Creative Ideas That Inspire
Boogie Box Fitness rolls cardiovascular training, core balance and strength training into one program by utilizing the principle of “applied muscle resistance.” The 50-minute interval class is a “high-intensity fusion of hip-hop and Latin dancing, mixed with kickboxing, plyometric exercises and military drills.”
When creating Latin Blaze,® Jamie G. Smith wanted a class that was easily modifiable as well as safe and effective for all ages and fitness levels. She didn’t want to create something that was too technical. According to her website, the dance offering is a “fusion of fitness philosophies and standards meshed with fun, sassy movement, done to passionate music. There is a core of basic moves to build upon that inspires exciting dance sequences. These basic movements provide participants with the freedom to choose their own difficulty and intensity level.”
The Illinois State University recreation department in Normal, Illinois,
offers Dancer’s Definition specifically
for nondancers. Participants are barefooted, and the class blends Pilates and yoga into a single workout “meant to sculpt, lengthen and strengthen every muscle in the body.” The same schedule also invites students to build stronger legs, arms and core muscles with Gliding Triple Threat, which uses Gliding™ discs.
Members at St. Anthony’s Wellness Center in St. Petersburg, Florida, take a challenging ride with IronChallengeCycle. The advanced indoor cycling class is “an endurance ride inspired by the ultimate physical challenge event, the Ironman Triathlon®.” The same facility also offers L.I.P. Life Improvement Program, a low-intensity “comprehensive class that focuses on developing balance, coordination, strength and flexibility.”
IDEA member Scottie Johnson, in Portland, Oregon, created Pilates Moves for her students and clients. Johnson’s goal is to help make Pilates “user-friendly” through an approach that combines visualization and sensory techniques to enhance the workout. Pilates Moves incorporates basic steps of Nia® with Johnson’s own creative movement. “Moving the arms and legs in different patterns can be an immense mental challenge for many of us,” says Johnson, who tells her students to “think of [learning the moves] as trying to figure out a puzzle.”
New York City’s YMCA proudly offers Absoglutely and Chisel Diesel Sculpt at its facility. The former “firms the glutes, thighs and abs,” while the latter is billed as “the ultimate sculpting class.”