. Dig out the old tired fitness
gear you should have thrown out years
ago, this is what you kept it for.
 

BAC K TO BASIC S

GRITT Y GA I N S

I really thought I was going to hate
everything about this... but I didn't.
BMF is as straightforward and
unpretentious as fitness gets. Think of a
meditation and aqua barre Pilates class
followed by a detoxing kale, yak butter,
chia seed and local bee pollen smoothie.
BMF is the opposite of that. There are
no frills here, unless you count the
ability to put on a pair of gloves
when it's snowing.

What BMF lacks in cool, it makes up for
in warmth. There's a Dunkirk spirit that
is tough not to get swept up in. Sure,
you'll get 20 press-ups for standing
with your hands on your hips and, if
you're new, you might get some extra
attention (I was asked to lead the
running at the beginning!), but within
minutes you'll be paired up with a
stranger and be running arm-in-arm
'round that tree and back'.

What's that?
20 press-ups for
standing like this?
Oh... OK then...

A typical
BMF class gets
underway

 I found it incredibly friendly. After
the class, everyone went to the park's
café for a cup of tea and a butty. And no,
none of the sarnies were on mixed olive
and sun-dried tomato sourdough. B
HAVE A GO!

LEVEL
Suitable for
everyone

Life coach

CORNER

COST
First class
is free

TIME
60 minutes

POSITIVE
MENTAL
ATTITUDE

'My thoughts used to be
uncontrollable - I was going
through chaos in my life and
I hit rock bottom. I knew I had to think positive
and these five steps altered my perspective:
1) Develop an awareness of your inner self-talk.
2) Be grateful for what you already have.
3) Visualise what you want to see happen. It's
often the thought of an event rather than
the actual event that scares us.
4) Practise meditation to calm the mind.
5) Surround yourself with positive thinkers.'
COACH/AUTHOR KIM WYMER,
KIMWYMER.COM

May 2017 BALANCE

11
http://www.t.com http://www.KIMWYMER.COM
Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of BalanceMayIssue2017
