Everyone knows exercise does a body good, but it doesn’t mean you have to spend your summer stuck on the gym treadmill or sweltering through those yoga poses in a stuffy studio.
Check out these great outdoor options for getting trim and fit while beating cabin fever!
Black Rock
Known for hosting exceptional mat Pilates classes, the team at Black Rock Pilates moves its popular Saturday morning express workout to a sweet slip of sand at Black Rock’s Seabright Beach for the summer. Bring a mat, water and tone up your core before the kids want their pancakes. The 7:15 a.m. Saturday classes commence in June. Check out BlackRockPiliates.com for details.
Greenwich
It’s the ultimate in outdoor personal training. And don’t you and your best friends deserve the best? That’s what The Edge fitness clubs thought when they began offering Backyard Bootcamp; a personalized hour-long workout held in your yard. The customized bootcamps are especially popular in Greenwich, where they get you semi-private access to your favorite trainer. Your toned summer abs and glutes will thank you. Email bricks@thedgefinessclubs.com for pricing and details.
Fairfield
While it’s popular Backyard Bootcamps are also available in Fairfield, The Edge also offers a series of Turf Mudder classes (yes that’s a deliberate play on the popular Tuffmudder workout competitions) at the Kings Highway Cutoff location. Just want to chill? The Edge also offers outdoor yoga on at some local beaches during the summer months. Contact your club at theedgefitnessclubs.com details.
Beach-loving yoga enthusiasts will want to keep their eye on the offerings from the popular Yoga4Everybody studio. Come summer the Zen emporium begins 7 a.m. weekend beach yoga Fairfield’s Penfield Beach Jacky Durell pavilion and full-moon evening yoga, accompanied by a drum circle, on select nights in July. Visit yoga4everybody.net for details.
Meanwhile, FollowYourQi founder Julie Moffat offers outdoor Qigong classes several places about town, including her ever-popular Monday morning held at Sasco Beach in May, June, August, September and October. (Note there are no classes in July). Julie also offers special event Chiwalking classes (a power walk is paired with an outdoor Qigong session) via the Southport Racquet Club and She3 Fitness on Donnelly Walk. Visit Followyourqi.com for more details on Julie’s classes and schedule.
New Canaan
Four-time Ironman triathlete Bill Curcio knows a thing or two about pushing it to the limits. His steely determination means fitness enthusiasts will get a serious workout in the outdoor bootcamps he holds in Waveny Park throughout the summer. Bill combines intense CrossFit style moves — there’s a heavy emphasis on using your own body weight to build strength — with mobility and flexibility work in the hour-long Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday mornings. Visit his SurviveCurcio.net for contact information.
Rowayton
Not into bootcamp? Can’t say we blame you when Long Island Sound beckons. So slip off your sneakers and test your balance (and get an amazing core workout in the process) in one of the many paddle-board based fitness classes sponsored by Downunder, which specializes in fitness fun on the waters of Rowayton and Westport. Besides board-based workouts (imagine doing a yoga-style downward dog while floating) Downunder also offers private classes to get your beach body ready, while fine-tuning your skills on a paddleboard or kayak. Visit Downunderct.com for schedules, details and more info.
Stamford
Wendi Hoak and Brian McMaster are pros at motivating their personal training clients to reach personal bests. And their 8:30 a.m. Saturday morning bootcamps they offer at Inspire Fitness, their Long Ridge Road studio throughout the summer and early fall, have developed a loyal following. Work up a drenching sweat and be done before 10; leaving plenty of time to spend the rest of the day lounging poolside. Call Inspire Fitness at 203-658-3000 to sign up.
Westport
Downunder offers some of the same great public waterway classes it offers in Rowayton here in town. Visit Downunderct.com for details and get ready to set sail for some fit floating adventures.