Spring is officially here and while some of you can’t wait to get outside for a morning jog in the sun, gyms are unrolling innovative fusion classes to keep you indoors. It’s well known that the body becomes accustomed to your usual workout over time. To lose those last few pounds or to take your personal fitness to the next level you’ve got to challenge your muscles in new ways. Here are a few of the spanken’ new fusion classes that will have you burning calories, shaking your groove thang, and most importantly, creating your most epic self. 

Available From Crunch Fitness:
Club Cirque: Ever fantasize about running away and joining the circus? Here’s your chance! Based on movements from Static Trapeze and other Circus disciplines, this class focuses on agility, flexibility, acrobatics and strength to give you the ultimate performers body. From the flying trapeze to climbing the Spanish web, it will bring out the daredevil in everyone.

Buff Girl Workout: Come on, let’s be fabulous! Combine pilates, ballet, bootcamp and vintage aerobic moves for one great workout. Create a long lean sexy body. Even your psyche gets in shape through empowering words. Alright guys can come too!

Blading w/ Gliding™ Discs: No helmet or kneepads required in this fun, fat-burning class inspired by rollerblading. Simulate the street stride with Gliding™ Discs and Body Bars while cruising your way through cool cardio and strength training exercises.

Kangoo: Kangoo is the exercise boot with bounce. Strap on a pair of Kangoos, equipped with springs on the bottom and hop, jog, and jump your way through this low impact workout.

BodyWeb with TRX System®: Hang from the durable TRX system ropes to push, pull, lift and lower your body through Spiderman moves for a total body suspension workout that also super-strengthens your core.

Surfboarding w/ Gliding Discs: Get ready to hit the waves! Using the unique and fabulous Gliding Discs, and the balance challenge of the half foam roller, a multitude of surfing skills will be introduced, practiced, and perfected leaving your body toned and ready for the athlete in you to spring into action.

Available From Equinox:

Buff Ballet Barre Workout: Work on and off the barre to sculpt and define a long, lean dancer’s physique. Intense and fun for dancers and non-dancers alike.

Candlelight Yoga: Incorporating a gentler and more healing approach, and to relieve stress and relax from the inside out. Set to a candlelit room.

Video Dance Jam: Shake your booty like Beyonce. Bring down house and break a sweat with fun and hip dance video choreography!

This is just a sample of all the wonderful classes available from only a handful of nationwide gyms. Now there is definitely no reason working out can’t be super fun! I’m sure there are tons of creative classes near you. Have any favorites you want to share? Let me know in the comments.

I’m sure you have all heard of the new dance craze that’s taking the country and (sadly) soccer mom’s everywhere by storm. Soulja Boy’s “Crank Dat” has even infiltrated kids ballet classes! While the song is pretty much the worst rap song I have ever heard the dance is pretty fun. Watch these kids get down! Hilarious!

The boy in front rocks it!

Sick of doing hundreds of crunches and not getting results? For years I performed hundreds, upon thousands of crunches in hopes of sculpting a tight, defined mid-section, but ended up building a distended mass of muscle. I couldn’t understand why my abs pooched out, until I was introduced to Pilates. I realized my form wasn’t the greatest. To sculpt a strong, flat tummy that will actually make you look thinner and offer amazing support for your spine, try this technique.

There is a lot going on in a seemingly simple crunch (or upper body curl) so here are the cues:

1. Think Down And Flat: As you curl up exhale the abdominals down and wide to the mat. Think about creasing and sinking at the bra line. Instead of pooching out the muscles draw them toward the spine. The exhale will definitely help you get this feeling. Don’t be afraid to breath.

2. Get Out Of Those Shoulders: If you normally perform crunches with your hands supporting your head with elbows wide, think about anchoring the shoulder blades down the back so you won’t use your arms to yank the neck and head forward. Try reaching the arms long by your sides to engage the lats and get the arms out of the equation.

3. Lengthen Instead of Crunch: As you curl up thinking about lengthening the head, neck and upper body out and over, tractioning the spine. This will help you find more length in the spine and prevent the crunching feeling. After all we don’t want “crunched” up muscles, but long lean muscles.

4. Don’t Forget About The Pelvis: The pelvis is an important part of building abdominal strength and support for the spine. It’s really common to tuck the pelvis during abdominal work so that the low back is on the ground. The problem with this technique is that you end up using your hip flexors or legs instead of the abdominals. It’s important to strengthen the abdominals in a way that will support the natural curvature of the spine. The best way to do this is to use a neutral or flat pelvis position, where the hip bones (A.S.I.S) and the pubic bone are level on the same plane. This allows for the natural curve of the lumbar vertebrae.

With all of these things to think about suddenly the crunch is not so easy!! Test out this technique the next time you hit the mat and let me know what you think. I guarantee you’ll feel the burn.

In today’s technology age we find ourselves hunched over laptops, slouched on the couch playing videogames and carrying heavier bags and backpacks to tote it all. Now more than ever we need to pay attention to our posture to prevent major spinal injuries and alignment issues.

Not only is slouching or over arching your low back (lordosis) ultimately painful and horrible for spinal longevity, it looks bad and will ruin that six pack you’ve been working on so diligently. How people perceive you has a lot to do with body language, and lets face the fact that poor posture suggests a person is timid and has low self-esteem.

When the spine is vertical the forces of gravity weigh down and compress the vertebrae that make up the spinal column, unless we actively oppose that force. In order to keep a supple, strong spine for life we must strengthen the muscles that support it. This includes all the “core” muscles meaning the abdominals, and back muscles.

Here are some quick tips to help us all stand a little taller and maintain a pain free, flexible, and properly aligned spine. Read the rest of this entry »

As a dancer, stretching and strength training are vital parts of my day. While, I probably have to stretch and train a lot more than the average gym goer it’s still incredibly important to keep your muscles flexible and in control. Muscles will constrict and weaken unless they are used and stretched, especially as we age. Improving flexibility and control of your muscles will improve your performance and prevent injury no matter what type of movement or exercise you do. Even if that is just carrying a heavy load of laundry up the stairs or mowing the lawn.

With that said, here is a fabulous technique that I picked up from Eric Franklin’s book years ago. Simply touch the muscle you are trying to lengthen or work. Why does touch help? By touching the muscle you are drawing your focus to that area. This technique is similar to simply using intention when your working out, but with touch you can feel the correct muscles work or learn to initiate the proper muscle. A lot of times we try to copy an exercise that we have seen and end up working the wrong muscle groups because the form is off. Using touch to feel the right muscle contracting or stretching is a great way to get more out of the work with better alignment.

So how should I touch?
When stretching, for example, if I am in a forward fold where I am stretching my hamstrings I will put a few fingertips or my whole palm and hand on the muscle. This draws my attention to the area so when I breathe I can imagine lots of oxygenated blood rushing to those muscles to loosen them up.

When lifting weights, first make sure your form is correct, then in something like a lat pull down, cup your hand onto your lat under your arm pit and feel the exercise initiate from there.

I love this technique because it really gets you to hone in on the muscles you want working. How many times does a simple bicep curl turn into a shoulder exercise where the upper trapezius takes over? Or an abdominal crunch turns into hip flexor work? It’s really easy to let large muscle groups carry the entire load, but then you’re not really working the area you want to lengthen or strengthen.

By using touch and intention when working out you will get more out of each exercise or stretch and therefore spend less time and do less reps! Remember it’s quality vs. quantity.