Runners at the Bondi Barefoot Race (above) jog Bondi Beach outside Sydney, Australia. However, you don't have to confine your barefoot running to the sand. Try it across different terrain -- since you probably haven't before. Photo Credit Cameron Spencer/Getty Images Sport/Getty Images If you're dreading another tedious visit to the health club, going nowhere on the elliptical machine or treadmill, then maybe a change in your exercise routine is in order. After all, even the most enthusiastic gym-goers can get stuck in a rut if they don't change things up once in a while.
But there's no reason to quit working out just because you can't stomach another mind-numbing session of squats, pushups and lunges. Plenty of fresh training methods and fitness programs shape and tone while adding a new spark to your workout. And if you never had much enthusiasm for workouts in the first place, you just might find your attitude changing when you try one of these different fitness methods.
I tell people, 'If you leave sweaty and you had fun, then mission accomplished. There are no dance judges in class.'
Lawanda Brokenborough, owner of Aerobics Delivered, Atlanta
So you've signed up for your new fitness program. Everything is fresh and exciting. And now the challenge is to stick with it.
"The key to adherence is to set mini goals along the way," said Kathy Stevens, a board member for the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America, the world's largest fitness educator. "That could include tracking one's body fat and/or pant size. It could also be based on performance, such as the amount of pushups or situps you can complete in a minute."
Stevens says goal setting is key to staying excited about a workout because it reinforces your participation through positive results.
She also recommends partnering with someone and setting common goals.
"Typically, a person will be less likely to skip a workout if they know that someone else is counting on them being there," Stevens said.
She says people can also keep things fresh by cross-training their workouts. For example, she says, rather than taking three Zumba classes a week, try one Zumba, one TRX, and then run on the beach another day.
"Anything gets old if you do it too often. And muscles also need the cross stimulation to increase overall results and reduce overuse injuries," she said.
This device, consisting of adjustable straps with handles, uses your own bodyweight to get you into shape. It was created by a U.S. Navy Seal who wanted a way to keep fit while stationed in remote areas with no gyms available. As a result, this system weighs a very portable 2 lbs., allowing you to bring it with you and use it anywhere you go, even when traveling or on vacation.
You can attach the TRX suspension trainer to any fixed object, such as a closed door, and do more than 300 different leveraged bodyweight exercises. The workout not only helps tone your muscles, but also improves your balance and flexibility.
And it's very user friendly, says Jonathan Acosta, owner of Get Sexy San Antonio boot camps. He explains that you decide how much you want to leverage your body on the straps. And this will depend on how fit you are, because it's the leverage that determines the intensity of the workout. The more leverage, the more powerful the workout will be.
But for Acosta, perhaps the biggest appeal of the TRX is its ability to strengthen a person's core, those muscles closest to the spine.
"Core work on [the TRX] is 10 times better than anything else I can think of," he said.
Because a lot of the exercises are performed while you are suspended, with either one or two of your four extremities on the ground, you are forced to continuously use core muscles to maintain control and stability. This improves your range of motion, strength, flexibility, balance and overall general conditioning.
"Ditch the workout, join the party" is Zumba's slogan. And since 2001, when its founders created Zumba Fitness LLC, millions have done just that, dancing their calories away to Latin rhythms, such as salsa, meringue, mambo and cha-cha. Zumba is meant to be something different and to take the chore out of going to the gym.
Lawanda Brokenborough, owner of Aerobics Delivered in Atlanta, confirms that it certainly achieves this, saying the biggest appeal of Zumba is that it just doesn't feel like a workout.
"It feels like a dance party," she said.
The Zumba program also allows for freedom and originality for both instructors and class participants. For the instructors, Zumba Fitness encourages them to throw in a bit of their own favorite tunes when teaching a class. This music might be anything from hip-hop to belly-dancing music, says Brokenborough.
And for the class participants, the company encourages a no-worry policy. So don't be concerned if your hand-leg coordination isn't as good as a contestant's on a televised dance contest. Zumba classes are geared toward all dance abilities.
"I tell people, 'If you leave sweaty and you had fun, then mission accomplished," Brokenborough said. "There are no dance judges in class."
You can even take the party to the pool. Aqua Zumba is another type of class Zumba Fitness has designed. These classes provide a water-based workout that addresses both cardio and toning.
Put aside all the stereotypes you may have about pole dancing. Those who have dedicated themselves to pole fitness will tell you it's a challenging sport that provides a total-body workout.
"It's a super intense physical activity," said Lian Tal, co-owner of Body & Pole in New York. "It's not just good for your upper body and core. You're absolutely working every single muscle in your body."
While pole dancing may carry the stigma of being associated with exotic dancers, trainers such as Tal and those with the American Pole Fitness Association are working to increase awareness of pole fitness and change people's perception of it. These aren't simply classes for skimpily clad women to entertain onlookers, they're for seriously athletic people who want a challenging exercise.
Consider the pole a personal stretching assistant. For example, the pole shoulder stretch is good for keeping your chest and shoulders open and loose, says Susan Peach, creator of the Pole Fitness Series DVDs. Or you can strengthen your upper body and core by doing pole knee lifts, which is basically holding on to the pole and pulling your body off the ground, then lifting your knees upward.
Tal says that sometimes all that's needed is one visit to a pole fitness class for someone to better understand the concept that it does take work and effort to complete the exercise routines on the pole.
"It's amazing to see when people come in, how it changes their perception of it," she said, adding that participants will sweat and burn calories. Because everyone in the class is participating and working to complete their routines, there's no room for observers or people to be entertained.
Tal says the pole fitness classes will not only give you a good workout, but will boost your confidence as well.
Tal's partner and business co-owner, Kyra Johannesen, helped develop a training program for others who wish to lead pole fitness classes. The X-Pert Pole Fitness certification has earned accreditation from the Aerobics and Fitness Association of America as well as the American Council on Exercise.
If running has becoming too painful, especially for your feet, shed the shoes and try running with bare feet.
It may be more than just a liberating experience. Some, like Tamara Gerken of Atlanta, argue that it might be better for your feet, too. Although she acknowledges there's no scientific proof that running barefoot is either good or bad for you.
Gerken, president of the Barefoot Runners Society and editor of "The Barefoot Running Book: A Practical Guide to the Art and Science of Barefoot and Minimalist Shoe Running," says that she wouldn't be able to run long distances if she weren't barefoot due to Morton's neuroma, a painful nerve condition in the ball of the feet, between the toes. She says shoes were compressing the inflamed nerves and not allowing her toes to spread out naturally.
Barefoot runners also tend to hit the ground with their midfoot or forefoot, instead of their heels, Gerken says. Although the Barefoot Running Society says barefoot running may alleviate impact-related injuries, no concrete evidence has been published to support it.
Still, Gerken advocates barefoot running for all who want to try it.
"If their running has become stagnant, then this pumps new life into [it]," she said. "It's freeing and different."
The growing popularity of barefoot running has even led to a new market of minimalist footwear, with several companies making these stripped-down running shoes.
While Gerken stresses she's not anti-shoe, saying, "shoes have a place," she prefers to not wear even the minimalist footwear and run barefoot whenever possible.
Of course when the ground is frozen or burning hot from the summer sun, she says, some runners might then consider the minimalist approach for protection.
The effect of fire dancing is memorizing, not only for the person swinging and twirling the flaming objects, but also for spectators.
It's that fiery display of hand-eye coordination that captivated Tonya Kay, a professional dancer and actress, and inspired her to try fire dancing about a decade ago. Since then, she's been teaching and performing it across the country, including as a competitor on the television show "America's Got Talent." She was also among those who fire danced on the "Glee" 2010 Super Bowl segment to Katy Perry's "California Gurls."
Kay sings the praises of fire dancing, especially as an alternative and artistic form of exercise. Best of all, she says, she finds it to be very therapeutic.
"I'm pretty active, so meditating for health is boring, and I won't do it," she said.
Instead, she does fire dancing, which has a similarly calming effect, Kay says. She views it as "active meditation" and has described it as "yoga with flames."
"A lot of athletes will fall into meditation after participating in a repetitive motion," she said, saying that some runners achieve a tranquil state of mind in the middle of their run. The repetition, combined with the exertion and circular motions of fire dancing, often propels the participant into a trance.
There are different types of fire dancing, depending on the equipment being used. You can fire dance with hoops set on fire or with a staff that's been lit on one or both ends. Another choice is with poi, a pair of chains with burning wicking material at the ends.
Kay says Maori warriors -- indigenous people of New Zealand -- used poi as an ancient training exercise for battle. It helped them build strength in the arms and wrists so they could better fight in combat.
Fire dancing, especially with poi, also increases flexibility, improves coordination and gives the triceps, biceps and deltoids a healthy workout, according to Kay. It's not only good for the upper body and upper back, but for the leg muscles, too.
Kay says people who want to fire dance don't start handling fire immediately. They have to first attend classes to learn the exercise routines using the equipment without fire. They will also learn about fire safety and regulations. Then, depending on how fast they master the routines, they can begin doing the moves with the equipment set on fire.
She says it's natural for women to want to do a beautiful form of exercise, but that it's appealing to men as well because the handling and spinning of flames is often viewed as dangerous and cool.
"This exercise appeals to the people who want to make it an artistic expression," Kay said.
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