Creative Ideas That Inspire

The William G. White Jr. YMCA in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, “warns” members that they will definitely get results with Metabolic Effect, which includes 30 minutes of “controlled-intensity weight training and athletic cardio drills.” The online description challenges participants to combine push-ups, lunges, squat jumps, sprints and other exercises to get the “strong physique you’ve always wanted.”

Water Warrior, offered by the Whitefish Community Aquatic & Health Center in Whitefish, Montana, is a high-intensity treat served up in the pool. The class organizers promise “a great cardiovascular workout” in addition to challenging resistance training. The instructor leads participants through a routine that utilizes the AquaLogix™ Fitness System, patented equipment that harnesses drag resistance.

The Fitness Center in Hartford, Connecticut, has Tabata on its group exercise schedule. Tabata is a high-intensity interval training workout that intersperses 20 seconds of maximum intensity with 10 seconds of rest. Participants repeat this cycle for 4 minutes and then move on to other exercises.

Rye YMCA in Rye, New York, caters to “new or infrequent exercisers” with Group Active^™. According to the online description, this class is “designed for people who want to become more active but are not regular exercisers.” The offering incorporates “all elements of fitness” and strives to support members in their efforts to improve cardio strength and flexibility fitness. Participants can go at their own pace with options to progress or regress the challenge.

The Activity & Recreation Center, part of the Columbia, Missouri, parks and recreation department, has a few fun classes on its schedule. One of them, Pinkie’s Ladies, offers dance routines choreographed to top 40s, oldies, country and show tunes. Another class, Dirty Thirty, is a “high-intensity cardio workout with intervals of choreography, athletic agility and just about anything the instructor can throw at you.”

The department of athletics, physical education and recreation at MIT in Cambridge, Massachusetts, fine-tunes its water offerings with Finning, which requires training fins or “flippers,” a kickboard and a buoyancy belt. This advanced class is limited to 15 people and promises that all major muscle groups will be acknowledged.

360 Cardio Funk is on the class schedule at 360 Fitness Center in Mason City, Iowa. This 1-hour experience covers dance, jazz and hip-hop moves and incorporates strength training, core training and Pilates.