Bay Area residents find fun, unique ways to get fit

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- Keeping Americans fit is a $22 billion a year industry and one of the fastest growing segments is what is known as boutique fitness. In the gym world, boutique means smaller, more personalized exercise studios. There are hundreds of them in the Bay Area, many with a growing emphasis on making sure people don't get bored while getting in shape. ABC7 News checked out some of the more unusual offerings.

First stop was a studio called Poletential in Redwood City. It started with pole dancing classes, and still draws a steady stream of customers who want to exercise on a pole, but now a growing number come to exercise in the air, upside down.

The classes teach students to flip around on fabric hung from the ceiling. Beginners start on a continuous loop called a hammock. More advanced students use aerial silks which require wrapping around their body to insure they don't fall.

Students said it is challenging and fun. According to Poletential owner Christina Kish, this type of aerial exercise started primarily with people who had backgrounds in the circus. "And now it's people coming out of their cubicles and into the studio."

Annie Liu is a computer programmer who comes to the class after work. "You get to be pretty and sexy while doing exercise," she said. "You actually use a lot of upper body strength."

Instructor Arielle Rabier believes "Everyone's body is different. So it's a nice way for them to explore themselves personally and not feel like they have to fit in to some kind of workout regimen."

The demand for new ways to exercise is so strong 12,000 fitness professionals showed up recently at the Idea World Fitness Convention in Anaheim. They were all looking for new ideas and the latest equipment.

One new apparatus that is catching on in the Bay Area is called SurfSet. ABC7 News saw it in action during a class run by Left Coast Sweat at Crissy Field in San Francisco. The equipment gives users the feeling of surfing while they are actually on dry land.

Instructor Allie Luetkehans explained, "The moment that you step on a moving surface, your heart rate increases because your body is kind of like, 'What's going on?'" Luetkehans says SurfSet is a great cardio workout. "Also you are engaging your core muscles and little tiny stabilizer muscles all through your body."

Similar principals are at work at OnBoardSUP Yoga in Sausalito. The class is actually on the water. Students paddle off shore on stand up paddle boards, then anchor the boards, and stand on them doing yoga.

Instructor Leigh Claxton said people rarely fall in the water. "Your brain is going to balance the board before you shift too far to one side."

The class includes experienced athletes and beginners. "Pretty much anyone can do it. The learning curve is very quick on the paddle boards," Claxton said. The group ranged from an 11-year-old girl to 68-year-old retired teacher Arline Thomas.

Thomas raved about her experience doing yoga on the water.

"It's just changed my life completely," Thomas said. "I have better balance. I have better self-esteem. I have better confidence, better focus."

All this boutique fitness does not come cheap. Classes range from $15 to $35. Students can save money with a service called Class Pass. Class Pass offers a deal for $99 a month that allows people to take an unlimited number of classes at 280 studios all over the Bay Area. The only catch is students can't take more than three classes a month at a single venue.

Valerie Meyer is the manager of Class Pass in the Bay Area. She said the goal is to offer every kind of workout. "It just makes it really easy for people to find the right thing for them," Meyers said.

Written and produced by Jennifer Olney.