Waking up on New Year’s Day, it hit you: Did you really make a drunken resolution to have better abs than Pink–or Brad Pitt–this year? Yikes. With your current whenever-you-bother-hitting-the-gym fitness plan, it’s not going to be easy. You need something to keep you going back–just like that addictive cheese dip your aunt made for the holiday party. Check out these unusual options for getting into shape in 2007.
The workout: Pole dancing
The basics: A Body Within Pilates Studio is the only spot in town to offer Sheila Kelley’s S Factor, a movement discipline inspired by striptease and pole dancing. Students advance through seven levels, learning pole tricks and routines that studio owner Margarette Raymond learned from Kelley herself. “It’s all about tapping into your erotic creature,” Raymond says. Next session starts Jan. 7. Free introductory session Jan. 6. $440 for eight weeks at any level. 3701 N. Ravenswood Ave., Suite 204. 773-404-2412.
Perfect for: Lindsay Lohan wannabes (LiLo plays a pole-dancing stripper in the upcoming film “I Know Who Killed Me.”)
Stay away: men (Sorry guys, classes are designed for women only.)
The workout: Circus arts
The basics: The Actors Gymnasium circus and performing arts school lets regular folks channel their inner Flying Wallenda. Work up a sweat while learning unicycling, tightrope walking, trapeze acrobatics, stilt walking and other death-defying circus arts. Level I and II Circus Arts sessions begin in late January ($205 for 10 weeks), as does Beginning Level Aerial Arts class ($140 for 10 weeks). Some drop-in classes are available. Classes are held at the Noyes Cultural Arts Center in Evanston or at Lookingglass Theatre at Water Tower Water Works. 927 Noyes St.; 821 N. Michigan Ave. Registration: 847-328-2795.
Perfect for: fans of HBO’s traveling carnival drama, “Carnivale,” looking to work out frustrations over the cult hit’s recent cancellation
Stay away: coulrophobics (folks with an extreme fear of clowns)
The workout: Bhangra dance
The basics: Head to the Old Town School of Folk Music and get in shape while learning an energetic form of folk dancing from Punjab in northwest India. Following the beat of the dhol, a large Indian drum, men learn traditional Bhangra while women practice Giddha, an expressive form of dancing performed in a semicircle. Wear athletic attire–or go for authenticity with a salwar kamese (Indian outfit of loose trousers and a long shirt)–and expect a cardiovascular workout. Next eight-week session starts Jan. 9. $135, Level I or II. 909 W. Armitage Ave. Registration: 773-728-6000.
Perfect for: Bollywood fans
Stay away: the uncoordinated
The workout: Street fighting
The basics: POW! martial arts gym teaches Krav Maga (pronounced krahv ma-GAH), the hand-to-hand combat system used by the Israeli Army and the Secret Service. The intense, 45-minute class focuses on interval training. Perform punches, kicks and partner drills borrowed from Muay Thai, Western boxing and other disciplines. Owner and instructor Sifu Katalin says it’s “like having a liberal arts and sciences degree” in street fighting. Classes are ongoing. $110 per month for two classes a week; $129 per month for unlimited classes. Special New Year’s packages: six-week class with gear and a private lesson ($399); 10-week version ($549) includes two private lessons. 950 W. Washington St. 312-829-7699.
Perfect for: “Mortal Kombat” addicts
Stay away: wusses
The workout: Samurai sword training
The basics: Pummel those holiday pounds into submission while learning the way of the sword at FORZA!, an Italian word that translates as “strength and power.” The hourlong class combines two Japanese sword-training techniques, Kendo and Aikijujitsu. Times vary. Equinox fitness clubs. See metromix.com for locations.
Perfect for: anyone with enough stamina to endure Tom Cruise’s performance in “The Last Samurai”
Stay away: those with anger-management issues
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METROMIX@TRIBUNE.COM
