HYPOXI ® – The Sustainable Lifestyle Change That You’ve Been Craving!

An Exercise Programme To Suit A Busy Lifestyle

Living in Hong Kong without a doubt makes following any kind of healthy eating regime that much more difficult. Life in the 852 is often un-planned and spontaneous, with many of us on the MTR home one minute and a drink in hand, smack-bang in the heart of Central the next. From those weekend brunches and summer junks, to eating out day-to-day, a self-confessed serial dieter like myself seriously struggles to stick to a diet plan for longer than a week. Then all self-control is out of the window and I’m an entire bag of jalapeno Cheetos down #regrets.

From soup diets that had me dreaming of additional wontons, to Atkins that drove me straight to Din Tai Fung – something had to give, and that was the word ‘diet’. A catalyst for all of those short-lived shed pounds, I needed to change not just my eating habits but to also introduce an exercise programme that would suite my busy lifestyle – while of course, achieving great and long lasting results. So girls, if you’re finding this all a little too familiar, listen up – HYPOXI® could be the sustainable lifestyle change that you’ve been craving.

Curated by Austrian Sports Scientist, Dr. Norbet Egger, HYPOXI®’s unique therapy pinpoints those pesky fat cells with poor blood supply. It ensures that you burn fat more rapidly in those troublesome areas of your body, unlike traditional exercise which only target areas with strong blood circulation like your muscles. Which, girls, is why most of us tend to find it more difficult to lose fat from certain areas than others, despite all of our efforts in restricting our food intake and taking on extensive training (I knew there was a reason!).

This is how the HYPOXI® method works: it focuses on drawing the blood supply away from our muscles and instead stimulating our fat cells (hurrah!) with light exercise that’s carried out in a specially designed HYPOXI® trainer. The trainer alternates between vacuum and compression in an enclosed chamber that’ll increase blood flow and target fat loss on the waist, stomach, hips, thighs and your bum – all in just 30 minutes!

I’ll be honest – fast results in 30 minutes, only three times a week, seemed too good to be true. To be able to exercise and still have half an hour of my lunch hour to spare seemed like a pretty great deal though… I was soon down for 12 sessions. And with a month’s worth of exercise in the diary, I was all set to look like Cara Delevingne come the beginning of February. I mean, I was way ahead of the game having canceled my eyebrow wax that week to be fair.

I turned up Monday morning with a spring in my step, a New Year and a new me ahead. My initial weight (I’m STILL blaming those Christmas mince-pies) and measurements were taken and I was ready to start my HYPOXI® training. For the first six sessions, you’re required to undergo a 20-minute compression massage. You might feel a little more scuba than sexy as you wiggle your way into a specially-designed vacuum wetsuit, but the experience is really relaxing as air bubbles are pumped through the suit and fat cells are stimulated. The massage is then followed by a further 30 minutes on the trainer where you are given the option of an upright or reclined enclosed bicycle and couple of celebrity magazines (the trashier the better!) to read while you’re pedalling away. I (begrudgingly) used this as an opportunity to catch up on some work emails, so if you really believe that you don’t have the time, think again – there’s no excuse! You do have to put in the hard yards though girls, the bike won’t pedal for you and you’ll need to keep your heart rate up in the fat-burning zone to ensure maximum results.

When you begin the programme, you’re supplied with a recommended eating plan to follow on the days that you’re training. You’ll need to eat two hours before and not eat for two hours after your sessions, with lots of lean meats and vegetables for dinner. But on your off days, you’re free to eat what you like (in moderation, ladies!), which allows you to maintain your busy social life and have your cake and eat it, too; deprivation isn’t the key here. So, several declined work-lunches and a couple of painful post-training hours of salivating over doughnut deliveries later, six sessions were up and my measurements were taken again. In just two weeks, it was extremely encouraging to see that I had lost two kilos and seven inches – two of which were off my stomach!

As my stomach has always been a problem area of mine, it was recommended to continue the rest of my sessions using the Vacunaut machine. With the same principles applied, the ante was upped and I upgraded to the treadmill, back in my diving gear and jogging lightly with the primary focus (and suction) on my stomach. Each programme is tailor-made to suit your individual needs and meet your personal goals – personally, I actually preferred this machine as three sessions later I was back in my ‘middle’ jeans. You know the ones.

By the end of January, I was still two kilos lighter and a whole 10 inches less. I have to be entirely honest and admit to a few sneaky boozy brunches and a glass of wine more than I should have, but despite my hiccups I achieved incredible results in such a short space of time. There’s less of me and more determination than ever to stick to a lifestyle where I can compromise and have oats for breakfast and not worry about indulging in one or two pieces of chocolate in the evening. Nothing is a quick fix girls, but if you find yourself panicking that summer is just around the corner, HYPOXI® can supply you with the tools to eat a little healthier and feel a little more confident in yourself as you slip into your bikini and jump off that junk.

HYPOXI® Studio Central, 8/F, EuBank Plaza, 9 Chiu Lung Street, Central, Hong Kong, 2537 6637, www.hypoxi.com.hk