Radical Fitness® has developed the most innovative and revolutionary concept in group fitness training: the IMF®. All of our training programs are based on this evolved concept that is revolutionising Group Fitness all over the world.

The IMF® is based on a pre-edited musical format and is by definition a group fitness training system designed according to human physiology and learning patterns and with different levels of complexity and intensity required for gyms and their members.

It aims to offer instructors an intelligent work platform that allows them to easily adapt their classes to the different levels of complexity and intensity required for their class participants.

The IMF® is the last link in the evolutionary chain of fitness, emerging as an ideal balance between the work involved with freestyle planning and the rigid structure of pre-choreographed classes developed during the last 20 years.

 

A LITTLE HISTORY...

Free Style was associated with the 80’s, with which instructors developed their classes with ABSOLUTE FREEDOM and little training. This way of instructing, although it allowed for creativity, the class was left to experience the knowledge of the instructor for whom many times their experience or training did not reach the required levels of education for an effective and safe class.

Next came the 90’s, with the experience of Musical Interpretation. Instructors began to then understand the intimate relationship between the movement of the music and the feeling and emotion that it transmitted. The concept of pre-choreography was then popularised. In fact, the original idea of pre-choreography was born in the USA 20 years earlier through 'Jazzercise', a system based on pre-choreographed dance work.

With pre-choreography the music interpretation and the quality of the class is subjectively controlled, but this format is ABSOLUTELY RIGID with regards to the adaptation and planning for the class. The instructors who are trained in this system do not receive further training or have adaptability knowledge since they are not able to make any changes in the choreographies that they must learn by heart. Obviously the disadvantages of rigid pre-choreographed music is the fact that the instructor cannot adapt the class to suit the participants and the different individual fitness levels

ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES

OF FREE STYLE AND PRE - CHOREOGRAPHY

FREE STYLE

BENEFITS

Creativity and adaptability
(adaptability, if there is knowledge and training)


PROBLEMS

The instructors use their own structure and knowledge to create the classes.

In general, classes are IMPROVISED at the last moment. They have no continuity and are based on little or no content or foundation.

Playlist uses songs of continuous beats without interpretation of the music.

Little or no training of physiology, biomechanics and misuse of energy systems. It is impossible to regulate the intensity of anaerobic work without an intelligent musical format.

Little idea of adaptation of training.

Often classes are taught with too much complexity and intensity.

Injuries can often result.

Lack of musical motivation and interpretation of music.

Little or no instruction and cueing.

Lack of leadership.

Misuse of teaching methods.

Choreographic objectives don’t relate to the current fitness goals.

PRE - CHOREOGRAPHY

BENEFITS

Repetition, continuity of class choreography.
On going consistency.
Structured musical interpretation and motivation.
Defined structure.


PROBLEMS

The instructor COPIES the choreography and has no knowledge of the physiological foundation, biomechanics and systematisation of the training program.

Although instructors should not change the choreography, they change it anyway without having the knowledge to make those changes.

The class CANNOT BE ADAPTED to suit the different members and participants fitness levels.

Violation of a fundamental principle in training, INDIVIDUALITY or GROUP PROFILE.

Possibly copying a badly created class.

 

THE SOLUTION:
IMF!

Radical Fitness®, has found a new solution that balances successfully the absolute freedom of free style and the rigidity of pre-choreography:
The IMF® - Intelligent Music Format

The IMF® contains some rigid components, such as the structure of the class which effectively and safely regulates the training curve and the workload of each session. Thus maintaining at the same time a suitable musical contrast that promotes motivation. The internal structures within the song are also rigid, designed to target the different physiological thresholds and progressions of teaching.

But the IMF® also contains flexible components within the musical format, which grant the instructor the possibility of creating different options within the segments that make up each
song, as well as the regulation of intensity levels and difficulty of each of them.
This comprehensive planning system has been created with……

PHYSIOLOGY

Through blocks of predetermined duration in seconds that regulate the volume and / or repetitions of the assigned exercises, in order to determine the thresholds of the different energy systems used within the class.

TEACHING

Each music block provides a time segment (x seconds) that allows the instructor to select the different teaching methods required to teach each exercise.


INTERPRETATION OF MUSIC

Each segment has assigned its own musical personality in order to interpret the intensity, dynamics, special effects and emotion suggested by each melody.

LEVELS OF COMPLEXITY AND INTENSITY

Teaches and enables the instructor to select the appropriate exercises at the level of each group, thus achieving an effective and above all safe training session.

The IMF® has been designed and planned with the objective that instructors are able to plan and
structure classes and adapt them successfully to the different levels required in group fitness classes by managing a pre-edited musical base in an intelligent way.