Unconventional Exercise

Since we know that exercise is not about weight-loss, but about a life-long health-building habit, it's important to find an exercise that you like. Dance is probably one of the oldest forms of "exercise." Most tribes use it in both religious and mating rituals. Unfortunately, it's hard to know what kind of dance ancient humans practiced since they didn't have Youtube back then. Contemporary anthropologists have recorded instances of tribes dancing all night without food or drink. Sounds familiar.

Ancient tribal dance

I like dance because I love dance music and also because there are so many forms that I can chose from. For example, flexibility and upper-body strength are two of my main concerns lately. Luckily my roommate got something hilarious in her room: a "pole dancing" pole (let's get real, everyone calls i. Haha, no, neither of us make money this way, though it is very sexy. Since it's already there in our apartment I said...why not?

It is very very very difficult. The level of strength and endurance required are pretty astounding. And to really get decent you need to do these super difficult static-holds. Some of them remind me of the stuff we did in my Movnat seminar and are similarly hard on the skin on the back of my knee. Here is a good example of a static hold:

The clothed pole-dancing sport has gained in popularity recently and NYC has several teams and studios with classes. I've also done belly dance, but I really prefer the upper body benefits of pole-dancing.

Pros: Fun, builds ALL your muscles, possible source of income if you get laid off ;)

Cons: Slightly seedy? Cost of equipment ranges from $100-$200.