Bored of doing the same old routine again and again, then why not try some interesting ways to exercise.
Nordic Walking
It is as interesting as it sounds. Originally done in Finland, Nordic Walking is for those who love the feel of exercising outdoors, irrespective of the weather, and are looking for ways to work out the entire body. Very much like skiing, it is a fairly simple form of exercise that involves walking with a pair of poles strapped to each wrist.
The poles are meant for exercising the upper body and can be used in any climate, at any time and on any surface. All over Europe, people are taking to the Nordic way of walking. It burns more calories, builds cardio-vascular fitness and is an interesting new fitness trend. All it needs is a pair of Nordic Poles, the right walking shoes and you are all set to go.
Dancing with the stars
Dance like nobody's watching you and you will get all the steps right. You will let your own rhythm take over as your body responds to the music. Dance never really left the exercise floors, although it did reinvent itself in various ways. Officially dance and exercise came together to form Dancercise. Then came Jane Fonda with those highly popular Aerobics classes where peppy music and interesting moves ensured you moved every major muscle group, including a few you never moved too.
For your information, the human body has over 600 muscles and every one of them needs to be used. Those two hands, two legs and a torso are capable of performing so many different moves that need the coordination of such a variety of muscle groups.
When you go to a properly structured dancercise class, your teacher (or leader) will make sure your body gets properly worked out while you have fun. Check out if warm-up, cool down and stretches are included in the whole routine. A proper session can burn anywhere between 250 to 400 calories in one hour.
And don't worry about anybody watching, as everybody else in the class is doing their own thing, and worrying.
Interactive Fitness
While not entirely the ‘real' thing, a lot of people are enjoying exercising with interactive, entertaining plug in workouts offered by the likes of Wii-fit and others like it. Some of them come complete with a body test so you know exactly where your problems are and what exercise you need to do to get it set right.
The advantage is you can do it at your convenience, at home. While it is fun, working out like this is best done occasionally. Besides, it is quite an expensive piece of equipment, at least initially.
Functional Training
Big in today's gym and out of gym situation, this sort of training helps you perform your daily physical activities better, and more efficiently. Hence the name: functional training. For your introduction to Functional Training, you will need to consult an expert and get a workout chalked out especially for you depending on what sort of physical activity you do — or don't do. Then you need to follow the instructions if you want to see any changes in the way your body looks, feels and most important of all – performs.
Boot Camps
You don't need to wear a pair of boots in one of these. Just your usual pair of walking or gym footwear will do. The ‘camp' itself can be performed indoors or outdoors – depending on the weather. Be warned – a traditional Boot Camp involves lots of physical activity that will leave you tired, yet exhilarated. Many of the local gyms organize them or you could get a group together and contact a personal trainer to organize one for you. A good trainer will be able to put one together for you to do at home, even.
If you are a member of a gym, all the better. Your gym should be able to schedule boot camps. Most of them are open to member suggestions. Go on, impress them with your knowledge.
