While exercising regimes like HIIT, classic strength training and yoga always end up on the list of most popular fitness trends basically every year, some people have grown tired of them.
Luckily, there are literally hundreds – if not thousands – different activities that can help you stay in shape. So, let’s look at some of the more interesting ways from around the world…
Five Interesting Ways Men Stay Fit
1.Brazil: Capoeira
Let’s start things off with a traditional, Brazilian martial art for that combines the elements of dance, acrobatics and self-defense – Capoeira. Although it was initially developed by slaves, who used Capoeira to mask the fact they were practicing fighting moves, the modern version puts a bigger emphasis on your acrobatic skills than your striking power.
There’s actually a ton of Capoeira schools worldwide, and if you want to get started, you can simply visit Capoeira blogs and find a local class. In most cases, the beginner course lasts for eight weeks and don’t just teach you the moves. These classes also include learning about different musical instruments, singing in Portuguese and learning various customs.
2.New Zealand: No-contact Boxing.
New Zealand is a pretty physically active country – especially when you compare it to the United States. In fact, according to the Ministry of Health, more than half of adults in New Zealand are physically active for more than 30 minutes per day. In addition to popular workouts like crossfit, boutique boxing studios have started popping up all over the country.
No-contact boxing is exactly what it sounds like – it’s standard boxing, but instead of punching it out with another person, you just train with punching bags or someone holding a pad. Although we think of boxing as targeting just the arms, this workout regime will actually give you a full-body workout. The core particularly gets hit every time.
3.France: ParkourIn the last couple of years, parkour has spread all across the globe; however, France still remains its heartland. The training discipline was initially conceived as an evolution of military obstacle courses by a group simply known as “The Yamasaki.”
The goal of parkour is rather simple: a person just needs to propel themselves forward in an urban environment using basics techniques like climbing, jumping and pulling to navigate through obstacles. Well, it’s easier said than done. Parkour will increase both your upper and lower body strength, not to mention it will do wonders for your bravery.
4.United Kingdom: Unicycling
Admittedly, the unicycle is not the most perfect form of transportation out there. However, it’s perfect if you’re looking to get some more exercise. As you’d assume, riding a unicycle is much harder than riding your plain-old mountain bike. It requires more balance and you have pedal constantly in order to keep moving.
And just like their more-common counterpart, unicycles come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. You have the regular ones, mountain unicycles and freestyle models. There’s even the “extreme wheel” that comes without a seat. Even though learning how to ride one will take some practice, it’s a great cardio workout that will strengthen your muscles as well.
5.Japan: Tabata
Tabata was created over 40 years ago by a Japanese doctor Izumi Tabata. He has conducted a study, determining the efficiency of this type of training. He compared two groups of people – one group performed one hour of continuous moderate exercise, while the other performed four minutes of high-intensity exercises: 20 seconds of all-out effort, followed by 10 seconds of rest. Results indicated that four-minute intervals improve both anaerobic and aerobic fitness levels.
Although the workout crossed over to the West, it’s still immensely popular in Japan. While four minutes of exercise don’t seem like much, trust us – it’s not easy. People over there don’t exercise without a trusty timer and the best compression clothing in Japan. The timer will help you with the intervals, because you won’t be able to estimate when 20 seconds have passed when your brain is fuzzy and compression gear will prevent any cramps.
Final Thoughts
In the past, if you wanted to stay in shape, you had to choose one of three things: going outside, hitting the gym or staying at home to workout with your little dumbbells and home equipment.
But today, thanks to the Internet, you can learn any number of different exercise methods. All you need to do is choose the right one and start working out.
