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Pumped-Up Programs

Empower students with classes that reach beyond the basics.

To help people learn better ways to run, IDEA member Mindy Solkin created a sports and conditioning class she calls Runditioning™ at The Running Center LLC, in New York City. Using functional training equipment and participants’own body weight, the class uses running-specific movements to teach good form and how to reduce injuries. “In running, the physiology is just half of the sport,” says Solkin. “Sure, it’s important to know how far, how fast and how often to run so that you can improve your aerobic and anaerobic conditioning. But the other half of running—the biomechanics—is equally important.” The 60-minute class is open to all levels.

Backyard Bootcamp, offered by The Fitness Edge LLC in Fairfield, Con­necticut, challenges participants to “increase their abilities in each of the 10 recognized fitness domains.” The outdoor class includes runs, sprints, jump ropes, agility ladders, sandbags, tubing, medicine balls, stretching and a variety of body-weight exercise.

Rowbics™ is an indoor rowing class that offers a “balanced series of isometric and traditional rowing movements” to help strengthen the entire body. According to the Rowbics website, the class targets “the body’s four major systems,” proper execution of the rowing stroke and good form.

As a teenager, Toni Bergins, MEd, dealt with bulimia, depression and low self-esteem. These problems continued to control her until she “learned how to reclaim her life through dance.” In 1998, Bergins created JourneyDance™, a practice that combines elements of dance, expressive movement, theater improvisation, creative visualization, sounding, singing and an exploration of the body’s energy centers. “JourneyDance is essentially a holistic health and spiritual practice in that we’re actually changing neurological processes,” says Bergins. “After only one session, dancers return home embodied, loving, full of gratitude with powerful techniques to befriend their minds and keep negative thought patterns in check, thereby creating new and positive brain patterns.”

The Rome Athletic Club in Rome, Georgia, brings parent and child (4 years old and up) together to experience Buff Bodz’n Little Bodz. The 45-minute offering combines “fun cardio drills with easy bodyweight training and flexibility routines to help [parent and child] achieve fitness together, while sharing a bonding experience that both will cherish.”

SIDEBAR: Sharing the Buzz

Have you heard of a creative new class? Drop us a line and share the buzz. Send an e-mail, a letter or a fax detailing the class. We’ll be publishing your ideas in upcoming issues.
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Fax: (858) 535-8234

 


Joy Keller

Joy Keller is the director of marketing communications & PR at IDEA, and has also served as executive editor of IDEA Fitness Journal, IDEA Fitness Manager, IDEA Pilates Today, and IDEA Fit Business Success. She is also a certified personal trainer, indoor cycling instructor and yoga teacher (RYT 200).

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