The Fastest Way to Burn Fat at Every Gym
If you feel like you can't burn fat fast enough, then a fitness class can put you through the paces for a more efficient workout than you'd manage on your own. (Oh, hey, ~*ReSuLtS~*!)
The thing is, not all fitness classes are designed to help you reach your specific fitness goal. Pilates and barre, for instance, might help you tone up, but won't really boost your heart rate (one way to torch calories fast) or create an after-burn that stokes your metabolism even after you leave the gym. For that, you'll need a higher-intensity, faster-paced workout.
To help you pinpoint the best way to sweat buckets, increase your metabolism, and melt fat - no boutique fitness class required - Cosmopolitan.com asked some of the largest commercial gyms to name the most challenging fitness classes they offer nationally.
David Barton Gym: Shredded
What it's like: There's no rest, ever. Set to a loud, aggressive playlist, the music sets the tone for this 60-minute class involving a sequence of familiar exercises like squats, dead lifts, lunges, presses, rows. Without a learning curve, you'll spend less time transitioning between moves. (Downtime can be your downfall because it makes even hour-long workouts less efficient.)
New York, Boston, and Philadelphia Sports Clubs: UFX 2.0
What it's like: Before you jump into UFX 2.0, (short for Ultimate Fitness Experience), a 60-minute interval training class involving strength training, cardio, and endurance training followed by short recovery periods, an instructor evaluates you and prescribes the right amount of weight and intensity to use during class for your specific fitness level, which is about as close to personal training as you're going to get in a group fitness setting.
After a dynamic warm-up, you'll use kettle bells, rowing machines, TRX, body weight exercises, and medicine balls to cycle to take on the workout of the day.
The class runs in four-week cycles, with workouts getting progressively more difficult each week, so as long as you show up regularly, you can expect to see some noticeable improvements - and you'll be in even better shape whenever you go back to working out on your own.
Planet Fitness: 30-Minute Express Circuit
What it's like: This quick, circuit-based workout is designed to work your entire body in the least amount of time possible. Rotating through 10 strength-training machines and 10 cardio-step stations, you'll work for 60 seconds, then rest for 30 seconds.
Life Time Fitness: STRIKE!
What it's like: This intense, 45-minute workout features intervals of kickboxing-inspired combos performed with weighted gloves and light body bars for both cardio and muscle conditioning. You'll repeat five to six rounds of cardio kickboxing combinations, followed by a combat drill involving weight-bearing strikes and blocks, followed by a recovery period. Which, by the sounds of it, you're probably going to need.
Anytime Fitness: HIIT-X
What it's like: HIIT-X is a 30-minute class that involves three four-minute rounds of high intensity intervals with varying periods of work and rest. You'll perform simple strength training moves involving your body weight, dumbbells, or a weighted bar between rounds.
Equinox: Fully Loaded
What it's like: This 45- to 60-minute class involves three rounds of increasingly difficult exercises involving dumbbells, kettlebells, sandbags, ViPRs. After that, you'll alternate between two-minute rounds of nonstop movement ("flows") with 30 seconds to recover and finish up with some floor exercises. "It's nonstop, and it allows the participants to feel and see how well they are moving," says Amy Dixon, certified fitness instructor and national creative manager for group fitness at Equinox. "It is also a fabulous cardio workout."
Exhale: Exhale Core Fusion Extreme (CFX)
What it's like: In this 60-minute class, you'll alternate between high-intensity exercise stations involving gliders, heavy dumbbells, a plyo box, suspension training, and explosive cardio moves, with brief periods of active recovery. If it sounds exhausting in a good way, that's because it is: The circuit changes monthly to mix things up just as soon as your body starts to acclimate to the routine.
24 Hour Fitness: HIGHX
What it's like: Instructors liken this high-intensity, explosive training program to boot camp. You'll cycle through a series of stations involving battle ropes, dumbbells, ab wheels, speed ladders, hurdles, slam balls, jump ropes, and body weight exercises. At each station, you'll alternate between two exercises for 30 seconds apiece. After three minutes, you move on to the next station. "The simplicity and creativity of each exercise make it exciting for participants," says Nick Patel, a 24 Hour Fitness master trainer based in Plano, Texas.
Crunch: Overdrive
What it's like: You won't need any equipment for Overdrive, a high-intensity interval training class that maxes out your heart rate with burpees, jumping jacks, tuck jumps, basketball jumps, and plyometric movements.