Spring break is quickly approaching and whether you’re planning to vacation in Cancun now or hit a nearby beach party in June, the warm sunshine calls for the ultimate bikini workout! As all you Princeton gals know, setting aside a time from our busy schedules to workout at Dillon is a chore in itself, and we absolutely dread the same interval, cardio workout, whether its on the elliptical or the treadmill. Exercising on the same equipment, despite its fast, calorie-burning virtues, trains our muscles to adapt to the stress and strain of the workout. With each subsequent workout, our bodies and muscles reap less from the routine despite, perhaps, increased endurance.
Cardio workouts are great for trimming those extra calories, especially those stubborn flabby thigh sand tummy-area. However, to achieve a lean, sculpted body, it’s important to incorporate a “toning” routine in your workout as well. Recently, I purchased a 36-punch card from Dillon for a really affordable price of about $115, which is less than $4 per class, to let you all about the best fitness workouts available on campus. In the upcoming weeks, I will be doing a review on each fitness (mainly cardio-involved) class.
As a local of Honolulu, Hawaii, I grew up in a unique Asian-Hawaiian culture, where hula-dancing and Hawaiian song-chanting are integral parts of many elementary school curriculums. The hula is a beautiful, gentle dance form while the Polynesian dance is a similar yet more hip-intensive Pacific island style of dancing, offering great benefits when incorporated with squats and other core-toning exercises. Tula Strong, a sophomore from Fontana, California has been dancing in various Polynesian dance groups since childhood and began teaching the Polynesian Fitness Class at Dillon this semester. Each of the four classes I have attended so far is extremely fun (a really great morale booster for those non-dancers like me) and provides such as great workout, especially to the arm and core areas (the bikini-target area).
“Definitely expect to have fun trying new movements, inspired from dance styles such as Tahitian and Hawaiian, but also expect to get a good low impact, total body workout in those fifty minutes. The arms, abs, glutes, and quads are specifically targeted and my goal is to give people a good workout every class,” says Tula. I definitely agree with the class being a total workout. If all hip movements are followed through, I would say that it is definitely not an easy workout. Seriously, expect to sweat as you shake for the entire fifty minutes.
Tula strongly encourages all first-timers to come out and try out this new class – “Don’t worry about looking ridiculous, have fun and soon enough you will be enjoying the class. Get a good workout and have a great shake!”