Cover Story : Twelve More, Eleven More (C’ Mon, You Can Do It!) : More Ways to a Better Bod!!

It’s a January tradition: You realize that your exercise program of late has consisted of laps around the holiday buffet table. You know you’re in shape--the shape of an eggplant.

Once again you vow to start exercising, but before long, boredom sets in. The Stairmaster becomes the stairmonster, and your New Year’s resolution becomes a thing of the past.

According to fitness experts, however, this year could be different. The fitness industry has developed new forms of exercise and updated a number of old ones. Instructors say that even the most reluctant exerciser can find a way to stay motivated.

“People in our industry are becoming a lot more innovative,” says Vince Weigel, program director for the Aerobics and Fitness Assn. of America, a Sherman Oaks organization that certifies aerobics instructors and personal trainers nationwide.

Now, building muscle strength doesn’t necessarily involve heavy machinery. You can pull a giant rubber band in your living room or press a foam dumbbell under water. To get a cardiovascular workout, you can slide across a plastic board or jump with a heavy rubber rope.

“There are so many methods of exercise that you can’t possibly get bored,” says Tim Belknap, fitness director at Mid-Valley Athletic Club in Reseda, which now offers country line-dancing classes.

Today more people understand that lifting weights isn’t just about looking good. It can help ward off osteoporosis by making bones more dense. And it can help accelerate weight loss. Responding to public interest in strength training, the fitness industry has devised more convenient and less intimidating methods than the traditional one: lifting barbells. At the same time, instructors and equipment manufacturers have created more methods of cardiovascular exercise, which has been shown to significantly decrease the risk of heart disease, high blood pressure and diabetes. After all, how many aerobics classes can a person take?

Here’s a closer look at 10 innovative ways to exercise:

1. Yoga

Marsha Accomazzo says people have the wrong idea about yoga. “They think you have to stand on your head and sit in a pretzel position,” says Accomazzo, who teaches yoga in her Northridge studio, Prema Vikara. “Or they think you’re tripping out or meditating on your navel.”

In fact, yoga is a series of postures--some of them quite difficult--that increases flexibility, muscle tone and strength, particularly in the abdominal and lower back muscles. Yoga can even provide a cardiovascular workout if the moves are performed without rest in between.

At the same time, Accomazzo says, yoga helps reduce stress because the moves require you to concentrate on breathing. “Breathing is the link between the mind and body,” she says. “It’s mindful, purposeful breathing. You’re too occupied to think about the stresses in your life . . . about how you’ve got to get to the market.”

Many health clubs and studios offer yoga. To find an experienced instructor, call the International Assn. of Yoga Therapists, (310) 306-8845. To reach Accomazzo, call (818) 701-5277.

2. Step

Step Aerobics has taken, well, a giant step forward since it was introduced in health clubs five years ago. Instead of just stepping up and down on the adjustable platform, instructors are adding fancier choreography and using the steps for strength training as well. The Sports Club L.A. in West Los Angeles even has step classes in the water.

“Step aerobics has vastly expanded,” says Vince Weigel, program director for the Aerobics and Fitness Assn. of America.

a Mid-Valley Athletic Club in Reseda, for instance, has introduced an “aerostep” class. Members fasten on their “aero belt”--a wide belt with elastic tubing that extends from the belt to cuffs wound around their wrists. As they step up, down, and diagonally on the step, they press their arms forward and upward, pulling the tubing from their wrist cuffs. The idea is to build upper-body strength while stepping.

“It’s more intense than regular step--and that’s saying a lot,” said Julie Moffett, 36, of Canoga Park.

Some class members, however, have found that the arm movements require so much concentration that they take the fun out of stepping. “It’s an innovative way to work out,” says instructor Deby Spellman, “but it’s not for everyone.”

3. Slide Boarding

On a stair climber, you move up and down. On a treadmill, you move forward. What’s missing from most workouts is side-to-side--lateral--motion.

The slide board has filled this gap. It’s a plastic board with padded bumpers on both ends. You slip nylon booties over your athletic shoes, push off from one end of the board, then glide from side to side, mimicking the motion of a speed skater.

It’s not nearly as easy as it looks. “People are really shocked at how fast your heart rate gets up,” says Lea Barrett, who teaches slide board classes at the Westlake Sporthouse.

Not only is slide boarding a good cardiovascular workout, but it also can enhance agility and coordination as well as develop strength in the quadriceps, inner and outer thigh muscles, rear end and calves. Lateral training, Barrett says, is particularly helpful for tennis, skiing and basketball.

Slide boards are available at sporting goods stores for about $100.

4. Pilates

One strength-training method that has become popular in the ‘90s was, in fact, invented in the ‘20s. The Pilates (pronounced Pi-LAH-tees) method revolves around the “reformer,” a horizontal device that resembles a small bed frame. You lie, kneel or sit on the device and push or pull against tension provided by the springs.

“It’s designed to give equal emphasis on strength, flexibility and endurance,” says Pilates instructor Michael Levy, owner of Private Moves studio in Encino.

Most strength-training methods simply are designed to increase muscle size and strength. And whereas many machines target a single muscle group--say, the quadriceps, biceps or hamstrings--every Pilates exercise requires control of the entire body, particularly the abdominal muscles. Also, Pilates movements require a lot more concentration than weight-machine exercises.

Invented by Joseph Pilates, a German-born gymnast who died in 1967, Pilates has long been popular with dancers because the moves tend to produce long, lean muscles rather than big, bulky ones. “It’s not just about pumping up your thighs,” Levy says. “There’s a sense of lengthening the whole body.”

Pilates workouts require an instructor, and individual sessions cost between $20 and $50. A decade ago there were a half-dozen Pilates studios in the United States; today there are more than 100.

For information, call Levy, (818) 783-0097.

5. Rubber Tubing

There’s more you can do with a rubber band than hold together a stack of envelopes. In fact, you can strengthen your thigh muscles.

Giant bands--about a foot long and up to an inch thick--can be used along with rubber tubes to strengthen virtually every muscle in the body. Experts say they’re an effective alternative to lifting dumbbells or using weight machines.

To train your biceps, for instance, you can step on a tube, grasp the handles by your thighs, then slowly lift your hands toward your shoulders and lower them back down.

“Using rubber bands tends to help you as far as the proper technique,” says Kenny Ball, director of fitness programs at the Powerhouse Aerobic Fitness Center in Chatsworth. “They require much more control than a Nautilus machine. You have to release the band slowly or it’s going to snatch your arms back down.”

Tubes and bands also are popular among home exercisers because they’re inexpensive--under $10 in stores or mail-order catalogues--and they take up a lot less space than a weight machine. Most bands come with instructional booklets. Some can be attached to a plastic bar, which will increase the number of exercises you can perform.

6. Jumping Rope

Jump ropes have changed a lot since you used them during recess at elementary school. They’re now made of durable materials that don’t fray, such as nylon encased in polyvinyl, and some have spongy, easy-to-grip handles.

The ropes also turn more smoothly because they’re connected to the handles with a ball-and-socket design.

Some ropes, such as the Spalding SportRope, come in different weights--from half a pound to three pounds.

“People have those memories of jumping for hours on end, but when you get started with (a weighted) rope, you’ll be wiped out after a minute,” says David Paul, who includes jump ropes in the boxing classes he teaches at Brignole Fitness Center in Pasadena.

Experts recommend doing “intervals”--alternating 10 to 60 seconds of jumping with 10 to 60 seconds of rest. As you become better conditioned, increase the amount of time you jump and decrease the amount of rest you take.

Be sure to keep your knees and elbows slightly bent, Paul says, and let your wrists do the work. “You don’t want to make big circles with your arms,” he says.

Jumping ropes is an excellent way to increase cardiovascular fitness as well as coordination. Done properly, physiologists say, it places less stress on your knees and ankles than jogging, because you land on both feet at once and don’t lift as high off the ground.

For information on the Spalding SportRope, call (800) 222-JUMP.

7. Water Workouts

Exercising in the water isn’t just for runners who are injured or older people who have arthritis.

“Even if you’re young (and healthy), it’s a good place to start,” says Kendy Preis, manager of the Total Woman health club in Tarzana. “You can go at your own pace. In most exercise classes, you’re always trying to keep up with the person next to you. But in the pool, people can’t see everything you’re doing.”

Water aerobics has been around for years, but today’s water classes include strength-training equipment as well, such as foam dumbbells and webbed gloves to create more resistance. Preis includes squats and abdominal exercises in her classes. “There’s a whole bunch of sit-ups you can do in the pool that a lot of people don’t have the strength to do outside of the water,” she says.

Many water classes mix strength training with water running, jumping and cross-country ski motions. “People think, ‘What do you guys do, float in the pool?’ It’s not that at all,” Preis says. “My sister, who’s a soccer player for Fresno State, was laughing at me, but she took my class and came out with a red face.”

8. Recumbent Cycling

Cycling--stationary and otherwise--has always meant one thing: pedaling in an upright position. For people prone to lower back pain, however, this position can be uncomfortable.

Enter “recumbent” cycling. On a recumbent bike, you’re sitting much lower to the ground and reclining against a seat back. Whereas a traditional bike primarily targets your quadriceps muscles (front thighs), a recumbent gives your gluteal (buttocks) muscles a good workout as well. The recumbent may also be more comfortable for some people because of the back support.

“The recumbent bike was designed primarily to reduce stress on the lower back,” says Vince Weigel, program director for the Aerobics and Fitness Assn. of America. Experts recommend it especially for pregnant women.

Recumbent cycles can be found in most health clubs. And, despite a price tag of $1,200 to $1,600, they’re a hot item among home exercisers as well, says Stan Brainin, a salesman at the Walking Store in Studio City.

Recumbent cycles for the road are another choice. They can be more difficult to steer uphill than traditional bikes, but they’re faster downhill.

9. Boxing

No athlete is better conditioned than a finely tuned boxer--he’s got strength, stamina, agility and speed.

And no health club workout is tougher than a boxing class. It’s got shadowboxing, bag punching, rope jumping, medicine ball drills, sit-ups, pushups and much, much more.

“What I’m after is stimulating the mind and the body,” says David Paul, who teaches boxing at Brignole Fitness Center in Pasadena. “You never really get bored. You’re so distracted that you don’t realize how much exercise you’ve done until you’re walking off the mat and you’re totally exhausted.”

Boxing is popular among cyclists looking to develop upper-body strength, weightlifters who need to improve their cardiovascular conditioning and women who want to develop strength and assertiveness.

For just about everyone, Paul says, the class reduces stress. “How many times do people look at their co-worker and want to punch ‘em? I have a lot of divorced clients who love the class.”

Health clubs that offer boxing include the Agoura Hills Spectrum Club, the Warner Center Club in Woodland Hills and Total Woman in Tarzana.

10. Customized Video

Cindy Crawford, Jane Fonda, Marilu Henner, Cher. If it seems like you’re the only one on Earth without your own exercise video, don’t worry: Rudy Hayek can add you to the list.

For $250, Hayek, owner of Paragon Fitness in Tarzana, will design a strength-training program tailored to your individual needs, then take you through the entire routine while it is professionally videotaped.

“There are a lot of good elements to videos out there, but you’d need four or five different videos” to suit your personal needs, says Hayek, a personal trainer certified by the American College of Sports Medicine. Hayek does not practice the routine with clients before taping the sessions. He wants them to see their mistakes and watch Hayek correct their form. “It’s almost like a perpetual private training session,” Hayek says.

Hayek, whose studio is filled with dozens of dumbbells, poles, balls and other exercise gadgets, designs routines that clients can perform at home with the equipment they already have. In some cases, the workouts involve no equipment other than a chair or other pieces of furniture.

For information, call (818) 708-0740.