Getting to grips with skating Jas Lehal

IT'S back to the future for fitness as the trend for 70s and 80s fashion and music hits the gym, ­tapping into our nostalgia for innocent pleasures from a simpler age.

Workouts based on childhood toys such as hula hoops and roller skates are making a comeback, giving the cross trainer and treadmill a run for their money.

“We’ve run several retro classes and they’ve proved ­really popular because they remind people of their school days,” says Richard Hilton, managing director of Gymbox. “They are designed to be serious fun, but also provide a great workout. For example, a circuit class that we’ve just launched, based on the game Connect Four, is already fully booked.”

But is it all just gimmicky fun designed to get the ­capital’s unfit through gym doors or are there practical benefits? We look at three of the most popular retrocises in London to find out…

Roller Skating

My retrocise marathon starts with what could be mistaken for the Eric Prydz Call On Me video. Not necessarily because of suggestive gyrating, but because the video’s super-toned star Deanne Berry is gliding around on roller skates ­promoting a music event.

Sadly, my skating ­experience is confined to the odd turn while ­desperately clutching the handrail at a Christmas ice rink. Time for the basics, courtesy of instructor Maja Kvietkova.

She talks me through the “T” position, which involves standing with my feet at right angles in a ballet-style pose. So at least I can stand upright. Kvietkova’s advice on how to fall over (hands out, knees bent and a relaxed body) comes in useful.

She says: “Rolling and ­stopping demands ­co-ordination and balance. You are using your core muscles all the time as well as working your thigh and leg muscles.”

An hour’s strenuous ­skating can burn up to 600 calories, and I can believe it as the weight of the skates ups the sweat factor.

“Skating is also a lot of fun and works your whole body,” says Kvietkova. She takes the class through ­familiar exercise moves such as the crab (abdominals and glutes) and side lunges (inner thighs). By the end of the two hours my thighs have a satisfying ache and I’ve worked up a sweat.

Maja is an instructor with SkateFresh, skatefresh.com.

Nokia Skate Almighty, free outdoor roller disco in Potters Fields, SE1, 5-9 August, www.nokiamusic.co.uk

Sweat Factor: 7/10 - Despite being a novice I could feel the burn

Enjoyment Factor: 8/10 - Great fun, especially when I finally got moving

Gimmick Factor: 2/10 - Hugely satisfying learning a new skill

Retrobics

Don’t let the legwarmers fool you. This class is ­hardcore. About 10 minutes into the opening cardio ­sequence, I’m already wilting. “Mambo… cha cha cha… grapevine!” yells the perky instructor Sandy Foster, barking out different old-school moves.

As Michael Jackson’s back catalogue blasts out, I struggle to get my heel-toes, upside-rolls and side-steps in sync with the rest of the co-ordinated, all-female class.

I have a flashback to PE ­lessons at school doing a similar ­routine to MJ’s Bad, but with the advantage of being 20 years younger.

As the class moves ­beyond the warm-up, the music quickens.

The classic choruses of 80s tracks give me an extra wind that I don’t get with classes blaring out anonymous house music.

We move on to 10 minutes of toning squats, lunges and leg raises using a 5kg weight that are agonising, but ­supremely effective. We cool down with five minutes of yoga-like stretches.

I’ve always thought I was reasonably fit, but I’m shocked by how gruelling the class turned out to be, ­especially given the girlie image of aerobics.

“It’s a whole body workout,” says Foster. “You burn around 450 calories, raising your heart rate and working the big muscle groups – the arms, legs and abdominals.

“The cheesy music is a big hit. Songs people know are a real energiser when they begin to flag. A lot of the moves are retro, too, coming from the Jane Fonda-esque workout videos I used to watch with my mum in the front room.”

And these ­routines certainly haven’t done 71-year-old Fonda any harm.

Retrobics classes are on every Tuesday at 12.15pm and Wednesday at 7.30am at The Third Space club in Soho.

For details contact 020 7439 6333 or visit www.thethirdspace.com

Sweat Factor: 9/10 - Without a doubt, the most intense of the three workouts

Enjoyment Factor: 7/10 - I loved the cheesy music

Gimmick Factor: 1/10 - Not at all – tested me to my fitness limits

Hula hooping

Hula hooping is child’s play – when you’re a child. Frantically swivelling my hips to keep the hoop spinning for 20 seconds, my target time, is surprisingly ­difficult. I don’t remember doing it as a youngster and I soon feel my core muscles and hips burning, while breaking into a sweat.

The rest of the eight-strong class are ­effortlessly spinning away and have moved on to lifting one leg and then the other.

Encouraged by the impressively lithe instructor, Charles Mensah, I persist and within 10 minutes I’ve made ­tangible progress. Passing the spinning hoop from one hand to the next is an upper -body energy sapper, ­especially as I haven’t quite mastered the technique.

But I’m thrilled when I succeed in keeping the hoop moving while going from a standing to a kneeling ­position ­and, in another technique, hooping while running on the spot for a few seconds.

We play a few games; ­passing an exercise ball around a circle while hooping and “fighting”, which involves pairing up and clashing spinning hoops to knock your partner’s hoop down. A series of stretches using the hoop completes the 30-minute session.

“You’re mainly engaging the core muscles and abs,” says Mensah. “Co-ordination skills improve because you’re usually doing more than two things at once.

“Beginners can burn 400-500 calories because they have to work much harder. It takes around four classes to find your technique, but you can always practise at home.”

It feels silly and awkward at first – gyrating your torso is best left to the bedroom –but the repetition is a great tummy toner.

Hulaerobics is available at Virgin Active clubs in Bromley, Canary Riverside, Islington and Moorgate, virginactive.co.uk

Sweat Factor: 7/10 - I was amazed that hip-swivelling was such sweaty work

Enjoyment Factor: 8/10 - I felt like a carefree child

Gimmick Factor: 3/10 - My aching abs said it all

My favourite workout?

I’m torn between skating and hula. Both surprised me by how much I worked up a sweat while learning a new skill. They definitely kicked me out of my yoga and swimming comfort zone. I can do them in my own time outside a gym, but the best thing was that I was having so much fun I forgot I was exercising.