Get fit and have fun! No really: 4 fitness classes that will make you feel like a kid again

Date June 6, 2012

Is there a better motivator for getting fit than having fun? The reason you were in such good shape as a kid wasn’t because you were exercising all day long—it was because you were running around all day and playing. Well, it’s time to bring that sense of whimsy back! Whether you’re swinging on a trapeze, breaking it down to booty bass tunes, or learning the art of swordplay à la Game of Thrones, there are so many ways to bring play back into your everyday adult life. And we’re here to prove it! We’ve found four classes that sound so fun, you won’t even notice how many calories you’re burning.

If you miss that backyard trampoline, these classes are for you! Read on! »

Do enough Socasize and you can look like this! Photography by sfmission.com/Flickr

Like to get reeeeal low? There’s a workout for that. Socacize, one of our new favourite workouts, transforms booty bass Caribbean dance moves into high energy exercises faster that you can say “Get naughty!” (Well, you won’t need to say it, because Socacize founder Ayanana Lee-Rivears will scream it at you all through your session). Work parts of your body that you didn’t even know existed while revving your cardio and toning up to a 1,000-calorie burn. The class is available for drop-in sessions ($17) but its boot camp version is what really feels like da club, with a resident DJ in the room busting out Soca jams as you double-time your workout.

Socasize, Toronto ($120 for an eight-session boot camp, socacize.com)

Photography courtesy of The Vancouver Circus School

Ready… hup! If you’ve ever seen a performance of Cirque du Soleil, you know there’s nothing quite like the circus to get your heart racing. Which is why circus classes, from flying trapeze to acrobatics, make for such a good workout: the movements condition your core, improve flexibility and increase your upper body strength. Best of all, there’s no need to run away—circus schools are popping up across the country with introductory classes that will get even the most scared-of-heights students into a harness and up in the air with the greatest of ease.

Vancouver: The Vancouver Circus School ($20 per class, minimum signup of a four-class workshop required, vancouvercircusschool.ca)
Toronto: The Toronto School of Circus Arts ($25 drop-in flying trapeze class, torontocircus.com)

While it may seem like an unconventional workout, you only have to attempt to lift a sword to realize just how much of a challenge swinging one would be. Meaning: if you sign up for Sword Fit Boot Camp at Vancouver’s Academie Duello, you’ll soon be ready to audition for the next season of Game of Thrones. The month-long program is focused on swordplay skills—like dynamic assaults and fancy footwork—but also includes circuit training so your whole body will be battle-ready. Look out Daenerys, we’re coming for your dragons!

Academie Duello, Vancouver ($169 for 4-week boot camp, academieduello.com)

If you’re looking for a workout that’s low-intensity on your joints, but high-intensity on burning calories and strengthening your muscles, you might want to give Sky Zone’s SkyRobics classes a try. Or, if you just miss the days of summers spent jumping on trampolines, this workout is for you! The one-hour class combines traditional core exercises and strength-building aerobics in an all-trampoline walled studio. (It’s probably also the only time you’ll stop following an instructor not for lack of breath, but because you’re having too much fun to stick to the routine.) Another bonus? Your first SkyRobics class is half off, so for $5, we think you should hop over there and give it a try.

Sky Zone, Mississauga ($10 per class, skyzonesports.com)