Whether you are someone who has made an impromptu mid-year resolution to get fit, or who is tired of the usual squats and jumping jacks — there are many opportunities in the city to veer off from a staid fitness regime and indulge in a little mix-and-match until you find what suits you the best.
Here are our five picks that you can sign up for right now so that you feel less guilty about your end-of-summer-party feast.
Cardio Ballet at Anvil Centre
Don’t imagine young kids wearing pink tutus, high buns and pointe shoes, this class is for adults (16 plus), and is far from the regimental ballet sessions in Black Swan. The class, as mentioned on the Anvil Centre website, doesn't require you to know how to perform a plié or a pirouette; it's open to those with zero knowledge of ballet. The class includes basic movements from ballet, and is designed to strengthen and lengthen your body.
The six-session course is priced at $57.14 plus tax. For details, New Westminster Parks & Recreation website.
Located at 777 Columbia St.
Pole dancing at Ava Fitness
Jessica Lyn who runs Ava Fitness, is an experienced pole dancer who has performed in strip clubs in Toronto, Paris and London. While you can sign up to learn pole dance basics, aerial and circus arts, or erotic and flow classes from Lyn, her studio also offers specific lessons focusing on flexibility, and fitness and conditioning. Here's where you can finally commit to doing that perfect split you always dreamed of.
Check out Ava Fitness website for complete schedule of classes and pricing
Located at 735 Carnarvon St.
Nordic walking with New Westminster Walker’s Caucus
Imagine there is snow and walk like you are cross-country skiing. Yep, with the poles. When you walk this way, according to a report in Harvard Health Publishing, you burn more calories and also work more muscles than when you would walk the ‘normal’ way. There is a group of Nordic walkers right here in the city who meet at the Queensborough Community Centre weekly to take a brisk walk with the poles. You can grab a pole from the community centre desk for free, and join them on Tuesdays at 9 a.m.
Check out Walkers Caucus website for more details.
Meet-up point: Queensborough Community Centre, 920 Ewen Ave.
Bootcamp at Survivor Fitness
If you are deeply committed to getting fit — enough to not snooze your morning alarm — the Survivor Fitness Camp might just be what you are ready for. Your week will include several sessions with a trainer who will push you to the limits — “We’ll tell you from the start, this is going to be difficult,” as per the fitness studio's website. Though their intense schedule reminds one of the popular-but-verbal-abuse-heavy show The Biggest Loser, their website confirms there won’t be any yelling. Phew.
A 10-class package costs $165. There is more than one membership option — visit Survivor Fitness website for more details.
Located at 825 McBride Blvd.
Hatha Yoga at Dancing Cat Yoga Studio
Learn the over 5,000-year-old art of hatha yoga to strengthen and tone your body. The yoga practice, besides the twists and bends, focuses heavily on deep breathing. “We enter the pose with the breath, sit in the pose with the breath and leave the pose with the breath,” writes Gail Leslie, owner of the oldest yoga studio in New Westminster, on the studio’s website. A consistent practice of Hatha yoga not just melts away those extra inches around your waist, but also brings in inner peace, as per their website.
Each class is $15. For more details visit Dancing Cat Studio website.
Located at 704 Sixth St.
Connect with Naveena Vijayan on Instagram @naveenavijayan.
Email Naveena, [email protected].
