In line with the weather, staying fit and motivated when it comes to exercise begins to get a little dreary in the winter. Braving the cold to bleakly punch out a few kilometres on the treadmill often becomes more effort than it’s worth, and baggy oversized jumpers start looking like a very attractive clothing option.
But what if I was to tell you there’s a crop of new exercise trends popping up in Australia that are putting the fun back into fitness? From dancing in the dark to trampolining, we talk to the people behind some of the latest (and craziest) workouts to hit our shores that will have you heading off to the gym with a pep in your step.
No Lights No Lycra
What it is:
No lights No Lycra is one hour of dancing in the dark. The lights go off and a playlist with a variety of tunes spanning across a mixture of genres and decades plays while everyone dances along. There is no light, no lycra, no teacher, no steps to learn, no technique – just free movement. With the lights off, people can be free from worry about what others might be thinking of them.
Why it’s good:
You don’t have to worry about “getting it right” or compare your technique to anyone else in the class. You can just rock up and have fun.
Barre Body
What it is:
Barre Body is a fusion of yoga, pilates and ballet. Signature Barre Body, Barre Moves and Barre Tone classes are designed to tone your entire body, creating longer, leaner muscles. Ballet and Pilates exercises at the barre and on the mat tone your muscles, while complementary yoga postures lengthen and shape your muscles.
Why it’s good:
Students get visible results very quickly (generally in 10 classes over a three-to-four week period). It works the smaller, supportive muscles to create that long lean look and incorporate stretching to lengthen and shape the muscles (no bulk). It works in an interval training format, meaning results are quick and the metabolism is raised for hours after a class.
Scenic Cycle
What it is:
Not your typical spin class, a Scenic Cycle class sees visitors ride along famous cycling routes from across the globe that are projected on to two huge screens. Rides range from the snow-lined hill climbs through the French Alps, to the hot, dry landscapes of the Californian Coastline, to the wildlife and warm tropics of Samoa. Each ride is 45 minutes and involves different levels of intensity throughout the duration that match the terrain on the screens in front.
Why it’s good:
Who wouldn’t want to do a fun and extremely entertaining and intense workout while winding through the French Alps?
Skyfit
What it is:
Skyfit is structured 30-minute exercise classes that are conducted on an unstable environment (trampolines). The classes are created around the body’s key movement patterns – squat, lunge, push, pull, bend and twist. There are currently five different class types that all incorporate the use of the trampolines. We also add the use of equipment like battle ropes, dual-handle medicine balls, Bulgarian bags and suspension trainers to further increase the resistance and intensity of the workout.
Why it’s good:
Very few workouts incorporate the use of as many muscles within the body as a Skyfit class. This results in a more effective workout for our participants. More importantly than this, it’s a huge amount of fun, which is an element that is missing from most workout routines.
PILOXING®
What it is:
PILOXING is a program that blends the best of pilates, boxing and dance into a high-energy interval workout. PILOXING fitness incorporates formats such as interval and barefoot training to burn maximum calories and increase stamina. In addition to pilates and boxing movements, the exercise incorporates the use of weighted gloves, which add to the workout by toning the arms and maximising cardiovascular health.
Why it’s good:
PILOXING fitness uniquely blends the power, speed and agility of boxing with the targeted sculpting and flexibility of pilates to result in a muscle-toning, exhilarating workout. It’s been proven that with PILOXING you will see and feel significant results, both physically and mentally. Plus, it’s a lot of fun!
Physicore
What it is:
Physicore is a boutique fitness studio concept, offering zero-impact, high intensity 50-minute group classes. Physicore is performed on a state-of-the-art machine called a Megaformer, which is an evolution of the traditional pilates reformer. But don’t be fooled – this definitely isn’t pilates. Megaformer classes work the entire body, are designed to be intense and to work muscles to failure, the point when the shake and burn really sets in! Physicore has gone on to diversify its classes with the introduction of Kettlecore (which uses kettlebells) and will soon be expanding its offering even further to include TRX (suspension training).
Why it’s good:
All our classes are zero impact – meaning there’s no stress on the joints. The exercises are compound movements, utilising several muscle groups at once, from the large muscle groups down to small intrinsic muscles that often get overlooked.
Have you tried any of these exercises? How do you keep the fun in your fitness?
