A new year is the perfect time to freshen up your family’s fitness routines. These area gyms and studios all offer exciting full-body workouts that will have you testing your physical limits — and enjoying it.
Trapeze Yoga
Where: ZoMo Yoga in LaGrangeville
Who it’s for: Adults and kids
What’s involved: By working on a waist-high trapeze made from supportive parachute material, “you’re using gravity to open you up in positions that might not be available to you on the mat,” says Zosha Bilyeu, owner of ZoMo Yoga, the Hudson Valley’s first yoga trapeze studio. “It fills in the gaps that are missing with mat yoga, including working on pulling, rowing, and grip strength.”
Expect a lot of core-strengthening exercises, including squats and lunges, as well as to hang upside down at various points. “This opens the space between your vertebrae. One of the many benefits is to relieve back pain and strengthen the chain muscles that run along the spine, down the hips, and down the back of the legs.”
Hudson Valley Ninja
Where: Zoned Fitness in Beacon
Who it’s for: Kids 5-10 years old
What’s involved: Piggybacking on the popularity of the American Ninja Warrior television program, this workout presents kids with a variety of challenges to tackle and master. “They’re going to be doing a vertical climbing wall, monkey bars, ring swinging, climbing ropes, and cargo nets. Other things, like a balance beam, can be added,” says owner and trainer Keith Laug. “There’s a popular piece called the Warped Wall that all the children want to attempt. It’s basically like a skate ramp — the wall comes up higher and angles out. They try to run up this wall and get to the top.
Iron Challenge at Sport of Iron Fitness
Where: Sport of Iron Fitness in Kingston
Who it’s for: Adults
What’s involved At the start of this six- to eight-week program, you’ll meet with a registered dietitian to determine your optimal eating plan. After that, owner Matthew Santiago and his team will design a workout schedule of classes for your specific needs. “We have a slew of HIIT [high-intensity interval training] classes, and most of the time we set people up to do that, because it is the best for overall fitness and fat burn,” Santiago says. They’ll also sometimes recommend “strong” classes (which focus on weight resistance training) or sessions with a personal trainer. The goal can be a specificed weight loss or body fat percentage.
