It’s 7.30am and I’m drenched. The floor below me is speckled with sweat, my towel is soaked and even my elbows feel like they’re perspiring. But I’m not out of breath or aching. Instead, I’m grinning like a goon, enjoying the banging beats and strobe lighting. No, I’m not at a morning rave; I’m halfway through a Versaclimber class at BXR City.

Versaclimber is a full-body workout that’s like a cross between a treadmill, spin and climbing class. The premise is simple: you’ve just got to step to the beat using a Versaclimber –  a vertical machine with two pedals, two handles and a little screen for telling you how hard you’re working and how many steps you’re taking per minute. 

You’ve got three levels: short, medium and long steps. The longer the step, the more effort you’ve got to put in. 

Like spin, the class is all about the track choices and moving to the music. In this class, however, your active rest and work sections are determined by the lights: when the room is dark, you can take a breather and do small steps but when the lights turn on or start to flash, you’ve got to extend your range and work harder.  

By the time I leave BXR after my 45-minute sweat fest, my Garmin has clocked well over 6,000 steps.

It’s low-impact but high-intensity

Perhaps the best thing about the workout, beyond the intense endorphin rush that inevitably kicks in after about 20 minutes, is the fact that it’s low-impact. I’m an injured runner dealing with tendinopathy in my knee; I can and do run, but I need to manage my load – and that means avoiding sprint sessions or very long runs. However, I still want to challenge my cardiovascular capacity so my fitness doesn’t drop off while I recover.

This class often has long intervals and sprint tracks, so you get both an aerobic and anaerobic workout that always feels challenging. Importantly, no matter how tough the session is, my knee never feels stiff or painful during or after.

BXR director Alex Nicholl explains that “unlike treadmill or spin classes, this workout is both low-impact and full-body, minimising unnecessary stress or trauma to your body”.  

“It’s easy on the joints so can be great for prehab and injury rehab. Your feet stay planted, eliminating any pounding on knees and joints, and that also prevents any erratic movement that could cause injury,” he continues.

Versaclimber improves VO2 max more than running

According to a clinical trial, published in the Medicine & Science In Sports & Exercise journal, Versaclimber workouts may make you fitter than treadmill or rowing workouts (over the same period of time).

In this study, researchers asked a number of female students to run on a treadmill, row on an erg and use a Versaclimber for 12 minutes. At the end of the test, the Versaclimber workout was found to have elicited the greatest VO2 max values – something researchers put down to the fact that it’s a whole-body, progressive workout. 

Your VO2 is the amount of volume of oxygen used during a workout, and the greater that volume, the stronger your cardio system is. As such, measuring VO2 max is said to be the gold standard indicator of cardiovascular fitness. The easiest way for non-athletes to measure it is on your fitness tracker, and the reasons to improve that reading are numerous. It’ll make you faster, more stress-resistant and boost your immunity to make everyday tasks, such as climbing stairs, easier.

It’s a cardio and strengthening workout

The machine itself has been developed  “to mimic the natural motion of climbing – allowing for a full-body cardio workout”, says Nicoll. That, he says, can help to reinforce better movement patterns. 

But it’s not just an energy burner: Versaclimber is also fantastic for strengthening muscles. You’ve got to engage the glutes to push down, your biceps get a good workout when using the underhand grip and your back and shoulder muscles all have to work to pull you back up to a neutral position. And you can increase the resistance on the machine if you want more of a strength session. 

Don’t let the dark room and loud music fool you – Versaclimber is really easy to get to grips with. Saying that, Nicoll recommends taking your first class a bit easier than you might be tempted to: “Take small steps to the beat. Don’t try to start with full-length strides or your heart rate will fly up and you’ll find yourself in the red zone and feeling fatigued quickly.”

During my first class, the instructor recommended going up to medium length and I found that just challenging enough. On my second session, however, I upped the ante and tried to stay between medium and long strides during each working interval. 

Having just done my fourth class, I’m amazed at how quickly my fitness and resilience have increased – I may be drenched in sweat but I’m not breathless or nervous about maintaining long strides for a 90-second stretch.

“The trick is to relax on the machine and use the rhythm of the music to step in time,” Nicoll says. Another handy tip is to keep your body as close to the machine as possible as that reduces the effort needed to step. 

Images: Getty