Badass Alternative Full Body Workouts to Try

One of the best-kept secrets of fitness is that what you doesn’t actually matter as much as getting out there and doing it. Sure, if you want to get swole, you might have to lift weights (and lift heavy). And if your goal is to run a marathon, you’ll need to get out there and pound the pavement. For general fitness, however, the options are endless. So if you’re looking for a way to get more active, or to get out of a fitness rut, we’ve rounded up five badass alternative full body workouts to add to your fitness regimen.

Rock Climbing

As a sport, rock climbing is as much mental as physical. Climbers hoist themselves up a wall or a boulder, defying gravity and their own fears and often clinging to barely-there chips of rock or plastic on their quest to reach the top. The sport has its place both indoors and outside, but one of the easiest ways to get started is in a gym. In fact, all you need for bouldering is a pair of specialized shoes, some powdered chalk, and, if you’re outside, a crash pad or two.
Read: The Noob’s Guide to Rock Climbing from Outside Online

 

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Rowing

Engaging upper body, lower body, and core together at once, rowing takes everything you’ve got. After all, it’s not easy to propel a boat from one side of a lake to the other. Unlike running or other speed-based activities, the secret to a great row is deep, powerful movement. If your gym has a rowing machine, you may have to imagine the lake, but the effects you feel will be very real.

 

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Pole Dancing

Once relegated to strip clubs and the like, pole dancing has earned its rightful place in the fitness world over the last few years. It turns out that it’s not just a sexy experience, but one that builds impressive strength by engaging muscles throughout the entire body. Even more, pole dancing enthusiasts report the therapeutic aspects of the sport, celebrating the opportunity to connect to their own sensuality among its benefits.
Watch: Strip Down, Rise Up on Netflix

 

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Aerial Yoga

We’re all about the benefits of consistent yoga practice, and taking it to the air just raises the stakes. Aerial yoga (also called aerial fitness) combines elements of traditional yoga and pilates, suspending its practitioners above the floor in hammocks of silk. This suspension eases pressure on joints, allows for deeper stretches, and, for some, offers a cozy, comfortable experience that just can’t be matched on a mat.

Obstacle Racing

Unleash your inner beast mode with an obstacle course race. Combining endurance, strength, and agility, participants in these events are challenged to overcome any number of hurdles on their race to the finish line. Typical obstacles may force you to crawl, leap, or climb – and will definitely get you dirty.
Find a Race: Race Directory from Mud Run Guide

 

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Even More Badass Alternative Full Body Workouts

As rad as this list is, it’s only a starter pack of the great full-body exercises out there. We didn’t even get to stand-up paddleboarding and goat yoga, not to mention parkour, backcountry skiing, or MMA. Besides, while some fitness activities may be more extreme than others, what makes them truly badass is how they make you feel. So go out there, do your thing, whatever it may be, and be the most badass you possible.
Want more badass fitness tips? Check out all of the fitness-related posts in the Tattooed Women archives!

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