The Wackiest Workouts I’ve Ever Tried
Hey guys! So I know we talk a lot about traditional forms of exercise here at My Own Balance. There’s cycling, Zumba, HIIT, kickboxing, yoga, barre and much more. Today I wanted to pay homage to some of the wackiest workouts I’ve ever tried! Now, just because these workouts are wacky doesn’t mean they are wimpy. I’ve had some pretty tough workouts when the creators of these workouts thought outside the CrossFit box (ha, pun intended). So read on to see my list of some of the craziest workouts I’ve ever tried!
1. Trapeze
Have you seen the SATC episode where Carrie goes trapezing on the Hudson River. Well, I did that! I actually choose the indoor version (you can choose either and I can’t remember why I chose indoor but probably had something to do with time of day). If you are afraid of heights, this workout is probably not for you because after a shaky climb up a narrow ladder (you are strapped in), the instructor hands you the trapeze bar and has you hold on with both hands while he unclips your harness. There is an actual gravitational pull off the ledge and nothing is scarier than this feeling that you are going to fall off. But once you push off and go, it’s all easy peezy. Until they say turn upside down and let your hands go. Seriously though, by the end of class we were all doing catches and you are harnessed the entire time and there is a massive net underneath you. It’s a lot of fun! Plus your arms and shoulders get a massive workout. So sore the next day!
2. Trampolining
Ahhhh yes, this reminds me of my middle school/high school days when we had a big trampoline in our backyard. I counted it as a workout then and I can still count it now! Who knew that you actually get a better workout when you don’t allow yourself to bounce up so much? You need to continually force the bounce down to work into your legs and maintain agility to move from position to position.
I tried a trampoline class at JumpLife and it was so much fun! You could have a party with this class. Besides great music (and jumping, hello!) there is disco lighting. It was hilarious but I burned some serious calories in this 45 minute class and my legs were quite fatigued. This was my version of Friday night partying!
This is what it looks like with the strobe lights and everything! (Source)
3. Aerial Yoga
I’ve done aerial yoga several times over the years and I almost wouldn’t even call it yoga because it’s a totally different discipline, in a good way. The entire class is conducted using an aerial silk that is attached to the ceiling. It’s actually really cool because you can do all these upside down moves that you would never be able to do in a regular yoga class. The silk can also act as a prop to help you go deeper into traditional yoga poses.
Recently I attended a restorative aerial class with OmFactory and the aerial silk helped me get so deliciously deep into my crow pose and downward dog! It was so relaxing to just hang upside down (no hands!) and then lie in the hammock for savasana.
I also attended their open Level 1 aerial class. This class was serious work. I think the classes have improved over time. It used to be pose, pose, pose. Now it’s more like a vinyasa class and you flow into these upside down, no hand poses. It takes quite a lot of arm and ab strength to do these classes and you honestly do get warm in this class. For some reason I kind of chickened out asking the instructor to take a photo of me in this split in the silks so I am borrowing this photo from their website so you can see what it looks like. It’s not as hard as it looks, I promise!
(Source) For more photos of examples of what you do in class, check out OmFactory’s website.
4. Aqua Cycling
I reviewed this class previously here, but I had to add it to this list because cycling in water…seriously!? It’s a new concept for a hot craze and it was actually a totally different type of workout. Rather than pushing myself to my cardio limits, this class had a more zen-like approach to it and focused a bit more on using the water as resistance (read-work those legs).
It was definitely one of the most different workouts I’ve ever done but when all was said and done, I burned over 300 calories and didn’t feel like I was going to fall over like I normally do after spinning.
5. Surfset Fitness
I think this might be my favorite out of the bunch. In the Surfset workout you perform your entire workout on a “surfboard” which is like a giant bosu ball. It’s unstable and reacts like a surfboard would in water (read-unstable). It is an amazing core/balance workout but you also get a lot of strength and cardio as well.
In the 45 minute class I attended we did moves like: squats, traditional surf pop ups, warrior 3 (balancing on one leg on the board!), hop overs (like you would do on a step), burpees, jump switches, pushups, planks, ab moves and so much more. It was incredibly challenging! At one point we even did a crow pose, which I’m normally totally fine with on the floor but after about 15 seconds on the unstable board I fell flat on my face (it hurt, I don’t recommend it). I dragged the Hubs along with me for this one and even he thought it was groovy. Everyone gets their own board and they play a movie with all of these surfing images in the background. It was so cool! The class was pretty fast paced and I burned about 350 calories for the whole 45 min class. We were both pretty sore the next day. It totally takes your workout to a whole new level!
For more information about the class plus some cool video demos, visit the website by clicking here.
I tried to find some commonality with these workouts and it looks like most of them have something to do with either flying or water. I guess all you need to spice up your workout is to add air or water!
Readers, what’s the wackiest workout you’ve ever done? Anything on this list you have tried? What would you most like to try?