It used to be that when people talked about fitness classes at their gym, they referred exclusively to aerobics classes. Whether the aerobics classes included low or high impact was irrelevant, it was the fact that an assumption was made. Now when people talk about fitness classes, the options seem almost unending.
A quick scan of the fitness classes available at top health clubs is almost dizzying - instead of just aerobics, you can find Low Impact Aerobics, Cardio Sculpt, Cardio Stretch, and that's before you even start on the step classes - how about Power Step, Pro Step, Step Challenge, Dance Step, Boot Camp Step, Ultimate Step or Interval Step?
Fancy something a bit slower - yoga maybe? Look around and you'll find Ashtanga, Kundalini, Dynamic Yoga, Gentle Yoga, Iyengar, Sivananda, Iron Yoga, and Hatha Yoga. Pilates has moved on to offer a variety of classes, including various combinations of Pilates and yoga.
Martial arts based offerings include Tai Chi, Tae-Bo, Thai Boxing, or even the Brazilian dance/fight sport of Capoeira. The blood and sweat of boxing has given us Boxercise, Kick Boxing, Box Fit, Boxing Circuit, Cardio Kick, Boxing Challenge, Kickboxing, and Plyo/Box. There are stationary bike workouts such as Spin and Aero-biking, and as many dance options as there are dance styles - Salsa, Hip Hop, Cardio Jazz, Latin Groove, Cardio Dance, Copacabana are just a few of those available.
Amongst all these new options, it's nice to see that you can still opt for some more traditional fare - stretching and circuits still pack them in, as do body specific workouts such as Legs, Bums, and Tums, or Core training.
And when the weather turns hot you can always head to the pool - not just for a swim, but also for something a little more exotic. How does Aquacise, Aqua Swing, Aqua Step, Aqua Fit, Aqua Boot Camp, or even Aqua Tai Chi sound?
