I’m about to launch into my first Friskis and Svettis class when I ask instructor Christina Engebretsen what the benefits of the Swedish exercise programme are.
Christina looks at me, nonplussed.
“Well, just look at me,” she answers, as if I’ve asked the world’s stupidest question.
She has a point.
At 63, Christina has physique of an MMA fighter. She and her outstanding biceps are a walking advert for Friskis and Svettis, which translates as Healthy and Sweaty and has been a staple of Scandinavian life since it was invented in 1978.
Classes are run by the not-for-profit organisation also called Friskis and Svettis that has more than half a million members in Sweden – not bad for a country of just over 10 million.
An entirely-volunteer army of instructors helm gym sessions that are probably best described as a mix of aerobics, dancing, a touch of yoga, a slice of Jazzercise and – as I later learn – a sea-shanty version of Rockstar, the 2005 song by Canadian band Nickelback.
The Aberdeen connection to Friskis and Svettis
But while the Friskis and Svettis logo is as well-known as Coca-Cola’s in Norway, Sweden and Denmark, it hasn’t travelled much beyond Scandinavia.
Curiously, however, it did make it to Aberdeen.
Back in 1983, a Swedish expat in the city, Gunilla Smith, started The Swedish Scottish Exercise Association.
Gunilla was one of the first Friskis and Svettis exercise leaders in Sweden and wasn’t about to let a move to Scotland stop her from working out.
She was also good friends with Johan Holmsäter, who founded the organisation in Sweden.
Johan even visited Aberdeen in 1989 to meet the Friskis & Svettis community that Gunilla had built in the city.
Gunilla still lives in Aberdeen, though she is no longer part of the group. But her legacy lives on. The Granite City has the only Friskis & Svettis branch in the whole of the UK.
Low-cost, pay-as-you-go exercise for everyone
“It is Aberdeen’s best kept exercise secret,” Pauline Westwood tells me on the phone a few days before I come to the class.
Pauline is the chair of Friskis Aberdeen and has been part of the community for years. Like many involved in the group, she is passionate about what Friskis and Svettis has done for her, and what it could do for more people in Aberdeen.
“An important part of the Friskis philosophy is to make exercise accessible,” she says. “Our classes are all low cost, drop in and pay as you go.
“Within each class all the moves are easy to follow and if you can’t quite get it at first, it doesn’t matter, just keep moving your feet and have fun.”
She’s so sure of its appeal that she invites me down to an open day the group is holding. A couple of Friskis and Svettis master instructors are coming in from Oslo and there’s more than enough space for me, Pauline says.
How could I say no?
Why music is at the centre of Friskis and Svettis
The session starts with everyone standing in a circle around Christina, who leads the class with the energy of a children’s TV presenter. She has us throwing our arms around and bouncing on the balls of our feet.
It’s standard warming up, but all done to music, which pumps out of a speaker in the corner.
Christina later tells me just how important the music is. “Music is the starting point,” she says.
She builds the whole programme around the songs, which range from up tempo dance numbers to Jim Croce’s Mad Bad Leroy Brown.
And she doesn’t just throw the sessions together.
All of the classes are moderated by Friskis instructors. Indeed, one of the reasons Christina is in Aberdeen is to help invigilate the classes of the local coaches.
On the floor and floundering at the back
Back in the Cults gym, we get down on the ground to do some yoga poses. I didn’t bring a mat so am a bit uncomfortable with my knees and elbows knocking against the hardwood floor.
But no matter, because we’re soon back on our feet and getting into the fun stuff.
Christina leads the way as the music kicks in and we copy her movements – a mix of soft shoe shuffling and good old jazz hands.
I’m having a blast, though I do feel like the one person at a Ceilidh who doesn’t know how to do the eightsome reel.
Everyone else is doing the moves flawlessly while I’m floundering near the back. But most of the steps are relatively simple and I soon get the hang of it.
Getting into the pirate swing of things
Especially when the music flicks to a sea-shanty version of Rockstar by Nickelback.
At first, it seems an incongruous choice. But when Christina starts stomping the ground and swinging her arms like a pirate, it all makes sense.
Soon we are clomping around the room like an amateur staging of the Pirates of Penzance. It’s all I can do not to shout out a few ‘Ahoy, Me Hearties!’ to my fellow buccaneers.
The clock on the wall shows the class is nearly finished. I’m certainly sweaty, but I’m ready for more.
One more time, Christina. Fire up the Nickelback!
Friskis Aberdeen holds a range of classes, including Viking Hiking, Core Flex and Multifys Circuits. Click here for a full list. Andy took part in Jympa Soft, which is a useful introductory session. Classes cost between £3 to £5 and a membership costs £20 a year, which entitles you to £1 off per class.
