ANOTHER new year, another guilt-fuelled resolution to get fit.
But if the thought of embarking on your next uninspiring gym membership gives you a sudden rush of the winter blues, perhaps you should consider moving and shaping instead.
Backed by BUPA and a year-long member of the Stanmore community, Movers & Shapers is a studio that might be onto something. The Church Road HQ slightly resembles a small gym, but get talking to one of the team and you see Movers & Shapers is not about parading in lycra and pumping iron, it is about making getting fit as easy and achievable as possible.
The plan incorporates two impressive pieces of technology, the Power Plate vibrating platform for exercising on, and the cute, pager-sized Fitbug, which will keep track of your activity by counting every step you take.
The Fitbug becomes your new companion, and goes everywhere you do. The clever computer links to your own web page, which acts as a log of calories, exercise and targets, so you can work with facts rather than feelings in your quest to get fit.
The Power Plate is an impressive bit of kit. At first glance it looks like any other scary gym machine, but step on it and you soon realise it's not. The platform sends out some serious vibrations and, once you get used to the zing, acts as a base for you to work out on.
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Power Plate has been going down a storm in the city - I have overheard several mentions of this whizzy machine on my travels - and most people seem to be bowled over by its maximum effect but minimum effort. Power Plate manages to contract your muscles 30 times a second, meaning you get the equivalent of an hour and a half in the gym for every 30 minutes exercising on it. And best of all, Movers & Shapers recommends just two half-hour sessions a week in its regime.
The speedy Power Plate has attracted some celebrity fans too. North London's Jonathan Ross admits to being "hooked" on his vibrating workouts, and Kylie Minogue and Claudia Schiffer have both gushed about its brilliance.
Power Plate's good vibrations work from within. Its constant movement never allows your muscles to slacken off, while you remain remarkably composed and pristine.
"The Power Plate can work you hard," says Stanmore's studio manager Sadie Crannis. "You get through 20 to 25 different exercises in the classes, but you aren't puffed out and red like at the gym. You are warm, and definitely worked out, but you can freshen up and go straight back to work."
Sadie tells me Stanmore's members range from 16 to 70 years old, and the Movers & Shapers combination is flexible enough to work for all of them.
"It really is for everybody, whether they are looking to lose weight, strengthen muscles or recover from a back injury," she says.
"We are trying to increase people's overall activity and change their lifestyle, but make them realise that it doesn't need to be difficult."
Movers & Shapers is located at 15 Church Road, Stanmore, Middlesex, HA7 4AR. Call 020 8954 9554 for more information.
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