4 Fun Fitness Classes to Try
It’s Hot outside (yes, with a capital H), but that didn’t stop me from trying out eight different fitness classes yesterday under the sun. I flew out to Chicago for a blogger event hosted by Jamba Juice and took a stab at everything from Parkour to stand up paddleboard yoga.
I swear that I drank a gallon of water to stay hydrated—and probably put on just as much sunscreen, too. Good thing: One of the bloggers actually passed out! To cool off and keep feeding our bodies enough liquids, we also sampled Jamba’s Fruit Refreshers, iced drinks made with coconut water. A 16 oz serving contains less than 230 calories, is brimming with electrolytes, and packs as much potassium as a banana. Go for the Tropical Mango.
Some highlights of the trip:
Bollywood Groove: This class, inspired by the dancing and music in Indian movies was a total blast. It was hard not to catch on to the enthusiasm and energy of our instructor, Ajanta Chakraborty. I’m not a huge Zumba/dance person, but this made shimmying fun—even though I’m fairly certain that I looked ridiculous (see above). 
Parkour: Wikipedia defines Parkour as “a physical discipline and non-competitive sport which focuses on efficient movement around obstacles.” You might better know it as skakeboarding without the skateboard. Parkour is associated with flips, vaults and rolls, but under the guidance of Kurt Gowan from Parkour Ways we were much less hard-core, focusing on crawls and jumping on and off ledges. I probably looked like Golum but it definitely kept me in tune with what my body was doing.
Battling Ropes: Chris Jakubiak from Hustle Fitness made battling ropes look easy. But whether you’re whipping them Ben Hur-style or trying to make butterfly waves, these ropes are heavier than they look and definitely get your heart pumping.
Paddleboard Yoga: Okay, so I didn’t do a headstand on my board, but I did do downward dog! You have to pay extra attention to your core and balance to stay on the board, but I loved this mash up offered by Kayak Chicago.
—Emily G. W. Chau is an associate editor
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