THE HOLIDAY SEASON IS UPON US, and with it comes lots of great food and leisure time to spend with friends and family. Although spending time relaxing with our favorite people is a great way to de-stress and wind down from our busy lives, ’tis also the season to stay fit. If Thanksgiving turkey and grandma’s pumpkin pie have you more excited than a stop at the gym or an at-home squats session, perhaps now’s the time to consider a wider range of fitness options from our diverse-as-ever city.
When seeking a new fitness routine, there are options to fit everyone’s comfort zone—or maybe even break it a little. From aerial silks to adult dance classes, flying trapeze lessons and everything in between, check out our eight picks for unique fitness classes in Houston below. (And before you show up at the studio, make sure your workout wardrobe is fresh with some locally-sourced threads.)
Soar Through the Air at AXIS Aerial Arts
TOMBALL
You don’t have to be an acrobat already to try your hand at aerial arts, which offer a great opportunity to build up core strength and flexibility through elegant, dance-like movements (while you’re upside down in mid-air, no less). There’s a variety of aerial fitness classes for all shapes, sizes, and levels—beginning with beginner-friendly introductions for adults, and even kids classes starting at age six—which teach aerial silks, sling, trapeze, Lyra (a sort of aerial hula hoop), and cube classes, all different styles of acrobatics which you can check out for yourself on their Instagram. AXIS also offers both morning and evening pole classes; another excellent way to build strength and confidence through a fun and—potentially—flirty fitness regimen.
Get Your Bounce On at DEFINE body & mind
RIVER OAKS
This sleek gym in River Oaks offers a mindful, wellness-based approach to their cycling, yoga, and barre classes. Their signature “bounce” classes blend barre (which is itself a blend of pilates, yoga stretching, and a muscle-building, cardio-intense ballet workout) and HIIT (that’s high intensity interval training, if you’ve been out of the gym game for a while) with mini trampolines