As much as triathletes love the constant repetition of their favorite three sports (or favorite 2 if you're just an "anti duathlete warrior") sometimes you gotta throw some extra spice in the routine. Lately I've been checking out some different fitness venues to see which cross training sports make me tingle. I'll post the "it's not for me" and "when is this class over" sections separately.... the following are the "holy crap I'm superman" classes:
#1 - Paddleboarding!
If you're not sure what the hell that word is you probably don't live near the water or you "can'ts read good". In the simplest terms... board + paddle = paddleboarding. It's a large stable surf board that you stand on and paddle paddle paddle. It looks something, errr exactly like this...
Jealous yet? (Paddleboard Orlando's trip to Rum Cay)
Now I'm not gonna vouch for this sport just because it's a flippin blast, I'd put down wii bowling as cross training too if that were the case. This is without question a workout... Assembly required includes: arms, core, quads, calves & all ten toes (less if you're accident prone, more if you're an alien). Core is the biggie, you really have to engage your midsection to get a good paddle stroke going. On top of that if you have a great company nearby like
Paddleboard Orlando they offer more than just paddling. I've been to their happy hour cruises, twilight paddles, boot camps, yoga, races and hopefully soon their brick workouts...you could say it's addicting but that'd be selling it short.
Cons: None, unless you don't like getting your hair wet & you fall over while standing on a regular basis... and if that's the case I'd suggest loosening up your g-string and maybe seeing a doctor.
#2 - Yoga
Everyone knows what yoga is so I'm not covering that topic. If you don't know what yoga is please consult google, if you don't know what google is than shoot yourself. That wasn't very Om of me... I take it back, just don't procreate.
So there's many different types of yoga: Power, bikram, hatha, vinyasa, asthanga, and a few other practices that sound like they could be part of the yiddish vocabulary. My favorite is hot power yoga and if I'm feelin froggy bikram.
Power yoga is a somewhat American interpretation of yoga. It's involves calisthenics, cardio and a rather quick flow from one pose to another. You'll never hold a pose for more than a few tough moments which is what my scatter brain loves... it keeps me in the moment rather than holding a pose for 5 minutes and wondering whether Mary Jane in the front row has fake boobs or not.
Bikram is more about promoting flexibility, preventing injuries and detoxifying the body. It's normally held in a room around 100 degrees which means if you have a man purse it's about to get in the splash zone. These classes I find are best as pre or post race purifiers rather than standard practice, but maybe I just can't stand the heat in this kitchen.
Cons: if you're a gassy individual - you may wanna lay off the cheese prior to yoga practice. As you open up the soul you also open up....well, other things. There is no judgement in yoga, but there is laughter.
If you're not sure what yoga you'd like, you want to experience some other types than your normal practice or you're a professional yogi and wanna have some fun I suggest events like the wonderful Rasa-Lila Fest. Tons of different studios come out to teach for an entire day so you're sure to find the gumby within.
Stay tuned for the next post "Runaway Crosstrain, Never comin back..."
