Need a definition or two for the different classes your gym offers? Maybe the water cooler talk about working out leaves you scratching your head about some of the terms being used? Worry no more! Here’s a handy guide, although gyms, trainers, and instructors often place their own twists on classes and fitness routines. Always ask for a demo before you buy and don’t be shy if you don’t know what your trainer is saying –always ask.
AQUA AEROBICS: This fun cardiovascular challenge uses water resistance to sculpt your muscles while increasing #cardiovascular endurance and burning plenty of calories.
BELLY DANCING: Shimmy away the fat with belly dancing. This entertaining form of dance gets your heart pumping and hips shaking to tone the abs, tighten the booty and melt away the fat for good.
BOOT CAMP: A fast-paced workout guaranteed to make you sweat. Includes high-intensity cardio, strength training, flexibility, speed, agility, and endurance work to whip your whole body into shape.
BOKWA: A group fitness class where participants follow the patterns of letters and numbers with their feet while performing an energizing and addictive cardio workout routine.
BOXERCISE: Knock your body into shape! Boxercise is a high-intensity fusion of traditional #aerobics exercises and boxing moves, sure to give you a great workout.
CARDIO KICKBOXING: Jab, punch and kick your way into shape with cardio kickboxing. A high-energy workout.
CIRCUIT TRAINING: Circuit training consists of a complete set of exercises including a mixture of cardiovascular, strength, and resistance moves. A circuit is one completion of all exercises in the designated program. When one circuit is complete, you begin the first exercise again for circuit number two.
CROSSFIT: CrossFit is a trademarked name for the core strength and conditioning program designed around constantly varied functional movements executed at high intensity.
Functional Fitness: Functional fitness and functional exercise focus on building a body capable of doing real-life positions, not just lifting a certain amount of weight in an idealized posture created by a gym machine.
GROUP TRAINING CLASSES: Get the benefits of a personal trainer without emptying your #wallet. The group dynamic pushes you to keep up and give the workout you all, while still getting the one-on-one training you need to push your fitness to the next level.
HIIT: High-Intensity Interval Training Think p90x-style workouts. People who do this workout go really hard for a set amount of time at a particular exercise, then recover for a set amount of time and repeat.
HOT YOGA: Hot yoga refers to any number of yoga styles that use heat to increase an individual’s flexibility in the poses.
INDOOR CYCLING: An energizing, fast-paced stationary bike workout designed to improve your speed, strength, and endurance. Burn calories fast!
INTERVAL TRAINING: Cardiovascular exercises that alternate between brief bouts at near-maximum exertion and lower intensities, designed to burn more calories.
JAZZERCISE: A fusion of jazz dance, resistance training, Pilates, yoga, and kickboxing. The class is choreographed to today’s hottest music and designed for maximum fat burn.
KETTLEBELLS: Build strength in every muscle with a full body Kettlebell workout. #Kettlebells are a bowling ball-shaped weight with a handle, designed for the ultimate strength-building regime.
PILATES: Work those abs! Pilates makes use of your own #bodyweight to tone, lengthen and strengthen your entire body while keeping the core engaged.
POWER SCULPT: A challenging body sculpting class designed to increase strength and muscle tone using a variety of equipment including weights, resistance bands, and stability balls.
POWER YOGA: Consists of a series of consecutive yoga poses without stopping to get your muscles working and heart pumping. An excellent way to combine cardio, strength, and flexibility workouts all in one session.
PUNK ROPE: Think of jumping rope at recess, but at a boot, camp-style pace and you have punk rope. Instructions make sure you know the basics.
SPEED AND AGILITY TRAINING: Dramatically improve your athletic performance with speed and agility training. The program is designed for athletes to cit times and increase endurance to perform at his or her top-notch ability.
STAMINA SWIM: Designed for the avid swimmer to provide a great cardiovascular challenge and increase endurance in the pool. Goggles might be handy!
STEP AEROBICS: Get your heart pumping with this non-stop aerobic workout. Perform energizing routines while utilizing an adjustable platform (or step).
TAI CHI: A martial art that combines flowing movement, stretching, and breathing techniques to improve one’s overall wellness.
TELEMETRY: If you’re into #gadgets, you know this term. It’s where fitness goes high-tech and helps you keep track of everything using items like wristbands that track your daily activity, heart rate monitors, and other wearable devices.
TRX SUSPENSION: TRX uses hanging suspension bands, gravity, and your own bodyweight to improve muscular strength, balance, flexibility, and endurance. It offers an endless exercise selection for all skill levels while adding definition and form to your entire body.
YOGA: Yoga focuses on a combination of posture, breathing, and meditation exercises and poses to improve strength, flexibility, and body awareness. Great way to wind down and leave feeling healthy and #relaxed.
YOGALATES: A combination of yoga and Pilates with a focus on posture, balance, core strength, relaxation, and breathing techniques.
ZUMBA: Get your groove on with this high-energy aerobic dance routine designed to burn the fat away fast. The easy-to-follow dance routine to upbeat Latin music will energize your entire body and keep you coming back.