By Corrie Pikul
We decode CrossFit, Tabata — and the other fitness buzzwords you’ve been hearing.
The New “It” Weight: ViPR
Courtesy of Equinox
What it is: The ViPR (“Vitality, Performance and Re-Conditioning”) is a large rubber tube that weighs between 8.8 and 44 pounds. While it may not look like much when it’s lying on the floor, fitness trainers use it to get their clients into amazing shape with any one of the 9,000 potential moves in which the ViPR is carried, tilted, dragged, thrown, flipped, dipped, swung and rolled. (See what we mean here.)
Why you should try it: ViPR training is based on flowing total-body moves, like “thread the needle,” which incorporates arms, legs and the core (it’s the sixth move in this slideshow). This kind of coordinated, 3-D action is considered “loaded movement training,” and it helps not only build strength but also improve balance, agility and cardio fitness, explains Lisa Wheeler, national creative manager for group fitness at Equinox gyms, where the ViPR is used in classes and training sessions. And that makes your body better prepared for life’s fitness challenges (like the 35-pound kid who wants to be picked up, or the tree limb that needs to be flung off the lawn).
Keep in mind: Because ViPR workouts involve the whole body, you won’t be able to baby a sore muscle. Try this when you’re feeling 100 percent.
The Fitness Prop You’re Seeing Everywhere: Wobbly Boards
Lance Smith
What it is: Paddleboards allow you to do yoga on the water; Surfset boards are used for “surfing” on land; and, for the most meta of workouts, you can use an Indo yoga board to practice yoga on the water…on land.
Why you should try it: Whether on sea or on land that’s made to feel like the sea, these boards provide an unstable surface that works muscles in your core and lower body as you try not to fall off. They’re also a great way to improve your balance.
Keep in mind: Because your feet are your main connection to your board, you may find yourself gripping tightly with your toes and tensing your arches, says Dawn Ehman, a certified fitness instructor in Ocean City, Maryland, who teaches stand-up paddleboard yoga as well as Indo board yoga classes. This can lead to a slight burning feeling or post-workout soreness. Before getting on-board, Ehman suggests warming up by pointing and flexing your toes and rotating your feet to loosen your ankles.
The Regimen Turning Everyone Into Addicts: CrossFit
Thinkstock
What it is: CrossFitters often sound like they’re speaking their own private language. Here’s what it all means: They go to one of about 10,000 independently owned boxes (gyms), where they do a WOD (Workout of the Day) that involves combinations of Olympic lifts (e.g., power cleans), plyometric jumps and old-fashioned moves like pull-ups. In each WOD, they perform a certain number of exercises as fast as they can or complete as many reps as possible (AMRAP) in a specific amount of time. The coaches (trainers) at that box might also offer challenges like gymnastics, sprinting or lifting sandbags.
Why you should try it: The WODs are essentially HIIT (high-intensity interval training) routines that involve short bursts of heart-pounding activity with rests in between. As you’ve noticed while admiring your CrossFitting coworker’s toned biceps, this gets results. But the real reason CrossFit has become so popular is that it simultaneously fosters a super-competitive yet super-supportive atmosphere. Everyone from the new mom to the out-of-shape CEO is encouraged to give every workout their all — even if that results in a little dry-heaving (vomiting in the box is relatively common).
Keep in mind: When pushing it to our limit as fast as we can, most of us tend to compromise form, which can lead to serious injuries. Look for box owners who are sticklers for good technique, and start with at least one introductory session.
The Best New Way To Do Your Standard Workout: Tabata
Thinkstock
What it is: Think of the Tabata Protocol not so much as a fitness routine but more as a way to structure your sweat session: For four minutes, you alternate 20 seconds of intense effort with 10 seconds of rest. The idea comes from Japanese fitness researcher Izumi Tabata, who found while working with Olympic speed skaters that this short, grueling workout is surprisingly effective at building muscle and improving aerobic and anaerobic capacity. You can use this same format with any exercise: cycling, running, jumping rope, resistance training, dancing in your living room.
Why you should try it: A 4-minute Tabata-style workout of squat jumps burned 13.5 calories a minute and doubled calorie-burning potential for 30 minutes afterward, found Michele Olson, PhD, a professor of exercise science and a principal researcher at the Auburn University at Montgomery Kinesiology Laboratory. A new study from ACE found that by repeating a strength-building Tabata workout 4 times (for a total of 20 minutes), participants burned between 240 and 360 calories and built muscle from head to toe (here’s the full routine).
Keep in mind: You literally need to make every second count, so make sure you’re fit enough to work hard for those 20-second intervals.
The Most Exciting Class Mash-Ups: Aqua Spinning, Piloxing
Marilou Daubé, AQUA Studio NY
What it is: They’re the chocolate-and-peanut-butter equivalents of your favorite workouts: cycling and swimming (or treading water), Pilates plus kickboxing, tribal dance and yoga (as in Buti or bodyART). Known among fitness pros as “cross disciplining,” these classes combine two styles of training into one workout.
Why you should try it: Aside from the novelty factor (bikes in a pool!), you’ll be getting the best of both worlds. For example, you may feel you’re using more of your core and arms while spinning against water resistance; your hamstrings may feel less tight after a cardio-yoga class if you’re alternating mountain climbers with down-dogs; you’ll definitely stay alert in Piloxing when dance moves are interspersed with upper-cuts and Roundhouse kicks.
Keep in mind: Even though aqua cycling doesn’t require that you know how to swim and dance-yoga welcomes the inflexible as well as the super-bendy, total newbies might want to talk to the instructor one-on-one before class starts.
As a reminder, always consult your doctor for medical advice and treatment before starting any program.
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Your Goal: Find An ‘Emergency’ Routine You Can Do Anywhere
You need a portable routine to squeeze in between scheduled workouts — something you can easily do in your living room, a hotel room or the spare room at your parents’ house (where you’ll be staying during your next visit). <a href=”http://www.oprah.com/health/Dr-Ozs-20-Minute-Workout”>This routine by New York City celebrity trainer Joel Harper</a> builds muscle, creates flexibility and keeps your fitness level up without requiring any equipment. Best of all: You need only 20 minutes. <b>Read more:</b> <a href=”http://www.oprah.com/health/Dr-Ozs-20-Minute-Workout”>The in-betweener quickie workout</a>
Your Goal: Work Out At Least Four Times A Week
You feel the most pumped to work out at night, but deadlines, family, friends and “Mad Men” have made it hard to stick to a schedule. Try picking an evening class (maybe even a pricey yoga or spin session) and treating it like a meeting or a social obligation. When you have a regular fitness appointment, you schedule the rest of your life around your workout instead of trying to fit your workout into your life, says Michelle Kennedy, MS, Best Life fitness expert. If that doesn’t work, you may have to override your natural rhythms. The first week or two might be tough, but Kennedy swears a.m. workouts get easier over time. And she should know: because of her schedule and two young children, she needs to leave for the gym by 4:30 a.m. <b>Read more:</b> <a href=”http://www.oprah.com/blogs/Ask-Bob-Greenes-Team-Whats-the-Best-Time-of-Day-to-Work-Out”>The best time of day to work out</a>
Your Goal: Transition From The Treadmill To The Race Course
You’ve been racing yourself (or the little red dot that serves as your digital doppelganger) for months, and now you’re ready to challenge another runner — or even a crowd of them. Personal trainer Andrea Metcalf has a six-week guide that will help you run your first 5K in under 30 minutes. It involves alternating a circuit of 2 minutes of walking followed by 2 minutes of jogging and then 1 minute of running. <a href=”http://www.oprah.com/health/Andrea-Metcalfs-Six-Week-5K-Training-Program”>Get the details, as well Metcalf’s favorite post-run stretches</a>. <b>Read more:</b> <a href=”http://www.oprah.com/health/Andrea-Metcalfs-Six-Week-5K-Training-Program”>The run-for-your-life 5K training program</a>
Your Goal: Do Something About Your Tummy
It’s one of life’s unfair truths: Your chances of washboard abs are mostly determined by your body type — like how much extra weight you’re carrying and where you’re carrying it. But regardless of your abdominal DNA, you can build a stronger, more toned-looking core that can support your back, help you stand straighter (and therefore look slimmer) and lower your risk of injury. Skip sit-ups and crunches, and instead focus on planks: <a href=”http://www.oprah.com/health/Essential-Exercises-Push-Ups-Downward-Dog-Squats-Planks/3″>Here’s how to do them correctly</a>. Once you’ve mastered them, incorporate your legs and arms by doing <a href=”http://www.oprah.com/health/The-10-Best-New-Exercises-for-Women/2″>mountain climbers like these with a stability ball</a>. <b>Read more:</b> <a href=”http://www.oprah.com/health/Essential-Exercises-Push-Ups-Downward-Dog-Squats-Planks/3″>The 6 essential exercises everyone should know how to do</a>
Your Goal: Get Red-Carpet-Ready Thighs
Squats are a big-name trainer’s go-to move; you’ve seen them mentioned in articles about how this celebrity or that one got their pre-baby body back, or got fit for the beach scenes in their last movie, or prepared for that awards show. You know you can’t easily spot-shrink the thighs nature (or your parents) gave you, but squats can help you reshape them. For those of us without trainers, doing squats right can be a little confusing. How low should you go? How should you hold the weights? Which way should you point your feet? <a href=”http://www.oprah.com/health/How-to-Do-Squats-Exercise-Video”>Bob Greene breaks it all down in this short video</a>. <b>Watch the video:</b> <a href=”http://www.oprah.com/health/How-to-Do-Squats-Exercise-Video”>How to do a squat</a>
Your Goal: Develop Comebacks To Your Best Excuses
You’re pretty good about sticking to a fitness plan, but there are those days when you’d really love a kick in the sweatpants. Need a good reason to work out today? <a href=”http://www.oprah.com/health/Workout-and-Fitness-Obstacles-Exercise-and-Motivation-Bob-Greene”>Here are Bob Greene’s Top 10 excuse-busters</a>, including the obvious (you want to look better) as well as the ones you often forget about (you love your kids, you don’t sleep well). Print these out and tape them to the inside of your closet — it’s the next best thing to having Bob on speed dial. <b>Read more:</b> <a href=”http://www.oprah.com/health/Workout-and-Fitness-Obstacles-Exercise-and-Motivation-Bob-Greene”>The one way to boost your mood, sleep better and look great</a>
Your Goal: Save Money On Gym (And Trainer) Fees
A new survey from the American Cancer Society found that women are more likely to consider working out to be “work” than men: Forty percent of women said they would be more physically active in their free time if exercise felt more like play. You can relate. You’re sick of cardio machines that don’t take you anywhere, and you secretly hope to get kicked out of boot camp. Good news: You can burn just as many calories with some of <a href=”http://www.oprah.com/health/Burn-Calories-While-Having-Fun-Fun-Ways-to-Work-Out”>these nontraditional exercises that make working out feel fun again</a>. Instead of running, try Ultimate Frisbee, or drop the dumbbells in favor of a hiking pack you can take with you into the hills. <b>Read more:</b> <a href=”http://www.oprah.com/health/Burn-Calories-While-Having-Fun-Fun-Ways-to-Work-Out”>7 fun exercises your trainer doesn’t want you to know about</a>
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