Words and Video by Sarah Beth Coleman<\/em><\/p>\n When you think about working out, you may think of free weights and gym machines <\/span>\u2014<\/span> or even the late night commercials for the P90X workout. Several Iowa fitness centers are looking to break that gym barrier and make alternative fitness workouts more accessible and exciting.<\/span><\/p>\n Alternative fitness doesn\u2019t begin and end with dance-based classes like Zumba and ballet-based barre. Yoga, cycling, kickboxing, Pilates, senior water aerobic classes and <\/span>the<\/span> pole fitness class, are considered alternative fitness. The experiences includes a focus on a specific activity in a fun, social atmosphere.<\/span><\/p>\n Historically, Jazzercise became a wildly popular alternative exercise class in 1969, partially because of the heart-pumping playlists and coordinated dance moves, but also because of the sense of community it created. And while you might think group exercises like Jazzercise are a clich\u00e9d \u201870s and \u201880s activity, workout enthusiasts are constantly looking for alternative fitness options.<\/span><\/p>\n The Anytime Fitness location in Beaverdale, Iowa, has a variety of options for their gym members. Members can choose to participate in boot camps, competitive weight loss challenges and Zumba. <\/span><\/p>\n Zumba doesn\u2019t stray too far from the workout genre of Jazzercise \u2014 it\u2019s a dance-based fitness class, specifically using modern music, rhythmic aids like drumsticks, and visual aids to track motion like belly dancer coin skirts. The classes vary by instructor, and can range from the original Zumba to Zumba step programs and kids\u2019 classes. Anytime Fitness\u2019 Zumba class has regular attendance from both women and men, is offered on a weekly basis and is the reason some individuals registered for the gym.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cZumba creates this really fun, happy, cool and relaxed atmosphere where there is no pressure on if you know the moves or not,\u201d said Kennedy Wrice, one of the trainers at Anytime Fitness in Beaverdale. \u201cYou\u2019re just here to have fun and get a workout in.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n Two specific workouts are not only considered alternative fitness, but are also taboo. The aerial fitness and pole fitness classes often raise eyebrows, as they do not seem like an organic extension of the fitness workouts most people know and attend. <\/span><\/p>\n Jen Bramble, owner of Club B-FIT in West Des Moines, Iowa, said aerial fitness is \u201clike yoga in the air, but with so much more focus on every small movement your body makes.\u201d Bramble started Club B-FIT in 2005 and specializes in personal training, pole and aerial fitness, yoga, and dance. \u201cI\u2019ve always been a performer, I\u2019ve always been a dancer and it just felt like a really good match for me\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n In 2007, Bramble went to Florida for several days to learn the educational instruction for pole fitness, and immediately brought it back to the Midwest. She remains one of the few licensed pole fitness teachers in the Midwest. \u201cThe expectations of pole are quite extreme, you don\u2019t get to fly and flip right away because those require a very strong fundamental body awareness, and if you don\u2019t have that you\u2019re just putting your body at risk.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Several members of the Urban Plains staff visited Bramble for her to teach us some moves. <\/span><\/p>\n