TorontoRentals
You’ve said it before: This is the year you’ll get into shape. But without fail, a month or so into the New Year, your dreams of looking like a fitness model get thrown out the window in favour of cocktails, artisan pies and Netflix and chill.
Never fear: 2016 is the year of fun, exciting and different fitness trends that may just be the ticket to helping you stick to your New Year’s resolution to get fit. These five fitness trends in Toronto are fun, exciting and most take a different tack on our ideas of how to get in shape!
- Surfset
There may not be a ton of spots to catch a wave in Toronto, but you can have a mock-surfing experience with Surfset. The fitness trend that’s sweeping Canada and the US is becoming a big hit in TO. The workout combines surf training moves with HIIT (high-intensity interval training) workout techniques that target balance, strength, core work and cardio, all in one.
In Surfset class, you stand on a wobbly mini surf board while doing a series of moves that target different areas of the body. Growing out your hair and saying “dude” at the end of each sentence: optional.
- Parkour
In case you’ve been living under a rock for the last decade or so, parkour has taken the world by storm in a unique and often misunderstood way. Also known as urban gymnastics and freerunning, parkour enthusiasts vault themselves off of literally anything; more often than not it’s urban objects like stairways, benches, trees and buildings.
Before you start trying to back-flip off of unsuspecting strangers at the bus stop, head over to The Monkey Vault– Toronto’s one and only parkour-focused gym, and get those noodle legs firmed up!
- Barre
Envious of dancers’ svelte and toned bodies? Barre is a ballet-inspired workout trend that rose to fame in LA and New York in early 2015, then exploded across the continent. It combines traditional ballet moves with resistance training, core strengthening and all-over muscle toning moves in a dance-studio-like setting. Barreworks, one of Toronto’s most popular Barre studios, gets the sweat dripping with moves that blend yoga, Pilates and dance into one extreme workout session.
- CrossFit
As the joke goes: “How do you know if someone does CrossFit?”
Answer: They’ll tell you.
Like vegans patrolling meat factories, “CrossFitters” love to tell everyone they meet how great their new favorite fitness routine is. The CrossFit movement has been swelling in popularity over the last few years because it’s a different approach to getting in shape, one in which you’ll do a variety of exercises without the use of mirrors or stationary bikes.
Utilizing routines pulled from Olympic weightlifting, gymnastics, sprinting and urban exercises, CrossFit continuously changes up your exercises with different WODs (workout of the day) that challenge every muscle in the body. Check out Toronto’s own CrossFit Toronto to start your resolution on the right foot.
- Pilates
Pilates got popular in the ’90s, but in 2015 when everything became “boutique,” Pilates followed suit and found a renewed foothold in Toronto and across North America. The very foundation of this fitness movement keeps three very important areas constantly evolving: strength, length and core. If you’ve never tried Pilates before, 2016 could be just the ignition you need to get your fitness flame burning.
Misfit Studio combines rock ‘n roll attitude with Pilates inspired by dance to bring its members a true fitness challenge dished up by expert teachers. Whether you’re a beginner or a Pilates master, you’ll be sure to get your fitness resolution up and flexing for a healthy New Year.
