With spring finally here, it means summer is around the corner, which means bikini season will come up sooner than May 2-4 weekend. Even if we’re still wearing leather jackets and booties, there’s nothing like the promise of bikini weather to get yourself motivated to workout. Here are some fitness trends and products to try to help you squeeze into that sexy bandeau bikini.
It’s one part pilates, and one part ballet. Follow celebrity trainer and former professional ballerina, Marie Helen Bowers as she guides you through an intense mat workout targeting your legs, arms, glutes and abs. Bowers also helped train Natalie Portman when she was preparing for her role in Black Swan. Ballet Beautiful has workout DVDs and classes online. A revolutionary aspect to the workout is that Bowers holds online live classes, as well as private coaching via Skype, if you’re looking to target an area. This workout is great if you are looking to tone up without bulking up as the moves are designed to give “sleek ballet muscles.” Ballet will also improve flexibility and posture, giving you more confidence to wear that bikini!
When breaking a sweat, it couldn’t hurt to break even more of a sweat, right? While you can’t exactly do every workout in a hot yoga studio, you can now create a sweat-inducing environment with your workout wear. Gone are the days of wearing garbage bags or gross plastic fabrics – even though Bradley Cooper’s character in Silver Linings Playbook brought back the garbage bag. The activewear works by increasing your body heat generation and the rate at which you burn calories. This active wear is simple and stylish, but if you want to save money, you can get a similar effect by wearing waist slimming belts or a classic garbage bag during your next cardio workout.
Aerial Fitness
Take your favourite workout to new heights… literally. Strap yourself into a nylon fabric sling and add a new level of intensity to classic floor moves or yoga poses. This is an intense workout because you are using your core and muscles to stabilize yourself. You can also increase flexibility by using gravity in your favour, but you will definitely feel it for the next few days. The best part about this workout is relaxing at the end, like a butterfly wrapped up in a cocoon.
Remember being a kid and wanting a pogo stick or bouncy shoes? This workout will put a bounce into your exercise routine with high intensity cardio and less resistance. Because the boots reduce shock, it’s great for runners suffering from pressure and joint pain. The boots weigh about two pounds, so expect to get great legs and glutes after hopping around in them. There are classes in many Canadian cities, or you can opt to buy a pair of the boots and take them to your local track… if you don’t mind the stares.
