Your Body
Five Trendy New Ways to Exercise
Do people constantly give you a hard time as you relentlessly take up and drop out of exercise classes? If so, you have our full support. Here at UKTV Style towers, we're of the mindset that ANY exercise is good exercise. So what if you have a few commitment issues and chop and change your type of exercise as often as you change your knickers? At least you're doing SOMETHING. So especially for you, our trendy exercise fashion hounds bring you the definitive guide to what's next in the world of exercise...
Cheerleading
Like drive-thru and Starbucks, cheerleading is a symbol of America, and is about to catch on in the UK as a fun way to keep fit. Cheerleaders learn dance skills, stunts and gymnastics, and how to do the whole lot with a nice big smile. It's a great way to improve your coordination and aerobic fitness, and of course, it's a very social way to exercise.
Great for: Girls who adored American high school movies and feel they missed their calling as the captain of the Sweet Valley High cheerleading squad.
Try it: London's Pineapple Dance Studios hosts cheerleading classes or contact the British Cheerleading Association for a group in your area.
Gyrotonics
Still relatively new to the UK, the "Gyrotonics Expansion System" is gaining huge popularity worldwide as the new pilates. Created in the USA by dancer Juliu Horvath, gyrotonics is practised one-on-one with an instructor using a special machine (not unlike a medieval torture rack) called a tower pulley. Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow are said to be huge fans of the system which, like pilates, aims to create long strong muscles and develop core stability.
Great for: Office workers who spend all day slouching over a computer - gyrotonics is brilliant for your posture.
Try it: Gyrotonics is still quite exclusive (and expensive!) but is often taught alongside pilates so it's worth asking at your nearest pilates studio. In London, try Studio 74.
Like drive-thru and Starbucks, cheerleading is a symbol of America, and is about to catch on in the UK as a fun way to keep fit. Cheerleaders learn dance skills, stunts and gymnastics, and how to do the whole lot with a nice big smile. It's a great way to improve your coordination and aerobic fitness, and of course, it's a very social way to exercise.
Great for: Girls who adored American high school movies and feel they missed their calling as the captain of the Sweet Valley High cheerleading squad.
Try it: London's Pineapple Dance Studios hosts cheerleading classes or contact the British Cheerleading Association for a group in your area.
Gyrotonics
Still relatively new to the UK, the "Gyrotonics Expansion System" is gaining huge popularity worldwide as the new pilates. Created in the USA by dancer Juliu Horvath, gyrotonics is practised one-on-one with an instructor using a special machine (not unlike a medieval torture rack) called a tower pulley. Madonna and Gwyneth Paltrow are said to be huge fans of the system which, like pilates, aims to create long strong muscles and develop core stability.
Great for: Office workers who spend all day slouching over a computer - gyrotonics is brilliant for your posture.
Try it: Gyrotonics is still quite exclusive (and expensive!) but is often taught alongside pilates so it's worth asking at your nearest pilates studio. In London, try Studio 74.
