Sweat and Sculpt with RoxyFit

Photo Courtesy of RoxyFit

Throughout the quarantine, I've seen snippets and short clips of London-based Roxanne Ekhaese's fun and creative sculpting exercises pop up on my Instagram Explore page, so I've been eager to try out one of her workouts.

This former professional tennis player is a personal trainer who has whipped women into shape for the past decade with effective workouts that combine pilates, barre and cardio. Roxy aims to help her clients discover their potential and become more confident, successful and positive through a holistic approach to health and wellness. With various qualifications in prenatal and postnatal fitness, personal training, nutrition, sports massage and strength and conditioning, Roxy shares her expertise with women from London to New York City. This fitness icon has also extended her reach through her online training programs and subscriptions, such as her Postpartum, Lean and Tone and C-Section programs, which she makes accessible on her RoxyFit platform.

Photo courtesy of RoxyFit

For my daily dose of movement, I decided to try a 30-minute abbreviated version of Roxy's signature Lean and Tone workout program, which is usually 45 minutes long. The workout may have been condensed, but it did not fail to deliver. It got my heart rate up and made my muscles burn throughout the entire workout.

I found this free and accessible live workout video saved to Chloé Cassecuelle's IGTV. These women donated all of the proceeds to Black Mamas Matter, which is a nonprofit organization that helps black mothers from the beginning of their pregnancy to after they give birth. I absolutely love supporting charitable organizations, so I was completely on board from the start of this class.

To start out, we did a warmup that got the blood flowing. Roxy guided us through several cardio moves, which she stacked back to back, so my heart was beating rapidly and my breathing rate quickened after a few minutes.

We started the official workout with a barre segment. This portion of the workout required a desk, chair, countertop or wall to lean on, so any home environment was the perfect complement to and setup for this workout. Roxy led us through eight repetitions of each move, which mixed sculpting moves with cardio exercises. Since I added 3-pound free weights for an extra full-body burn, I was sweating and panting.

Next, we moved onto a standing series that focused on cardio moves with 10 reps per exercise. It was a fast-paced and fun section of the workout. Because the moves were mainly low-impact, it was energizing and uplifting rather than depleting and fatiguing.

Photo courtesy of RoxyFit

After strengthening our bodies, it was time to lengthen. We cooled down with several minutes of stretching and yoga to loosen and repair the muscles.

This workout was the perfect balance of sweat-dripping cardio and muscle-burning barre. I felt an endorphin rush and a boost of energy and noticed that my body felt lighter and leaner. I had started the workout with a sweatshirt on because I was shivering, but by the end of the class, I had to peel off the layers because I was sweating so much! This teaser class did not disappoint, and I may just have to invest in the monthly subscription program. If you decide to test out this workout, please share your thoughts!