- Catherine Maborukoje
- Health and Wellness
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These workouts aim to keep individuals engaged, motivated, and excited about their fitness journey by introducing novel exercises or techniques that differ from traditional workout routines.
Embarking on a fitness journey often conjures images of monotonous gym routines or tedious workouts that leave us counting down the minutes until we can finally hit the showers. But what if staying fit and healthy could be an exhilarating adventure, filled with innovative workouts that challenge both body and mind? In a world where creativity knows no bounds, fitness enthusiasts and beginners alike are discovering a treasure trove of exciting and unconventional workouts that redefine what it means to break a sweat.
Innovative workout is a type of exercise routine that incorporates new and creative approaches to fitness training, often focusing on unconventional methods or equipment to challenge the body in unique ways. These workouts aim to keep individuals engaged, motivated, and excited about their fitness journey by introducing novel exercises or techniques that differ from traditional workout routines.
From HIIT to Parkour, these seven innovative workouts promise to ignite the passion for fitness and revolutionize one’s approach to staying in shape.
- HIIT (High-Intensity Interval Training)
High-intensity interval training (HIIT) is a training protocol that involves alternating short periods of intense or explosive anaerobic brief recovery periods. It is characterized by exercises performed in repeated quick bursts at maximum or near-maximal effort, with periods of rest or low-intensity exercise. The anaerobic energy-releasing system is significantly recruited during HIIT, differentiating it from traditional aerobic (cardiovascular) activity. HIIT workouts typically last under 30 minutes, making them an efficient way to improve athletic capacity, conditioning, and glucose metabolism. These workouts can be adapted for different fitness levels and can be done with minimal equipment, making them an accessible and efficient way to improve fitness.
- Pilates Reformer
Pilates Reformer is a specialized piece of equipment designed by Joseph Pilates, the founder of Pilates. It is a bed-like frame with a flat platform called the carriage that rolls back and forth on wheels within the frame. The carriage is attached to one end of the reformer by a set of springs, which provide varying levels of resistance as the carriage is pushed or pulled along the frame. The reformer also features an adjustable bar called a footbar, which can be used by the feet or hands for various exercises.
The Pilates Reformer offers a unique and varied exercise environment, allowing for a wide range of movements that target the core muscles, including the abdominals, back, buttocks, and thighs. It is particularly effective at improving flexibility, strength, and balance, leading to overall improvements in daily life, such as better posture and graceful movement.
- Aerial Yoga
Aerial yoga is a unique form of yoga that combines traditional yoga postures with the use of silk fabrics or ropes suspended from above to aid practitioners in forming shapes and movements. This practice, also known as antigravity yoga, involves performing yoga poses while partially or fully supported by the silks, allowing for increased flexibility, stability, and balance and promoting alignment, making it a comprehensive and engaging exercise option.
Additionally, aerial yoga can help decompress the joints, reduce stress, enhance mental well-being, reduce the risk factors associated with heart disease, and provide a low to moderate-intensity workout that can burn calories and improve cardiovascular health.
- Boxing Fitness
Boxing fitness is a popular form of exercise that combines cardiovascular and strength training, offering numerous health benefits. It is also a form of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) workout that improves cardiovascular health, builds muscle, and burns calories, making it an effective way to lose weight, maintain a healthy body composition, and increase strength and endurance. Boxing fitness workouts often involve movement and footwork drills, punching drills on equipment like heavy bags, speed bags, and focus mitts, and other conditioning exercises such as jumping rope, calisthenics, and running. Boxing workouts can also help reduce stress and improve mental clarity, making them a great way to relieve stress and improve overall well-being.
- Barre Workouts
Barre workouts are a form of exercise that combines elements of ballet, Pilates, yoga, and strength training. They are designed to build strength, stability, and flexibility in the body, with an emphasis on building long, lean muscles and improving posture. Barre workouts often involve using a barre or other support, such as a chair, to perform small, precise movements that target specific muscle groups, particularly the core, glutes, and legs.
To get started with barre workouts, it is recommended to wear comfortable clothing and to bring a mat or towel for floor exercises. Many barre workouts can be done at home using body weight or light weights, making them a convenient and accessible option for those who cannot attend in-person classes. It is also important to listen to your body and to modify exercises as needed to avoid injury.
- Aquatic Exercise
Aquatic exercise is a form of physical activity that takes place in a body of water, typically chest-deep and does not involve swimming laps. It offers numerous benefits, including improved cardiovascular fitness, strength, power, bone density, flexibility, and agility. Aquatic exercise is particularly beneficial for individuals with joint issues, as the buoyancy of water supports a portion of their body weight, reducing the load placed on joints and allowing for easier movement and improved flexibility.
Aquatic exercise can be used to improve overall physical, mental, and social health, and can help prevent or improve many chronic conditions, such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, depression, and weakness associated with cancer treatment. It can also benefit individuals with various types of arthritis, fibromyalgia, back pain, joint replacements, neurological conditions, balance problems, joint and muscle pain, and developmental disorders like cerebral palsy, spinal muscular atrophy, and autism.
Some examples of aquatic exercises include water walking or jogging, sidestepping, forward and side lunges, one-leg stands or balance exercises, and upper-body strengthening exercises.
- Parkour
Parkour is an athletic training discipline or sport in which practitioners attempt to get from point A to point B in the fastest and most efficient way possible, without assisting equipment and often while performing feats of acrobatics. It originated in France in the late 1980s and early 1990s, and is widely attributed to a group of nine individuals who named themselves ‘Yamakasi’. Parkour involves running, jumping, climbing, swinging, vaulting, and quadrupedal movement, among other techniques, to navigate through urban or natural environments.
The practice of parkour aims to build physical and mental strength, agility, coordination, precision, control, and creative vision, while also encouraging self-improvement, self-discipline, self-reliance, humility, respect for others and the environment, and community spirit. Parkour is not just about physical movement but also about overcoming mental and emotional barriers, pushing oneself out of comfort zone, and developing a deep connection with one’s environment.
By incorporating these innovative workouts into one’s fitness routine, one can keep things exciting, challenge their body in new ways, and stay motivated to achieve their fitness goals. Always remember to consult with a fitness professional before trying any new workout to ensure it aligns with one’s fitness level and goals.
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