ANTIGRAVITY YOGA: WINGS
Crunch
1109 Second Ave., at 59th St. crunch.com
It looks … weird, but performing asanas while supported by a mini hammock (above) lets you deepen stretches. For a downward-facing dog, for example, the hammock wraps around your pelvis and pulls hips up and back to lengthen, and to add weight to your heels. And because there’s something to hold on to, inversions like hanging back bends and handstands feel less frightening than when you’re alone on the mat.
CHEERLEADING 101
New York Health & Racquet Club
Multiple locations; nyhrc.com
After a dance-based warm-up, including grapevines across the floor and toe-touch jumps, you combine the jumps, kicks, and spins into a routine complete with blue-and-white pom-poms, with Toni Basil’s “Oh Mickey!” blasting. Sorry, no human pyramids or Kirsten Dunst cameos.
FORZA
Reebok Sports Club
160 Columbus Ave., at 67th St. 212-362-6800
Using a long wooden sword as a prop, Ilaria Montagnani (who looks like a cross between Gabrielle Reese and Arnold Schwarzenegger) teaches traditional samurai-sword-training moves. Class begins with “half cuts” (raise your sword over your head so the “blade” points behind you, then slice down to neck level) and “full cuts” (same thing, except the slice ends at the navel) then proceeds rapidly to combinations. Keeping step with Montagnani without maiming fellow fighters requires intense concentration and core stability. Arrive early to sign up.
BRING IT ON
The Sports Center at Chelsea Piers
Pier 60 nr. 19th St. 212-336-6000
There’s something about chair dancing—even with a folding chair—that produces a satisfying “I’m in a music video” feeling that goes a long way to counteract the boredom of a standard body-sculpting session. Here, exercises are taught in sets cued to music. While the Pussycat Dolls’ “Don’t Cha” and Chris Brown’s “Wall to Wall” play, you sit on one corner of a chair and peddle your legs in the air, toes pointed as if you’re riding a bike, to work abs and thighs. You also do moving hip circles (hip swivels done while lowering into a squat, using the chair back for balance) to attack the waist and butt. The cardio comes from putting the sequences together, with a few arabesques tossed in.