Topic: spin classes

Experts say that working out with a partner is beneficial on multiple levels, but getting your significant other to join you in a group exercise class is next to impossible for most of us. But today’s group fitness classes are not only made for women: They’re tough enough to wipe out (and sculpt) men, making couples exercise worthwhile for all parties involved.

Historically, group exercise sent men running in the opposite direction; it’s feminine, and it often involves choreography that compromises our cool. Women typically dominate the exercise studio while men flock towards the weight room. Most of us probably learned the rules of working out as kids, when we watched mom drive off to Jazzercize while Dad pumped iron in the garage: Men lift and women dance.

But today’s group exercise classes aren’t the Buns-of-Steel routines made famous by Jane Fonda, and they’re so good that even men are getting involved: “I beat up grown men for a living, but during Core Fusion I was whimpering,” says Dan Clark, better known as “Nitro” from American Gladiators. More »