Piloxing is the latest entrant on the fitness scene, and it has all the ingredients of being a hit with the crowd – a fun group activity, an intense workout and full of strong basics. This creative and revolutionary workout is a combination of Pilates, boxing, and dance. Created in 2009 by Viveca Jensen, a Swedish Fitness Expert, this exercise form has taken the world by storm. Offering the benefits of Pilates, boxing, and dance, all in just one class, it has proved to be popular among women. The Piloxing class is a group workout with pulsating music led by a trained instructor. The official Piloxing class has three variations – Piloxing for beginners, Piloxing Knockout for advanced performance, and Piloxing Barre. The company licenses the program to clubs across the world, and you can attend a Piloxing workout in over 92 countries! The Basics – Pilates and Boxing Pilates is a popular workout that works on both the body and the mind. The Pilates workouts are done with a mat and specialized apparatus. There are many benefits of Pilates: Develops core strength Helps gain muscle strength and flexibility Enhances breathing awareness and control It’s a low impact exercise that can help in rehabilitating from injuries Promotes weight loss Improves posture Boxing, of course, is as old as time!

Pilates and Yoga are often referred to in the same breath, mainly because of their similarity of blending mind and body in their exercises. Pilates is, however, a fairly new fitness system and was developed in the early 1900’s by a German physical trainer, Joseph Pilates. The benefits of Pilates are numerous and have been vouched for by celebrities and, even Olympic athletes, like Andy Murray! Pilates is a complete body exercise. Joseph Pilates, in fact, called the system ‘Contrology’ to focus on the control of mind and body. There are six major principles on which Pilates’ exercises are based on – Concentration, Control, Precision, Flow, Center, and Breathing. Every exercise uses these principles in tandem. The original Pilates has 34 mat exercises and the modified exercises are supplemented with the use of specially designed apparatuses like the ‘Reformer’, the ‘Magic Circle’ and the ‘Wunda Chair’. As a runner, you must be wondering what are the benefits of Pilates exercises for you and how they can enhance your running performance. 5 Ways Runners Benefit From Pilates: Improves your core – It is important to cross train while creating a training regime for running. Running every day is not the best way to train your body, not even for marathons!

Stress has almost become the natural state of mind in the 21st century. From work to personal issues, everybody is stressing over something or the other. It’s not a surprise if you have ever been told that you should meditate to get over stress! Meditation is an activity where you practice mindfulness and train your mind to concentrate. It has been a practice in several religions like Buddhism and Hinduism over the ages. However, today it is devoid of religious connotations and is used by people of all faith to bring some peace in their lives. There are many forms of meditation – Transcendental Meditation, Heart Rhythm Meditation, Kundalini, Guided Visualization, Qi Gong, Zazen and Mindfulness. In recent times, studies have scientifically proven benefits of meditation through modern equipment like MRI and EEG. One of the benefits of scientific research on meditation is that it has led to the creation of meditation programs and practices like Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy. Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction MBSR is a program developed by Professor Jon Zinn that uses a combination of mindfulness meditation, body awareness and yoga to help people become more mindful. It is used to reduce symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety.

Tired of working out in closed gyms? Looking to get some fresh air and burn more calories? Want to leverage the best of your cardio training? Then beach workouts may be the right option for you! With beach workouts, you can burn more calories in less time – all under the blue sky with a supply of fresh air Benefits of working out on the beach Beach workouts have lots of advantages compared to workouts in a closed gym. Exercises at the beach are low impact, which is different from the same type of exercises done on a firm surface in a gym. The lesser impact on the joints and muscles helps you to recover faster than on a firm surface, making you ready for the next round of workout. You can burn more calories when you work out on the beach because you have to push yourself more against a loose surface. All your smaller muscles of the legs and trunk need to work against the resistance. Your body has to do more work in a shorter time, giving you the best results in calorie burn. Warming up Outdoor workouts demand more hydration, flexibility, and protection from fatigue and injuries.

Finding it difficult to run? Getting tired and fatigued easily at the gym? Not able to understand why your sporting performance is not improving? Perhaps you have neglected an unsung hero of your fitness – the core. When people talk about fitness, they generally think about broad shoulders, beefed up pectorals, elevated traps, strong thighs for men, and a shapely look for women. This, in turn, leads to the neglect of the most important aspect of your fitness – namely, the muscles that form the core. Core training is one of the most misunderstood words when it comes to fitness training. Most people confuse core training with abs training. Core muscles, though anatomically not well categorized, are generally considered to be the groups of muscles present in the mid section of your body – extending from the upper torso to the hips. They protect the spine, stabilize the body, and give the body a toned look. Why do I have to strengthen the core? In order to take your fitness to the next level, you have to focus more on getting the core muscles strong. For example, runners usually have strong legs. They can run long distances ; but after some time, when fatigue sets in, their form changes.