Ditching the StairMaster

When it comes to fitness, we pretty much have it made right here on campus. But what about those of us who hate the idea of running on the treadmill for an hour? We get it — so we found five unusual workouts that will get you moving. Sometimes all it takes is a new approach, a few friends, and a little bit of a challenge.

HOT YOGA
at Vibe Yoga Studio
1705 N. College Avenue
$15 per class, $49 for unlimited one month membership

Have you ever read celebrity interviews in which the stars reveal — gasp — that they hate working out? They’re lying. Really. In fact, many of them can credit their hard bodies to years of trendy hot yoga sessions.
We know what you’re thinking: Doesn’t everyone get hot when they do yoga? Maybe, but “hot yoga” is different. Instead of going through tricky poses in a regular studio, you stretch, tone, and
sweat for 90 minutes in a room that’s set to 105 degrees Fahrenheit and 40 percent humidity. It’s like exercising in a sauna.
Any form of yoga is good for the mind — it forces you to meditate and breathe
deeply — and many of the poses, like the plank, sculpt muscles all over your body. But hot yoga takes it to a whole new level. A warm body burns more fat, so you can shed anywhere from 500 to 1000 calories in a single hot session. This leads to weight loss and eventually a faster metabolism, lower blood pressure, and reduced anxiety.
“I think hot yoga is so popular because it’s challenging,” Vibe studio manager Erin Thomas says. “I think that’s the biggest draw. The sweat detoxes the body and helps you get into the postures throughout the class. You’re kind of releasing all the day’s work and all the stuff we take into our bodies.”

CROSSFIT
at CrossFit Bloomington
3903 S. Walnut Street
Student price: $75 for one month

There’s a reason army rangers, marines, and martial artists are all in such great shape: They do CrossFit.
CrossFit is a strength and conditioning program that, unlike a regular gym routine, emphasizes constantly changing activities that are performed at high levels of intensity. It’s the opposite philosophy of running three miles on a treadmill every single day. Each CrossFit training session is different from the last to target every part of the body and keep your muscles active. CrossFit also stresses that exercise should not be a solo endeavor. Working out with friends or like-minded individuals is both motivating and competitive.
Some of the moves you can expect from a CrossFit class include sprinting, flipping tires, rowing, climbing rope, pull-ups, and box jumps ­— it really is like boot camp.
And if a busy schedule is what’s keeping you out of the gym, CrossFit may be the answer. Sessions are typically very short (we’re talking 30 minutes), but they require you to give it everything you’ve got.
“There’s the group support, and the movements are about the entire body,” owner and manager of CrossFit Bloomington Geoff Pitluck says. “It’s not routine. If people are having a hard day at work, they show up and start working out with the group, and the music is up, and they’re having a blast.”


BOULDERING
at Eigenmann Hall
1900 E. 10th Street
$5 per day, $55 annual membership

Since the IU Outdoor Adventures program moved to Eigenmann, students can use the residence hall’s rock walls for recreational purposes, including bouldering. Bouldering is a style of rock climbing that emphasizes strength building, problem solving, and dynamics. Climbers do not use a rope and generally focus on short sequences to maximize power.
At the IUOA rock-climbing wall, students can sign up to become bouldering “route setters” and create the paths others follow during a typical session.
“It’s more self motivated,” IUOA trip leader Sam Wright says. “You’re challenging yourself to do harder and harder things and to get stronger and think more creatively.”

OBSTACLE RUNS
If you’re wondering why that ridiculously in-shape Facebook friend of yours is caked in mud in his profile picture, he probably just competed in a Tough Mudder event. Tough Mudder, designed by British Special Forces, is just one of the many types of endurance runs that focus on getting down and dirty.
Though there are currently no Tough Mudder runs scheduled around the Bloomington area, a similar race, called the MudMan Indiana 4, is coming to Muncie Oct. 5. It’s a five kilometer course full of mud and obstacles and will have you going through a S.W.A.T. Team training course and other obstacles testing your physical and mental toughness. Registration costs $45.

POLE DANCING
at Indy Pole Fitness
324 W. Main Street No. 201, Greenwood, Ind., 46142
$20 per class, $70 for four class package

Pole dancing may bring to mind images of cheap lingerie and neon lights, but the popular exercise technique is much more than plastic heels and nightclubs.
Contrary to the “stripper” stigma, pole dancing studios emphasize the beauty and strength of pole dancing. It’s an aesthetic dance as well as a body-sculpting exercise.
Pole dancing is high intensity during the climbs, spins, and floor maneuvers, but after those bursts of energy, your heart rate decreases as you rest.
This kind of interval training burns more fat and calories than standard cardiovascular activities like running, and tones the muscles in the thighs, butt, arms, back, and shoulders. Pole dancing has mental benefits as well: Women report feeling sexier each time they learn a new move, like the “Fireman Spin.”
“It helps a woman get into her inner diva and her self-confidence,” Joni Whiteis, owner of Indy Pole Fitness, said. “It soars. It’s a physical transformation as well as an emotional transformation.”


SOURCE Inside magazine’s “The Sweat Issue” Spring 2013