We Swear This is a Workout: From Martinis to Powernapping
Updated: June 25, 2009
Getting in shape doesn't have to mean cardio machines and weight rooms (as exciting as that sounds). Humor your body to an alternative workout, from a ropefest that plays on a love of punk rock to a studio brimming with backup dancer wannabes. A successful routine is one you can stick with, and we're confident that at least one of these will make you enthusiastically sweat.
Exercise Your Rights
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EQUINOX Fitness
Write a review225 Franklin St, Boston, MA 02110 (map)
Power napping? You totally got an A-plus on that one in nursery school. Come adulthood, however, we usually flake out on such a fundamental thing such as restorative rest. The downtown location of Equinox Fitness slaps you into virtual hypersleep with its POWERNAP+ class, a self-described "mid-day movement enhanced snooze." With a combination of yoga, stretching and meditation designed by renowned fitness guru Lashaun Dale, the session aims to reset your system with a recalibration of energy. Bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, that.
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The Movement Center of Boston
Read Reviews38 Newbury St, Fl 5, Boston, MA null (map)
Despite what you think, the Gyrotonic program is neither a juicy lamb sandwich nor a refreshing gin cocktail. However, it certainly does a body extremely good, as it holistically blends the balance and bodywork of yoga, dance, gymnastics, swimming and tai-chi. The pioneering Movement Center (the first Pilates Studio in Boston and the first Gyrotonic studio in New England) conducts both individual and small-group classes on the elaborate machines--despite their appearance, not torture devices, we promise--that work with the body rightfully as a fluid, circular-based system.
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Healthworks Fitness Ctr
Read Reviews35 White St, Cambridge, MA 02140 (map)
The "Punk Rope" class at the Cambridge club is serious business, with more logic in its design that you'd think. Instructor and boxing expert Teanna comes clad in fine punk form (think Hello Kitty patches, tall socks and fierce attitude), and leads participants through fun stretches of interval training: jumping rope for the length of a punk song (by nature of the genre, around three brilliant minutes), interspersed with heart-pumping group games that conjure fond memories of recess. From Bad Religion to Dropkick Murphys, the gang's all here.
Life in Synergy
Read Reviews867 Boylston St, Boston, MA 02116 (map)
There's no other way to explain the recurrent "Hip-Hop Japanimation" class other than, after an hour, you'd swear all participants (with no regard to experience) were backup dancers for Beyonce. It's a veritable miracle. Led by Mai, a professional dancer who practically shimmied from Japan to the United States, the class goes through a warm-up and then practices moves to execute a music video-esque dance routine by the end of the hour. Even if you don't know your hip shake from your booty roll, your strut-o-meter will surely be on the rise.
The Sports Club/LA
Read Reviews2 Avery St (Ritz-Carlton, Boston Common), Boston, MA 02111 (map)
When we say "martini workout," you probably think back to that marathon of cocktails you pummeled last weekend. Though perhaps enjoyable, that wasn't the best for your health. However, Jessica Athas puts a more positive spin on her version, dubbed The Martini Workout. Held around the city at host gyms including Sports Club/LA, the session uses a plastic martini glass as a prop for balance and stability during intense core training (hint: don't make it spill a hypothetical drop). As an added bonus, there's an actual cocktail hour awaiting participants post-workout. Irony is part of the regime ... right?
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