Get The Skinny On America’s Newest Workouts
Exercise is not much fun, pounding the pavement in the hope that you will lose a few pounds, but working out doesn’t have to be boring. The latest fitness trends from across the pond show will make sure that you maximise the effort you put into getting a gym honed body while making it both challenging and fun enough for you to forget that you are actually working out.
Here are five of the hottest fitness trends from home of the hard body, the USA:
Yoga Booty Ballet
With Black Swan being such a big hit at the cinema it was only a matter of time before ballet was ‘made-over’ for those disciplined women of Hollywood. Yoga Booty Ballet is a combination of meditation, cardiovascular dance, ballet, Kundalini and hatha yoga. It was created by US fitness experts Gillian Marloth and Teigh McDonough and is a complete workout for body and mind helping you lose weight, build muscles, and improve self-confidence. It is already a hit with celebrities such as Sarah Michelle Gellar, Tori Spelling and Carrie-Anne Moss. and while it is not available in gyms here yet, you can get the DVD.
Aerial Yoga
Having recently seen Cirque du Soleil, an aerial yoga workout is the perfect class for me. You perform poses on hanging hammock silks which sculpts your arms, shoulders and tummy without you even realising you are doing a workout. You will be so focused on wrapping yourself around trapezes, ropes, hammocks, and silksyou won’t notice until afterward that every muscle in your body is aching! Both Mariah Carey and Pink have used these on their tour and there are a now few of these classes popping up around the UK and more are sure to be available soon.
TRX Suspension Training
Developed by US Navy SEAL Randy Hetrick, and his SEAL teammates searching for a way to stay in peak condition while stashed away on missions, the portable nylon straps can be attached to a door frame, tree or pull-up bar for a portable workout that has you using your own body weight for resistance. Celebs such as Gwen Stefani, Ben Affleck and Toby Maguire have been using it to get in shape. If buying your own straps and attaching them to doors and trees seems too much like hard work, check out the classes at Virgin Active gyms.
ViPR
Standing for Vitality, Performance, Reconditioning, the ViPR (pronounced viper) looks like a hollow plastic tube and you may wonder how this humble piece of equipment will transform your body. Well it is claimed that it works multiple muscles in your body at the same time. It was developed by fitness expert and trainer Michol Dalcourt it uses integrated/triplane loaded movement for whole body training. It is now available in the UK at David Lloyd and Virgin Active gyms.
Burlesque Workout
If pole-dancing classes are just a little too downmarket for you why not try a burlesque workout. Burlesque is the risqué style of theatrical and these classes will not only have you wiggling your hips and playing seductively with large feathered fans but will also give your body a good workout. The Cheek of It run classes around London, including at Pineapple Dance Studios, and will have you feeling like Dita Von Teese in no time!
