Bailey Atkinson, Junior Copywriter, Golin Hong Kong
January is notorious for being the month when the well-intentioned masses flock together and line up single-file to sign up for gym memberships, as they resolve to make the New Year one of healthy-living. February, however, has gotten itself a reputation for being the month of half-empty gyms and neglected membership cards. So what causes those who were once amped up and motivated to move it, to lose their desire to clock in hours of exercise? A major cause is boredom.
This February, as part of Golin’s support to Mind HK for its yearly campaign Move It For Mental Health, we’re looking at a few alternative workouts to benefit your physical and mental health — while being anything but boring! Read on for our top picks of alternative workouts to try this month and all year long as we Move It For Mental Health:
Chair Yoga
While a lot of new workout trends may claim to be inclusive to bodies of every ability — very few are as accessible as they promise; however, there is one we can vouch for from experience — Chair Yoga. Modified from the traditional yoga experience, Chair Yoga is the perfect workout for those confined to their desk chair at the office, or for those who may not have the mobility to stand. Many of the individual postures and basic body mechanics are kept in place, with the main difference being that you flow on top of your chair rather than atop of a matt. Pro tip: don’t try this one on a chair with wheels.
Find out more here.
Hula-Hooping
If you thought hula-hooping was just an activity for retirees on a Hawaiian vacation, think again, as this unconventional exercise method isn’t just fun, but also a great way to burn calories! Whether or not you actually want to burn some inches off of your waistline, Hula Hooping can boost your cardiovascular system (aka your heart and lungs) resulting in a myriad of benefits such as lowering heart disease and diabetes, improving cholesterol levels and even bettering cognitive function — with just a few moves thanks to your hips.
Find out more here.
Zuu
Leave it to Australia to unleash the wild side of working out — developed by Australian fitness guru Nathan Helberg, Zuu is an exotic form of high-intensity interval training (HIIT) thanks to its incorporation of animal movements. Hear us out on this one, when we work out and sweat buckets we don’t feel very human anyways, so why not embrace the animalistic side of exercise? Zuu calls for its participants to move like a variety of different creatures such as frogs, cobras and even bears to build agility and flexibility. While certainly not for the faint-hearted, this is a fitness routine that is sure to be just as exhilarating as a trip to the jungle.
Find out more here.
Aquabike
Aqua biking is an exercise specifically for the ladies and offers a unique way of burning calories underwater. More modern and private than your run-of-the-mill aquacise class, aqua bikes immerse cyclers inside Jacuzzi tubs. At the same time, they pedal to the medal for benefits such as detoxifying skin, boosting blood and lymphatic circulation. Benefits of pedaling underwater rather than on land go as follows: two hours on a standard bike can be achieved in just 30 minutes on the Jacuzzi bike, no traffic jams in sight, unbox that neglected summer swimsuit that’s been dying to get out of your closet, and watching your iPad while in workout-mode won’t cause an accident!
Find out more here.
This article was written in support of Mind HK’s Move it for Mental Health campaign, which seeks to raise awareness of how exercise impacts both our mental and physical well-being. To learn more about Move It for Mental Health, please visit www.moveithk.com
This article is informative only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
For a list of emergency contacts, please visit: www.mind.org.hk/find-help-now/
For non-urgent services, please visit our Community Directory: www.mind.org.hk/community-directory/
Questions? Email the team at media@mind.org.hk
