We are all tired of going to the gym; the mindless running on the treadmill, following the same routine every day, attending slow paced instructed classes. After a while we get bored and some of us take a two-month break because we just can’t find the motivation to do that uninteresting workout all over again. We all wish working out could be more enjoyable, entertaining, and rewarding. That’s why new work-out crazes are popping up everywhere and introducing new methods that may inspire us. Many of these practices encourage new members and their purpose is not only to get fit but to love doing it. Here are a few extremely popular new crazes that you might want to give a try:
SoulCycle
If you look at your nearest People magazine, you’ll most likely find that the paparazzi snapped a picture of a sweaty super-star leaving their local SoulCycle. If you can get a body like Demi Lovato, David Beckham, Selena Gomez, and Alessandra Ambrosio, what more could you want from a workout? Yes, sadly, Soulcycle is all about biking which is well-known for simply kicking your ass, but that’s why people are doing it. It’s described on their website as not only a 45-minute biking class with high-intensity cardio, strength training, and rhythm-based choreography, it is said to be also a “powerful mind-body experience.” It promises a candlelit studio, incredible music, and a world-class trainer. So basically what you’re getting is an extremely glorified biking class for the rich and famous, but hey, if music, setting, and running into someone famous gets you to the gym, then go for it. I know the right setting and the right music are pertinent to my success at the gym.
Orangetheory
Another fitness craze is high-intensity interval training. Orangetheory prides itself on being “backed by science” and emphasizes on high-intensity workouts alternating from a treadmill, an indoor rowing machine, and the weight room. You are lead by an instructor and basically alternate between all of these activities. Their “theory” is that their workouts are designed to keep your heart rate in a target heart zone that maximizes metabolism and energy. They have a high tech facility where a large screen above the treadmills displays information such as your name, heart rate, calories burned, and “points."
Each heart rate level is represented by different colors (orange being that level that you really want to be in to reach your highest fat/calorie burn) and you get a point for every minute you spend in the orange or red zone (red is super high intensity). The orange zone is 85% of your max heart rate and can help you burn calories up to 36 hours after the workout. Their facility is filled with orange lights and machines to help emphasize what they stand for. Even if you stay in the green, or base zone, for most of the time, you’re motivated to try your hardest and get a great workout in.
Pure Barre
A franchise that has exploded in popularity but is still on the rise, Pure Barre is a total body workout that uses the ballet bar to perform small movements that burn fat and sculpt muscles. It concentrates on hips, thighs, abs, and arms but is a very low impact with no bouncing or jumping, only isometric movements. They also focus on stretching and a mindset that’s much like yoga or meditation, blocking out life with a clear mind. Don’t let this fool you, Pure Barre will still raise your heart rate depending on how hard you are working, and they promise that their workout will help burn fat in no time. They also encourage that Pure Barre is a place of community where women are inspired and empowered.
Hot yoga
An activity that has become essential to many is hot yoga. This activity isn’t found at a specific location but can be found at almost any local yoga studio. When you enter a hot yoga studio, you’re greeted with sauna-like heat. Heat often leads to natural relaxation of the body and the mind, and releases sweat and toxins as well as accelerates the heart rate. Depending on the kind of hot yoga you are doing, stretching, cardio and strengthening of the muscles are involved in different yoga poses and movements.
The combination of sweat, muscle, cardio, stretching, and a relaxing break at the end make for an absolutely perfect workout. The instructor often uses gentle words, dimmed lights, and calming music. The last ten minutes are called Shavasana which is also called the “corpse pose” where you basically lay down and take a nap and forget about everything else in the world and never want it to end. If anything, try hot yoga for that part.
Boxing
Boxing is a fantastic full body workout. There are many different ways to box, but a popular boxing gym is starting to pop up all over, it’s called 9 rounds. 9 rounds is a small room with a circuit of punching bags where you hit stuff and do sit-ups and pushups and get no instruction. It’s an extremely hard workout, and it’s great if you want to sweat a lot, but doesn’t take a lot of progression or focus. This wasn’t the type of boxing I wanted to do, so I went to a local boxing gym and got a private trainer. Starting out with 10 minutes of jump roping helps agility and cardio.
After learning how to step, how to punch, and how to dodge punches, I can spar with a trainer, use bags, and shadow box. All of these things use upper and lower body strength, intense cardio, and an overall great workout.
