Lipstick Powder N Paint

By Karen Kwan

Gravity. It’s responsible for the movement of all heavenly bodies, and it turns out it’s also responsible for sculpting some heavenly bodies at the gym thanks to a new workout system called GRAVITY Training.

What is it: The GRAVITY Training System, a machine developed by EFI Sports Medicine in San Diego. It’s similar to a Pilates Reformer, except the glideboard is at an incline—the greater the incline (there are eight settings), the harder your workout. The angle of the glideboard creates resistance anywhere from 5 to 59 percent of your body weight. Once you’re really strong, there is a weight bar that can be added to the machine (“But there are only a handful of men with really strong legs who’ve reached that level,” says Christie Ness, owner of Get Spun, a fitness studio in Toronto that offers GRAVITY Training classes). The machine also has cables to work your arms and upper body.

At Get Spun, classes are limited to four people. “We want to keep it small, semi-private,” says Ness. “With the movement of the glideboard, there’s so much room for error and the possibility of injury so we want to keep classes small.”

However, there are no beginner classes, per se; in a class you might have all different levels of expertise in the workout. “But it’s never been an issue,” says Ness. For people who are more experienced with the workout who end up in a class with newbies, “you might go at a slower pace, but you can up the intensity, and sometimes it’s good to mix up your routine in that way,” she says.

The health benefits: With GRAVITY Training, you’ll gain overall body strength and toning. The workout consists of variations of squats, lunges and some plyometrics (Note: we found jumping while lying back at an angle can be a bit disorienting at first). Depending on your goals, Ness adapts the workout. “If you’re trying to lose weight, we’d keep the intensity low but up the reps, but if you’re prepping for a fitness competition we’d go at a higher intensity and increase reps even more,” she says.

Who should try it: Ness says the class attracts a wide range of people, from 18-year-old students to 65- and 70-year-old men and women and notes that it’s a great complement to your cardio exercise, say if you’re currently only focusing on running or Spinning.”Because you’re resistance training against your own body weight, this workout is not intensive on your joints,” says Ness. People who’ve been doing the Pilates Reformer for years may also enjoy GRAVITY Training. “There’s only so much core you can focus on, and if you’ve hit a plateau with your Pilates and want more resistance, you may enjoy Gravity Training.”

Cost: The cost of a class varies per studio but you can expect to pay about $30.