Trampolining, indoor skiing, parkour, bubble soccer, hyper stimulation: Gym-free workouts you need to try
FORGET running on the treadmill or battling through a spin class. These exercises give you an awesome workout without the bore.
TIRED of slogging it out on the treadmill and battling through your spin class?
It’s time to skip the gym and inject some fun into your exercise routine.
These awesome fitness activities give you a killer workout and are such a hoot you (almost) forget you’re exercising.
Trampolining
Want to relive your childhood and feel your core burn? Try jumping on a trampoline for an hour.
Sky Zone is the world’s first indoor trampoline park and there are centres all around the country.
Hundreds of mini-trampolines are all connected to form one massive trampoline, that literally allows you to jump off the walls. There’s also a huge foam pit (my favourite), basketball hoops and dodgeball games.
Locations: Sydney, Brisbane, Canberra and Melbourne. Coming soon to Adelaide.
Price: $18 (includes a pair of socks to jump around in)
For more information: skyzone.com.au
Indoor skiing
Forget waiting for snow season. Now you can hit the slopes (kind of) all year round at In2Ski Indoor Snow Sports Centre in Alexandria, Sydney.
A single hour on the 9m x 5m treadmill surface is the equivalent of eight hours on a mountain, according to the centre. There are coaches on hand to help you out and they can change the level of the slope and the speed to suit you.
Locations: Alexandria, Sydney
Price: $75 per hour ($55 for kids and $65 for concessions)
For more information: in2ski.com.au
Parkour
Think of this as one giant obstacle course. Parkour involves running, crawling, jumping and climbing over a natural urban environment with physical and mental obstacles.
Still don’t get it? Basically it’s running and jumping over stuff in an indoor centre.
Watch this video for a crash course.
Locations: There are classes run in most capital cities and some larger regional centres such as Newscastle, Ballarat and Townsville.
Price: Approximately $15 for a 2hr class (times and prices may vary across locations)
For more information: parkour.asn.au
Bubble Soccer
This is just like regular soccer, except all players are wearing giant plastic bubbles. Your legs are free but your whole upper body is enclosed in the bubble, with an open top for airflow.
It’s all about smashing into each other, bouncing around and rolling across the pitch.
We challenge you to get through a game without getting the giggles.
Locations: All states
Price: $20-$45 approximately, depending on location.
For more information: bubblesoccer.com.au
So this is more a workout for your thumbs than for your core, but it’s super fun nonetheless. This ‘Hyper Stimulator’ is as close as you’ll get to racing a car without actually hitting the road.
It’s a full-on sensory simulation and you can pick whatever car you like — be it a BMW Mini, a V8 Supercar, or a Formula One car.
Real race drivers such as Shane van Gisbergen and Russell Ingall use Hyper Stimulators to hone their craft in a safe environment. If you’re a rev-head, give this a go.
Locations: Bondi Junction, Sydney and Docklands, Melbourne.
Price: $39 for 1hr, $75 for 2hrs, $108 for 3hrs, $139 for 4hrs and $249 for 8hrs
For more information: thegridracing.com.au
What are your tips for getting a workout outside of the gym? Join the conversation @newscomauhq | @beck_sullivan
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