But endorphin rush aside, remember when you didn’t move unless it was for entertainment purposes? Back before your high school track coach taught you that running is pain after he chased you for an entire mile around the track throwing footballs at your head until you threw up – all in an effort to decrease your mile time? (True story.) Kids don’t exercise because they are supposed to. They do things because they are fun. Exercise is incidental. We adults seem to have that equation backwards.
Fun Is Not Incidental
After a wave of adult-themed exercise trends a la Carmen Electra’s stripper-robics & Teri Hatcher showing Oprah on national television how firm pole dancing makes your…arms, the newest trends seem to be going a more childlike direction. Less porn, more pogo-sticking. Wow, that came out dirtier than I meant it to sound. How about Less porn, more Parkour? Nope, still dirty. Double dutch? Hula hooping?? Egads I have a dirty mind.
Back to the children. A new wave of fitness products and trends that were formerly considered the strict domain of kiddies have been scaled for a grown-up crowd. Let’s just try not to ruin these by making them about the exercise, okay?
Pogoing
Remember how high you could fly on that little spring-loaded stick? And then remember how lethal the tiniest little pothole could be? Now, forget that second feeling and focus on the first. (Okay worry wart – they have protective gear now. Yeah I know you cherish the skin on your knees. Me too.)
“With obesity rising […], we need ways of exercise that seem like fun but burn a lot of calories in a short period of time,” Nichelle Hubley, a kinesiology student, said in a statement. She added that a pogostick version of dodgeball is a great way to torch calories while still releasing your inner kid.
“In California gyms, pogo has become the latest workout fad.” An instructor told ABC Good Morning America the activity is an all-body experience. So you know if they are doing it in California it has to be good for you. Right?? Besides, pogo sticks + dodge ball = extreme awesomeness.
Parkour
This new old sport is officially about using only the human body to move efficiently from one place to another. Unofficially, Parkour is all about doing exactly what your parents used to yell at you for and why you didn’t get taken out in public a lot as a kid: climbing all over stuff. Participants wage a guerilla-style campaign on public landmarks and buildings, climbing, jumping, cartwheeling and by-and-large getting to their destination in the most dangerous way possible. It also is a lot of fun. Admit it, every time you pass that big fountain with the waterfall in the atrium of your work, you still have the urge to climb in. That’s what I thought.
Want to see Parkour in action? Just type it in to you tube. Crazies everywhere post their latest and greatest. Be warned though, it is not for the weak of stomach.
Hula Hooping
You can buy hula hooping fitness videos, weighted specialty hoops and even “hoop gear” to trick out your circle. Even major fitness mags are getting in on the trend with new hoop workouts, like this one from Health.com. If you don’t believe hooping can get your heart rate up (or if you just want to see something really cool), then you have to check out the Cirque du Soleil hoop act.
Jump Rope
This one never really went out of style, at least with boxers (and crossfitters!) but except for the occasional double-under, we adults have managed to remove all element of fun from this playground staple. There are amazing things one can do with just a couple of ropes and a bunch of crazy people. (Okay, technically that could encompass a lot more than jump roping but I’m not going there.) Check out this video that showcases the sheer athleticism of the humble rope at all skill levels:
Trapeze aerobics (thanks to Turbo Jennie for the vid!). Aerial dancing (I have actually tried this one but it’s been a long time!) Air yoga. Urban Rebounding. And yes I realize that all of these will have to wait until I’m no longer preggo. So – what’s on your list of workout lusts??
I SO dying to check out the same ones you are. Especially the TRAPEZE!
Lately we've taken to carpet roller skating and I am SORESORE in places Id expected (quads/core) and ones Id not planned for (butt–and not from working the muscles there but from slamming to the floor :)).
Great post to tell people there are plenty of ways to have fun & exercise & lose weight too!!! They all sound fun! I used to be a great hula hooper when I was young so maybe I should get back to that & trim the middle area some more too! I also had a pogo stick. Maybe get back to that! I had one of those fun balls you sat on & bounced all around with.. I LIKED THAT! I have to start thinking like a kid more! Wish the grandkids were in the same state, then I could learn from them! AND, yes, jump roping can be quite hard and quite the workout!
Thx Charlotte!
And I just about choke on my Frosted Mini-Wheats. Yeah, I eat Frosted Mini-Wheats for breakfast. I’m a big kid.
Let’s see…where to begin?
Pogo-Dodgeball : Where do I sign up?!
Parkour : Apparently I’m already a practitioner and didn’t realize it; I call it Tag with a Two-Year-Old
Hula Hooping : I used to be good at this, but just a little bit of a belly and I lost my hip swing. I actually tried this again in the middle of Target a few weeks ago in an attempt to entertain my daughter. I failed.
Jump Rope : Not bad, but kind of boring. I was never good at the whole multiple users thing.
I am a 100% klutz, so I tend to stick to standards, i.e. elliptical, stationary bike, track, weight machines. Last time I was near a free weight it ended up on my foot. And I wasn’t even the one using the thing. No joke.
I now know what my newest business venture will be: taking a large room of gym space and making it into a Parkour environment that changes every few days. Seriously, think about the possibilities. Sit and design the environments and then just go into the room early one morning or late one night and “rearrange the furniture.” You can use everyday objects, too; a couch here, a flight of stairs, the stray ottoman. Endless possibilities and the “user” won’t get bored or know how to use it from instinct because the room will always change. Now I just need investors. Takers?
Well it's good to see that kids aren't the only ones having fun!!
These guys are really brave! Makes me think I should have gone into Emergency Room medicine 🙂
What about the trampoline! I had a mini one to work out with at several points in my life. I still want a big one…so love them 🙂
I so can't hula hoop any more. My hubby and I tried it at the store a little while ago. So sad. Maybe I need do it again 🙂 hehe.
It's a sad (but true fact) that kids have more coordination than I do!
Me + Pogostick + Dodgeball = death wish … I think I'll stick with the hula hoop and jump rope… 😉
The only problem with some of those kiddie gadgets is that as I recall, they're fun for about 5 or ten minutes, and then after that, not so much. As a kid, you just put the pogo stick, hula hooop, or jumprope away when you get bored. (Or more likely, leave it lying in the driveway). But as an adult you'd probably feel like you had to slog through another 25 minutes or so, or it wouldn't count, and then you'd kill the fun of it.
I still fantasize about an adult playground full of swings and merry go rounds and other self-propelled rides sized for grownups. Someday!
I want to try all those things! My ex does parkour. He and I used to climb up building at night. It's fun (I blame my weak climbing abilities to my short stubby legs :D).
I still want to learn to ice-skate and ski (the latter might be a bit hard in sunny South Africa). And I think the hula-hoop would be perfect for me…
I doubt they make pogo-sticks that could take my weight… They sure don't make mini-trampolines for girls of my stature!
The other day I was with a friend who had a kid and we went to the park for a while. I got on the swing for the first time in about 20 years and it was awesome! I went about it sort of gingerly, since I didn't want to fall too far should the swing break, but it was hard work! And I was stiff the next day, even though I work out every day… I should definitely get to the park more often.
I do water aerobics every day and this week a few of us have started playing games like catch and water polo after the class. It's great fun… At almost 40 I'm the youngest in the class, but we are rocking!
The person I'm learning from the most about "play-outs" is Mizfit!
Since the race, I've gotten more than my share of fun stuff in. It barely feels like I'm working out and then I add up what I've done and it's like – holy hell, I've burnt a lot of calories.
In the last 3 weeks I have done salsa, west coast swing, zumba, zumba toning, water volleyball, rollerskating, dance dance revolution, swimming/diving, and riding bikes around with my fiance. Beyond the yoga and weights I make myself do, I find I'm doing very few "traditional" cardio sessions per week and more "activities".
I lust after trying just about anything and everything new. Aerial dance? Trapeze? Hell yes. I also wish I had one of those big long trampolines from my old gym. I also want to now try windsurfing. Name something, and it's likely I want to try it!
Pogo!!!
Yes hoola hooping,skipping,bicycling and walking also could be fun while we lose the much needed calories and fat.Wonderful post here.
I jumped rope this week and nearly killed myself. It's harder than I remember and man did I get out of breath!
We kinda sorta got kicked out of our rec center and our pool for working out: the kids are too much to handle and they were getting into everything no matter how hard we tried. So the park work out it is for us. Not as much fun as running and sliding as it's more like grown up work out while the kids play with things they can't cut off their fingers with or annoy gramps on the treadmill. It's amazing how much hard work I'll do to work out, then I won't even get off the park bench to push the kids on the swing or go down the slide with them! I have to force myself to play with them at the park, but the pay off is not only a stronger me, but the kids think I'm awesome…at least at the park.