There are so many different methods for getting your sweat on today. Fortunately, if you start a search online, you can find some of the coolest workouts that are available today, which will hopefully inspire you to try something new.
Whether your choice of exercise involves a long, meditation session alone, or a sweaty, intense workout with a huge crowd of people, there are options for every type of athlete. So, what are you waiting for? Get moving!
Parkour
Parkour is an intense form of training that uses obstacles, techniques, and movements that were developed by the military for use in basic training.
The aim is to move through the course as fast as possible, using a series of jumps, dives, rolls, and other bodily movements that are designed to propel you through a space littered with complicated obstacles.
While you can design your own parkour course using the urban environment around you, there are some gyms that you can visit that have specially designed parkour courses build specifically for training purposes. There, you can practice the moves that are common to parkour like vaulting, precision jumps, and arm jumps.
Ninja Warrior
If you’ve ever watched the program American Ninja Warrior, or the Japanese original called Sasuke, you may have dreamed about the prospect of one day being able to accomplish the feats that the on-screen ninjas perform with ease.
Luckily for you, there are tons of ninja training gyms that have popped up around the country, inspired by the success of the TV show. The workouts at these training gyms will outline what specific type of strength is needed to complete some of the more rigorous elements of the course, such as Arm Rings or the Warped Wall.
Slacklining
If you spent your childhood dreaming of joining the circus, then slacklining might be the ideal workout for you.
To use a slackline, you’ll need to visit a circus gym, or practice outside where you can use two tall trees as anchors. After that, all you’ll need is a length of flat webbing. It’s common to see this being practiced in parks during the summer months. Once you learn how to walk across the slackline, it’s incredibly addicting – and it’s an excellent workout.
Slacklining tests your balance, and your core strength. Once you’re proficient in slacklining, you can learn how to do tricks like jumps and bounces, or even perform carefully balanced yoga poses on your slackline.
Beyography
Beyography is a popular dance class and workout that takes the best of Beyoncé’s choreography and kicks it up a notch, turning it into an intense physical fitness class. Depending on your area, gyms may be offering something different, but if you live in a major city, chances are you’ll have multiple options if you want to strut your stuff to a Beyoncé song.
Many of these Queen B inspired classes encourage you to wear your hottest gym clothes to class, along with either heels or wedge sneakers. And make sure to wear your hair down – you don’t want to miss out on any opportunities for hair flipping.
Zumba
One of the most popular workouts from the last 20 years is Zumba, created by a Colombian choreographer, Alberto Perez, in the 1990s.
Zumba is a mixture of dance and aerobics set to music; it took the principles of Jazzercise and brought them to a new generation. The choreography is inspired by soca, samba, mambo, merengue, and hip-hop dance moves, and the classes are so fun that you’ll hardly even notice the time passing.
Most gyms in America have a Zumba class, or if you’re on the shy side, you can buy your own Zumba workout videos to practice at home.
Kickboxing
Another great fitness trend that mixes up cardio work with kicking, punching, and other self-defence techniques is kickboxing. It originated in Japan in the 1960s, and since then is considered a hybrid form of martial arts that you can practice casually, or you can compete for titles in different associations.
Bouts that are organized by different organizations have different rules, but generally you’ll be defending the upper half of your body from punches and high kicks. Someone wins when there’s a knockout, or a submission. If you’re not interested in full contact kickboxing, you can practice on bags at a kickboxing gym – it’s a high intensity workout that strengthens your arms, legs, and back.
Pole dancing
For those who are able to check their judgement at the door, pole dancing can be a fun and effective full body workout. If you sign up for a pole dancing class, you’ll learn how to twist, twirl, and hang upside down from a pole, while getting a killer upper-body workout in the process.
Pole dancing also improves your balance, coordination, and core strength. Many people also feel like pole dancing gives them a better appreciation of their bodies and encourages positive thinking.
Animal Flow
Animal Flow is a newer fitness program that combines ground-based movement with body weight exercises, which creates a challenging workout designed to improve your mobility and strengthen your muscles. It’s great for people that are already adept athletes but are looking to harness their strength to improve their agility and flexibility. The exercises used in the class are designed by the instructors to mimic different animal movements, and eventually these poses and movements flow together, following either a choreographed or freestyle sequence.
CrossFit
While the CrossFit craze has died out a little, perhaps due to the warnings about its long-term risks, it’s still an option people talk about. The fitness regimen created in 2000 incorporates elements of weightlifting, gymnastics, calisthenics, and high-intensity interval training. There are over 13,000 branded CrossFit gyms across the world, and they’re intense places to train.
A workout may start with a warm up activity, followed by a skill development section, which leads into the high-intensity WODs (Workout of the Day) – a competition that helps with performance and to track individual progress.
Barre
If you’re a former child or pre-teen ballerina, we’ve discovered the best workout that will bring back your inner dancer. Barre workouts have become more and more popular over the last few years, after the first dedicated Barre studios opened in the early 2000s.
This workout involves exercises taken from ballet, yoga, and Pilates that are designed to tone and strengthen specific muscles groups in isolation.
These exercises are done either using the barre, or a mat. It’s a great workout if you’re looking for something that will both strengthen and tone muscles and give you balletic balance and flexibility.
Capoeira
This Afro-Brazilian martial art is a great workout if you’re looking for something that will build strength, stamina, and rhythm at the same time. Capoeira is based on a 16th century fighting technique practiced by escaped slaves in Brazil – it was their way of fighting off Portuguese soldiers.
Now, the movements of the martial art are often practiced with rhythmic musical accompaniment in a circle known as a roda – this is where many amateur capoeiristas are given the chance to practice their skills.
Many cities have capoeira gyms, or you can sign up for a workshop given by one of the many traveling capoeira masters.
SoulCycle
Another intense and fun option for exercise classes is SoulCycle – a fitness gym that was founded in 2006. This type of gym offers indoor cycling combined with simultaneous upper body exercises on a custom-built stationary bicycle.
Usually, their classes (which cost upwards of $25 per session) are run by an enthusiastic instructor who guides you through the movements while offering peppy, motivational encouragement shouted over the loud, thumping music.
SoulCycle might be for you if you already have some experience biking, either on a road bike or with the indoor stationary version.