Working out to the “extreme” is currently very trendy in the fitness world.
High intensity interval training sessions can challenge fitness enthusiasts to push their bodies to the limit to get optimal results, but what they don’t focus on are the restorative qualities. Hot yoga, cryotherapy, floating sessions and dedicated stretching based fitness businesses put customers in similarly extreme situations to heal and restore their bodies to peak condition.
Cryotherapy can be as simple as icing a sore shoulder or freezing an unsightly planter’s wart, but the trend that is en vogue with athletes, celebrities and fitness enthusiasts alike involves a bit more than that. Whole body cryotherapy involves exposing one’s body to incredibly cold air, often cooled by liquid nitrogen, for short bursts of time. The possible results include burning calories, improving skin tone, helping reduce inflammation, and even boosting mood. Even so, there are plenty of cryotherapy centers popping up across the United States, if you want to cool down with the restorative effects of sub-zero temperatures.
A similar trend that seeks to take your body to extreme temperatures is hot yoga. Similar to Bikram yoga, this hot yoga combines guided, meditative yoga with the extreme heat of a sauna. The results of this superheated workout have been found to help participants lose weight and become more flexible at the same time. While this may sound like an attractive option to your typical yoga class, it is can also be a draining experience. Before attempting it is recommended that you consume 2-3 liters of water before attending class, as you will surely sweat it out by the end of 60-90-minute class. While the first class is difficult, many swear by it after a second class.
While hot yoga may limber you up and cryotherapy light freeze your sore muscles, the latest trend to take the fitness world by storm is stretching. Dedicated clubs where customers can get stretched by a personal trainer are starting to pop up around the country. While it should seem like common sense that stretching is a necessary part of any good workout, but getting stretched by a personal trainer at a stretching club helps activate your muscles to their full potential. Almost like the way you would see athlete working with a trainer before a game. It is a counter of sorts to the high intensity workouts that push the limits of one’s body, instead focusing on letting your body recover to its full potential.
To restore your body and mind to its fullest potential though, you may want to consider a floating session. For those unfamiliar with the practice, it is occasionally referred to as sensory deprivation. It involves floating in a pod-like tank filled with saltwater that is devoid of outside light and sound. While this may sound like something straight out of Blade Runner, users swear by its ability to help them relax and fully unplug from the ever-connected world we live in today. But, as a piece of fair warning, the saltwater has the tendency to irritate open cuts or sores on your body, so you may want to wait until those heal before you take the plunge.
These trends take your body to its extremes, but also help restore you to your full potential. In some cases, they can even be therapeutic and offer an alternative for relieving soreness. So, whether they are getting sweating through meditations, freezing in a tube, floating in saltwater pod or getting their muscles stretched out to their full potential, people continue to find new ways to test their body, no matter the extreme.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash