Add Fun to Your Workout

New Trends in Exercise

Bored with plodding along on the treadmill?
Plagued by thoughts that you should do sit-ups more often?

If exercise seems like an unpleasant chore you’d rather avoid, it’s time to find something new. You need a workout so fun and engaging that you forget you’re exercising. Open your mind and body to the possibilities.

Off Solid Ground

To shake up your workout, step onto a balance device, such as a wobble board. Wobble boards are platforms made of hard material, such as wood. A small half-dome is attached underneath. Your mission is to learn to balance on the board while you exercise.

Many trainers like these devices because they force us to move in new ways. “It’s good to challenge clients with movements besides the traditional forward-and-back or up-and-down types of movements,” says exercise physiologist Michael Bracko, Ed.D., F.A.C.S.M., a spokesperson for the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM).

Getting started.

With both hands placed against a wall or gripping a chair, stand on the wobble board or balance cushion. Once you feel stable, explore the motion of the device with your feet. Rock back and forth and side to side. Rotate the board or cushion in circles, in both directions. Then practice with one hand until you don’t need to hold on for support.

From there, try exercises you already know, such as squats, on the balance device. For an extra challenge, raise the height of an adjustable wobble board so that it’s even more unsteady.

Dance, Dance, Dance

Grooving to your favorite music isn’t just for nightclubs anymore. Cardiovascular workouts based on dances from salsa to hip-hop are popping up everywhere.

“This is a fantastic, nontraditional type of exercise that appeals to many, many people,” says Bracko. “If you move your muscles, you’re going to get physical and psychological benefit.”

Getting started.

Check out the roster of dance classes at your local health club. Or if you prefer to exercise at home, try renting a video or DVD. It’s a good idea to look for a video or class that starts simply.

Also, listen to your body. “Don’t take your body into a range of motion that you’re not accustomed to until you’ve been doing a program for several weeks, if not months,” advises Leigh Crews, a fitness instcuctor and ACSM spokesperson.

Bikram Heats Up Yoga

If you want a workout for your mind and spirit as well as your body, Bikram Choudhury says he’s got what you seek. He developed Bikram yoga. It’s a vigorous sequence of 26 Hatha yoga postures, or asanas, and two breathing exercises, or pranayama. Devotees perform the routine for 90 minutes in a room heated to 105 degrees — hence the nickname hot yoga.

“In yoga, you’re strengthening muscles as you lengthen them. So it increases range of motion and strength at the same time, a really important benefit,” says Crews.

Make no mistake — Bikram is not for the faint of heart or body. “It’s very vigorous,” says Crews, “probably not the best beginner workout.”

Getting started.

Choudhury’s book walks readers through the asanas and pranayama in detail. But “there’s no substitute for going to a Bikram studio and working with one of our certified teachers,” he writes.

Keep in mind that the high heat requires extra care. Be sure to drink plenty of water before and during class. And if you ever become dizzy or nauseated, back off.

If you have any acute or chronic health conditions, or you use prescription medications, it’s especially important to talk with your doctor before you try Bikram yoga.

Try It — You Might Like It

If you’ve grown weary of your workout or been sitting on the sidelines because you can’t muster the enthusiasm to even start, now’s the time to try a new exercise. “Experiment with whatever you think you might be interested in,” says fitness instructor Leigh Crews. “You may be surprised by what resonates with you.”

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