Is 4 Weeks Enough for a Bacchanal Body?

With 4 weeks left in the run up to Notting Hill Carnival I know there are a handful of masqueraders who are hittin’ the cardio with a vengeance in a bid to be the hottest body on the road.

The Caribbean is a ‘bodyproud’ region so whether long and lean or short and curvy, women will be celebrated over the Bank Holiday Weekend. But that doesn’t stop them from wanting to look their absolute best for Carnival.

Here’s the deal though – 4 weeks is simply not enough time for a complete transformation.

4 weeks IS enough time to enhance your finer assets though. I caught up with two personal trainers who know fitness and Carnival inside and out to get the low down on how to prepare your pins for Notting Hill.

Fat loss specialist and kettlebell freak Gavin de Souza was frank about the possibility. ‘If you are thinking of losing a significant amount of weight, you should give yourself an adequate amount of time to achieve that goal. However, a fair amount can be achieved in 4 weeks’.

Gavin’s bootcamp is a sure fire way to send the fat cells packing. Held in Clapham Common on a Wednesday (7pm) and Saturday (10am), boot camps are designed to keep you moving and to keep the heart rate elevated.

Gavin offers 5 useful tips for getting ready for Notting Hill Carnival:

1. Set a realistic, specific goal of what you want to achieve.
2. Get you nutrition correct 90% of the time. Don’t make this complicated, simply cut back on dairy, wheat, gluten, sugar, caffeine, and ALCOHOL. Aim to eat 5-6 well balanced small meals per day.
3. Drink loads of water.
4. Get Moving. Fluffing around in the gym doesn’t count. Find a high impact activity you enjoy doing and get stuck in.
5. Find a support team. Who will be jumping with you on Carnival Day? Do they have similar fitness goals? If so, motivate and encourage each other – having a support network always helps you to stick to your goals.

Spin instructor, Julian James, stresses that stamina and endurance are mandatory, especially if you’re planning to hit the warm fetes that lead in to Chocolate Band early Sunday morning.

‘If you haven’t done so already, get down to your local gym and register,’ says James. ‘Focus on cardio and strengthening those legs for chippin’ on de road, but don’t go overboard – Carnival is fun and your preparation for it should be fun too. Classes like spin are designed to offer quality cardio exercise without boring you to tears’.

For those fortunate enough to live in South East London, Julian conducts his spin class every Tuesday (730pm), Thursday (730pm) and Sunday (1pm) at FitSpace Woolwich.

See ya on de road!