Review: The Prama class at Fairmont – The Palm is a playful way to work out

Fairmont - The Palm has launched Prama by Pavigym circuit sessions that uses LED lights, sensors and sounds to make workouts interactive

Fairmont - The Palm has launched Prama classes that use LED lights, sensors and sounds to make workouts interactive. Courtesy Fairmont - The Palm

I wouldn’t call the Prama by Pavigym studio at Fairmont – The Palm a gym. It is more like a life-size board game with participants as the pieces that move in all directions for a high-intensity workout.

As part of a push to offer more wellness options, the hotel has launched a new workout programme that uses a fitness platform with LED lights, sensors, sounds and markings on the floor and wall to make it interactive. Grids and circles on the floor and blinking numbered lights on the wall guide participants into moving fast and in specific ways to provide a full-body workout.

Our session, which is part of 500 such circuits that can be programmed using this platform, begins in a dark studio with disco lights and an upbeat playlist. Participants start at a different stations and have to complete an exercise in 30 seconds before moving on to the next one.

The entire session is controlled by software that changes the tempo and sensors, and also tracks the effort of each participant. Each exercise is created to target different muscles. The bosu ball on which members have to balance themselves while using their hands and feet to touch markings around it works on strengthening the core. Forcing yourself to squat between tiny circles on the floor helps work the glutes and hamstrings. The quick-feet workout to get your heart rate up is done on a flashing numbered grid, while push ups are made fun with LED lights that you have to stomp on after you have completed your reps.

The finisher is a true test of reaction time. In arcade-gaming fashion, participants have to hit a wall board when the light on a number begins to flash. The entire 45-minute session helps improve speed, mobility, muscle memory and endurance.

The workout isn’t for people looking for a hardcore session since members can decide the pace of activity. But if you want to start a holiday on an energetic note, then Prama is a playful way to do it.​

• Parma by Pavigym classes cost Dh75. For a schedule, call 04 457 3330​.