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Fitness classes for the masses
Fitness Classes for Everyone

Fitness classes abound and it has never been easier for movement-hungry people to find a workout experience that appeals to them.

Kickin’ Cooldown: Post-Kickboxing Stretches

Kickboxing is an empowering class that builds confidence and improves balance, cardiovascular endurance, proprioception, strength and dynamic flexibility. It’s an effective total-body workout, especially when taught correctly, with key tenets in mind. Some say kickboxing is on the downswing; however, it’s possible that any decline in popularity is due, not to the format itself, but to how it’s being taught (or mistaught). It continues to be a staple in many facilities.

Kickboxing class with a woman in the foreground ready to perform an uppercut.
Kickboxing Safety: Back to Basics

Kickboxing classes may not be as popular today as they were in the late 1990s, but people still love to hone their skills with this effective cross-training option. Whether you’ve been teaching for several years or you’re just getting started, it’s always a good idea to review the foundational concepts that make up this total-body workout.

Creative Ideas That Inspire

TabataRide, offered at various JoyRide® locations and based on Tabata™ workouts, is an indoor cycling class that offers high-intensity interval drills that include 20 seconds of top effort and 10 seconds of recovery, repeated for 4 minutes. This is followed by 1 minute of rest before repeating the cycle. The high-energy, super-athletic classes at this studio are designed to “torch calories and boost endorphins.” In addition, the instructors strive to provide authenticity, joy, humor and positivity.

Creative Ideas That Inspire

KONGA®, at Funk & Twist Fitness in Basingstoke, England, is a high-intensity offering that incorporates elements of boxing, cardio, dance and sculpt. The program vibe is fierce and wild, and sessions are set to upbeat music designed to inspire and motivate. The class is updated each month with fresh choreography so that participants don’t become bored or hit fitness plateaus. It’s appropriate for all levels, from beginners to seasoned fitness enthusiasts.

Learn, Connect and Thrive at the IDEA® World Convention

Education is the foundation of the IDEA World Convention, but this fitness event offers plenty more than stellar instruction. For Jonathan Bernath, publicist-turned-personal-trainer, it’s where he discovered the “fitness family” that would guide him in his new career.

Creative Ideas that Inspire

Barrelesque at Rock in Opposition, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is a mash–up of various dance styles, Pilates and yoga. It includes barre techniques, but it also spices things up with burlesque–style dance movements. Open to all levels, this class provides a dynamic workout in a playful environment.
Games at My House Fitness® in Winter Springs, Florida, is a school recess–inspired experience for adults.

Creative Ideas That Inspire

Shaka Fitness® in Cleveland puts a new twist on an old favorite with

SUP Pool Yoga.

While yoga on a standup paddleboard is not a new idea—especially in locations where people have access to ocean or lakes—this offering utilizes an indoor pool. This allows participants to experience the core-strengthening and balance-training benefits of yoga on the water year-round. Even better, the predictability of indoor weather conditions allows the facility to maintain a consistent schedule.

Creative Ideas That Inspire

At several City Surf Fitness locations in Texas and Louisiana,

City Surf

offers participants the benefits of surfing—even though there aren’t any waves nearby. According to the website, the class is taught on SURFSET® RipSurfer X boards and features “fun surf-inspired movements, utilizing surfer-specific muscle groups.” Classes are open to every fitness level, and instructors provide modifications for more or less intensity.

Creative Ideas That Inspire

While not exclusive to men, Yo-Bro YOGA at RIO Pilates & Yoga
Studio in Halifax, Nova Scotia, is a high-energy class that allows
practitioners to explore their physical limits. Catering to the
masculine energies of both men and women, the program offers
techniques for strength building and endurance—as well as opportunities
for arm balances and inversions. Participants are rewarded for their
efforts with craft beer at the end of class.

Creative Ideas That Inspire

Located in Boston, The Club by George Foreman III offers

BOX-FIIT 360™.

Participants complete 36 minutes of ?circuits, visiting 12 individual stations. The class combines cardio, strength and boxing through a variety of training modalities, including suspension exercises, rowing, biking, kettlebells, boxing, jump rope and turf exercises. The workouts change weekly to provide members with new goals.

Creative Ideas That Inspire

YogaFaith,

taught at Edge Fitness in Puyallup, Washington, is a faith-based yoga class that aims to integrate mind, body, spirit and soul. Classes focus on exhaling the chaos and clutter of everyday life to create space and wholeness. The donation-based classes include various styles of yoga and are open to all levels.

Sample Class: 3-2-1 Kick!

Are you ready to mix up your martial arts moves? 3-2-1 Kick! is an interval kickboxing class that integrates cardio, strength and core work. In each round of the work phase, innovative cardio kickboxing combinations, martial arts–inspired strength work and core moves are performed in quick intervals to keep participants engaged, motivated and challenged.

3-2-1 Kick! Details

Goal/Emphasis: total-body kickboxing interval training workout

Time: approximately 45 minutes

Equipment: dumbbells, stability balls and mats

A Back-Pain Solution

Starting with the basics. Personal trainer Jamal Younis first met 38-year-old Jessica in August 2014. Jessica, a former competitive collegiate swimmer, suffered from a degenerative disk disease, which had resulted in three surgeries to address the issue. Post physical therapy, she decided that in order to keep her back healthy she’d need to continue with a structured training program. She met Younis through a friend of his who was also a personal trainer.

Combat Ready

“877 calories!”

The 35-year-old athlete called out
the readout from her heart rate monitor after 45 minutes in our “Train Like an Ultimate MMA Fighter” session at the 2011 IDEA World Fitness Convention™. That’s a lot of burn in 45 minutes, and it gives an idea of the intensity of a mixed martial arts workout.

Kick It Into High Gear

A martial-arts–inspired warm-up increases circulation, improves dynamic flexibility and range of motion, integrates sport-specific activities and connects body and mind. The series presented here is an excellent way to begin almost any general fitness class. Start slowly and encourage students to be patient and “listen” to their bodies.

Awaken the Center
First, bring attention to the back and abdominals, the body’s “center.”

Sample Class: Kids’ Kickboxing

Kids naturally love to move. Why not take advantage of their innate urge to wiggle? This kickboxing class not only helps kids strengthen their muscles and hearts; it also teaches body awareness, coordination and balance. You’ll even provide an environment that builds self-confidence; however, students won’t know that! They’ll just remember how much fun they had and will spend the rest of the day showing everyone the cool moves they learned in class.

Preparing for a Knockout Class

Do you fondly recall when hand wraps, focus mitts and challenging combinations ruled the fitness scene? Boxing and kickboxing classes never really went away, and they are still popular in many fitness facilities across the country. Whether you’re already teaching this style of class or hope to in the near future, you’ll want to have a solid warm-up planned for students.

A Workout for Everyone

FACTS Fitness, a fitness company based in suburban Philadelphia, offers a program called C.L.I.M.B. (Creative Ladder Intervals and Mega BootCamp). “This class is a high-energy, dynamic workout that combines creative agility ladder drills and boot-camp-style activities and exercises to work on speed, agility, muscle tone, fat burning and stamina,” says IDEA member Debbi MacArthur, who is the
director of marketing and public relations at FACTS Fitness. “We also do partner
exercises for added motivation, encouragement and team building.”

Boxing Fitness for CHAMPS

These exercise drills and combos provide an interesting way to challenge the students’ body-mind and motor skills. They can be done in any setting with or without any boxing equipment. This is a fun and vigorous class exercise appropriate for 5th graders (10 year olds) and up.

A NO CONTACT program.
The drills incorporate total cardiovascular conditioning…