January is here!!!! I’m officially naming it the fittest month! That’s because everyone wants to make up for their holiday sins, so they flood fitness studios, pound the pavement and hit the hiking trails in droves. I can practically feel the feel-good exercise hormones surging through the city. To celebrate the New Year, here are my top ways to get fit in 2014…
1. Start the New Year off on the right fit foot with FREE FITNESS! This one combines the best of resolutions: Get fit + save money! And the Valley has plenty of no-strings-attached fitness options. My fave freebie: Lululemon Sunday Yoga at Scottsdale Quarter (10:30am-11:30). Mark your calendars because January has a ridiculously amazing lineup of instructors for January: January 5 is Jenn Chiarelli, January 12 is Julie Blew, January 19 is Kate Makaroff, January 26 is Beri Golding – amazing, right!?! Other fitness freebies: Group runs with Sole Sports, lululemon Biltmore 5k Run Club Thursdays at 6pm with Tyler Webb, Nike+Run club Wednesday nights at 6pm at Nike Scottsdale Quarter and hiking any one of the surrounding mountains.
2. Interval training is predicted to be a huge HIIT for 2014. According to an American College of Sports Medicine survey, fitness experts named High Intensity Interval Training the trendiest way to get fit this year. So what is HIIT, exactly? The textbook definition is short bursts of high-intensity exercise followed by a short period of rest or recovery. Where can you hit HIIT in the Valley, you ask: StudioMixx, Amenzone, CrossFit and FIIT, to name a few.
3. Find a calorie-burning partner in crime! Who has time to keep up with workouts and keep up with friends? The answer: buddy workouts! By combining the two, you get the best of both worlds: calorie burning + bonding! Plus, having an exercise alley means built-in motivation and accountability. My fave buddy workouts: Karve North Scottsdale, hiking & signing up for fun runs together.
4. Mix it up! We all know that doing the exact same workout can stall results and lead to plateaus… yet we stick with what’s familiar because it’s, well, familiar. Time to jump out of your comfort zone and time to jumpstart your fitness! That means yogis doing Zumba, cross-fitters doing Pilates, runners doing restorative yoga… you get the idea. Try something new and you may just surprise yourself – and see some surprising results! For the ultimate mix-it-up gym pass, www.fittbd.com lets you gym jump to the best yoga/Pilates/barre/interval studios across the Valley. Memberships now on sale!
5. Do something you’ve always wanted to do (finally). I’ve had fencing on my must-try list for… way too long. This year I’m going to finally do it. What do you want to cross off your list? Maybe you’ve always wanted to take a tennis lesson… or try rock climbing… or ballroom dancing. Time to take it off the to-do list and actually DO IT!
Do you have any excerise groups for people over 55 to 70 that like to hike etc.
I’ll do some digging into hiking groups and let you know what I find. In the meantime, here’s a link to running groups in the Valley. I’ve joined most of them and there were runners of all ages. Here’s the link:
http://arizonafoothillsmagazine.com/fitness/running/fun-and-free-run-clubs-in-phoenix/