Time: 45 minutes to an hour
Estimated Calorie Burn: 400 to 1,000
Gladiator/Warrior workouts are high-energy interval trainings inspired by traditional farm work and labor-intensive jobs. At the YWCA in Minneapolis, participants in the Gladiator Workout spend an hour completing minute-long circuits at stations consisting of sandbag throwing and hitting tractor tires with sledgehammers.
“I recommend this class to anyone, but it is pretty intense. You go as hard as you can at each station,” says YWCA personal trainer Tony Meyer. The Gladiator Workout is offered at select YMCAs; other training facilities have their own version of the workout.
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“In these workouts, we reflect the time period when it was all about working hard. A lot of people from early generations and other parts of world call these exercises ‘chores’,” says Sincere Hogan, owner of New Warrior Training Systems and the co-author of The Wellness Code. “In these classes, you’re picking up sandbags instead of sitting in the gym curling dumbbells.”
Hogan’s variety of “warrior-style” classes and boot camps offer moves inspired by “The Avengers” and “Thor,” with both cardio and strength-training components. “When you come to class, it’s time to kick butt. We work the entire body — front, back and all sides,” says Hogan. “It’s about increasing your mental toughness too. The physical work will come easier when you’re mentally strong.”