7 alternative fitness classes to try- 大数跨境

TimeOutShanghai

2015-10-26

导读：Bored with the gym? Try these fun, alternative fitness classes in Shanghai

Health & Wellness

Bored of slogging it out on the treadmill? There are lots of weird and wonderful fitness classes worth getting out of the gym for, as Time Out discover

Kendo

What is it? Kendo, the martial art descended from kenjutsu, the ancient Japanese art of swordsmanship. You don't use actual swords, of course; just wooden sticks, or bokuto, but the principles remain the same, with participants seeking to do things such as 'love one's country and society', 'cultivate a vigorous spirit', and 'contribute to the development of culture' through practice which sounds quite a lot grander than what you get out of a boring old gym membership. Protective armour is worn (more on that after the jump). Novices – you can tell who they are because they're the rabble in the corner dressed in civilian clothes – start with the basics, which include the correct way to hold a sword, some footwork, and some strike and thrust patterns. You get to do some shouting also.

Does it make you sweat? Yes, although it's not exactly out-and-out cardio. A lot of it is quite dainty, with delicate footwear requiring a supreme sense of balance and swordwork relying on coordination. Newbies start in their civilian clothes, but it gets a lot sweatier once you're wrapped up in the protective gear, which is actually dark robes, and a grilled mask – which makes you look a bit like a League of Shadows ninja crossed with an ice hockey player.

Anything weird we should know? 100 people – that's about how many there were in our class – dressed in black robes and masks and wielding sticks make for a bit of an intimidating sight, not to mention all the screaming and wailing people are constantly doing. Kendo is in fact an incredibly noisy sport, and this combined with the robes makes for such an extraordinary sight that it can be quite difficult to concentrate, instead finding yourself peering sideways to watch the more advanced players running around thwacking one another on the head.

Verdict Awesome stuff. Doesn’t everyone want to be a Japanese sword-fighter deep down?

Price 200RMB for one two-hour lesson, 2000RMB for three months of unlimited lessons.

Address

Shanghai Kendo

Classes are held every Tuesday, 7.30-9.30pm on the third floor basketball court at Shanghai Conservatory (20 Fenyang Lu). See www.shanghaikendo.com for details.

Reggaeton

What is it? A dance class in the style of reggaeton, the genre of music that lands somewhere between Latin and Caribbean pop. Think plenty of hip thrusts, sexy dance moves, body wiggles and a hardcore workout on the core region and glutes.

Does it make you sweat? Yes, but not so much that you feel like collapsing. It veers far more on the side of energizing than exhausting. The toughest part is the next day, when our aching muscles remind us that we don’t do sexy dance moves very often.

Anything weird we should know? If it’s your first time, some of the moves feel a little odd, particularly wiggling to the floor and trying to hoist yourself up in a delicate and graceful way. When the teacher does it, she looks amazing. We look a little like a beetle that’s fallen on its back and can’t get the right way up again.

Verdict: A must-try. It’s a lot of fun, slightly crazy, and a good chance to try out sexy dance moves in the name of exercise.

Verdict A must-try. It’s a lot of fun, slightly crazy, and a good chance to try out sexy dance moves in the name of exercise.

Price Trial classes are free. After that, drop-in sessions are 170RMB or you can get 16 classes for 2,200RMB.

Address

Studio MT

is at 667 Changhua Lu, near Anyuan Lu, Jingan district; Classes are held between 6.30-7.30pm

Aerial Yoga

What is it? Occasionally referred to as ‘anti-gravity yoga’, it’s pretty much yoga, but incorporating a colourful silk hammock suspended from the ceiling into various moves. The benefits are said to be similar to yoga – good for emotional, psychological and spiritual health – with the hammock enhancing stretching and allowing the body to hang freely. Over the hour class, the teacher moves through vinyasa flow towards longer position holds. It’s not as complicated as we expect, and the hour-long class flies by as we toy with the idea of running away to join the circus. The class is good for beginners, but we feel the true benefits would come after a few lessons when you’re not craning your next to check whether the teacher is still hanging upside down or not.

Does it make you sweat? Sweating is minimal as the movements are completed slowly, but due to the size of the room and your proximity to other yogis, things got a little steamy towards the end of the class. Perspiration aside, the class is certainly a work out, with our shoulders, legs and abs feeling a little weary the following day.

Anything weird we should know? The positioning of the hammocks are adjusted at the beginning of the class, catering to all heights, and though we are momentarily fearful our hammock might snap leaving us sprawled on the floor, we afterwards discover that apparently they can support up to 300 kilos. The classrooms err on the smaller side, which means you might occasionally bump into your neighbour, but the zen vibes help prevent any awkwardness. Word of warning: don’t eat a couple of hours before the class, and take a break if you start to feel dizzy.

Verdict If you love yoga, or swings, or have always wondered deep down if you’d make a good acrobat, then this class is for you. It’s relatively easy, for beginners at least, since it’s slow-moving and good fun. The highlight is definitely the few minutes of savasana (final relaxation) at the end of the class while ensconced in the hammock, but the rest was surprisingly enjoyable too.

Price 200RMB/class (10 and 30 class passes, plus yearly memberships are available - contact My Soul Yoga for prices).

Address

My Soul Yoga

is at Third and Fourth Floors, 218 Fengxian Lu, near Taixing Lu. See www.mysoulyoga.com.cn for more details

Fencing

What is it? Fencing is all about trying to ‘stab’ (touch) your bout partner before they ‘stab’ you. Dressed in protective garb, you to and fro up and down the fencing strip/piste swinging your sabre and aiming for your partner’s chest. The class starts with a run through of the equipment as well as an overview of the required footwork (beginners will learn how to ‘advance’ and advance lunge). Then you get to hold the mighty sabre. You’ll practice repeatedly stabbing a rather large torso to get a feel for the motion. Then, after donning a chest protector, jacket, mask and glove, you’ll hit the strip for your first bout. And although it might seem intimidating rushing toward somebody with a pointy metal object, the protective garb does its job, and having watched an undisclosed amount of Game of Thrones, the sound of slapping sabres seems frighteningly natural.

Does it make you sweat? Sweating was the order of the day in this class. We’re guessing this has a lot do with the protective clothing you’re required to wear, as well as the muscles required to maintain the ‘en guard’ stance and keep your arm elevated. Each bout is relatively short (three minutes or under) but manages to get the heart racing, if not from the exercise, then from the fear of attack.

Anything weird we should know? The gear required for fencing is slightly restrictive, in particular the mask, so if you prefer feeling free and breezy when you exercise, perhaps this isn’t one for you. In addition to the garb, you’re also attached to an electronic body cord - a wire that runs through your jacket and glove and is plugged into the wall - which helps keep score electronically, beeping loudly every time you touch your opponent.

Verdict Not the most zen of activities, but entertaining and exciting, even for beginners. We’re not sure you’ll see us in a fighting scene at King’s Landing, but we’d happily take a few more classes.

Price 300 RMB (45min private class), 65 RMB (90min group class)

Address

Supreme Fencing

is at Room 405, 1010 Zhoujiazui Lu, near Baoding Lu, Hongkou district

Aquabiking

What is it? Biking in the water with some resistance band and water weights exercises thrown in. It's a group class set to uptempo music and the instructor's very excitable.

Does it make you sweat? You can't really tell since you're in the water, but after 20 minutes you really start to feel a thigh burn and you breathe harder. The full hour is broken up into a 20 minute warm-up where you pedal in the water and do some arm exercises with the water-weights, and then a 25-30 minute or so section of intense biking with some upper body exercises incorporated, finally you have a cool-down section that has you doing ab exercises and various stretches in the water. Biking for nearly an hour straight is tough. Really tough. Also, the resistance band workouts that target your arms and upper body get really difficult after a couple of repeats.

Anything weird we should know? Swimcaps are definitely required, and it's best if you wear lengthier swim shorts unless you want to get crotch burn. The whole concept itself is kind of bonkers, but the vibe of the class is fun, everyone's working out and the instructor is really upbeat!

Verdict It gets bonus points for being at the Jingan Shangri-la, so post-workout you get access to the luxurious locker and shower rooms plus spa and Jacuzzi.

Price 80 RMB for the first lesson that last 1 hour + various other price packages.

Address

Shui in Aquabiking

is at Hilton Hotel, 250 Huashan Lu, near Yanan Xi Lu, Jingan district; Classes are held 9.30-10.30am Tue, Fri-Sat

Brazilian Jiu Jitsu

What is it? Although it might sound bizarre to some people, to anyone with an interest in mixed martial arts fighting (MMA) will be incredibly familiar with this South American school of the Japanese martial art. The Brazilian Gracie family has practiced jiu-jitsu since 1917 and for a while dominated the Ultimate Fighting Championships, kick starting a new era of popularity for the style. Brazilian jiu-jitsu is a martial art based on self defense, grappling and ground fighting. The focus is on neutralising the threat your opponent causes you, while in turn becoming a threat to them. It all sounds very violent, but it’s not: beginner’s classes start with basic self defenc?e techniques and introduce new techniques that are practiced in pairs. More advanced classes focus more on the practice as there are fewer techniques to teach. Every class is conducted in a seamless bilingual fashion.

Does it make you sweat? Streams, rivers, TORRENTS. It’s incredibly taxing and heavy exercise as a beginner, but the payoff comes shortly after class when you find yourself walking home in a great mood with higher spirits than you’ve had in a long time. It really is worth every last drop of sweat.

Anything weird we should know? It might seem obvious, but grappling in close quarters leaves no room for feeling precious about, well, anything. You will be sharing your personal space with someone else, that’s just the way it works. There was one woman present in the class we tried, meaning women will have to be totally comfortable with practicing with men before training here, which likely won’t appeal to everyone.

Verdict If all the above sounds good then do it. It’s an intense and rewarding workout.

Price 150RMB for one hour lesson.

Address

SHBJJ

is at First Floor, Number 7, Lane 333 Shaanxi Nan Lu, near Zhaojiabang Lu, Xuhui district

Rock climbing

What is it? Er, climbing a rock wall. Join introductory rock-climbing lessons with a personal instructor to get an introduction to the sport of rock-climbing, safety instructions, and some basic rock-climbing techniques. We try out the easiest route on the outdoor rock-wall as well as climb along the indoor bouldering wall, but the instructor gives us plenty of tips on hand grips, foot holds and positioning of our body.

Does it make you sweat? A little, but not too much. It definitely makes you ache a little the next day as you're using never-before-used back and arm muscles, but nothing too bad. The instructor doesn't push you to climb too much as they're well aware that too much climbing initially will result in soreness, sometimes so bad that it deters people from coming back!

Anything weird we should know? Not particularly. Rock-climbing uses some pretty funky ballet pointe-like shoes but the strangest thing has to be the Spiderman-like sensation that you’re climbing a wall.

Verdict As a get-fit-sweat-it-out/one-off fitness class, not so much, but as an introduction to rock-climbing lesson if you want to get into the sport, good stuff.

Price 350 RMB per person for a 1.5 hour one-on-one coaching session; 1,500 RMB/5 classes; 2,500 RMB/8 classes

Address

Rockdancing

is at Room 105, Floor 1, Block A, Sports Loft Space, 128 Huayuan Lu, near Jingxiang Lu

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