Why We Love Strengthening Our Arms & Our Favorite Ways to Do It

Arm strength might feel like one of the most obvious workouts. After all, when you think of the stereotypical displays of strength, flexing your arm muscles are probably one of the first things that come to mind. On the other hand, maybe you’re someone who doesn’t aspire to build up muscly arms and this has held you back from focusing on arm strength or you’ve just prefer workouts that aren’t too focused on your arms. No matter your workout goals, you should consider making arm strength part of your workout routine. Strengthening your arms doesn’t necessarily mean getting buff. Plus, there’s many reasons you may not have considered that strengthening your arms could improve your life. 

What is Arm Strength?

When we talk about arm strength, the two main muscles that likely come to mind are probably your biceps and triceps. Both muscles are on your upper arms, with the biceps being the shorter muscles on the inner arm and the triceps being the longer muscles on your outer arm. In fact, there are also two more main muscles in your upper arms, the brachialis and the coracobrachialis, both of which are under your biceps. 

You also have muscles in your lower arm of course, lots in fact. It’s easiest to discuss them by dividing them into anterior and posterior muscles. Anterior muscles are the ones that, as WebMD explains “help you turn your forearms and bend, or flex, your wrist and fingers”. So when you’re using your hands or moving your wrists, this is using your anterior muscles. But, like always, your muscles work together. These movements are also using your posterior muscles. Specifically, your posterior muscles help extend or straighten your wrist and fingers. 

Why Do You Want Arm Strength?

Aside from the aesthetic of toned arms, what is arm strength good for? For one, as we just covered in our discussion of anterior and posterior muscles – having strength in our arms is responsible for a lot of our ability to move our wrists, hands, and fingers. Without this strength, accomplishing many of our day to day tasks would be made much harder. Our upper arm strength is also important for many day to day activities, like opening doors or carrying things. 

Why Strength Training?

You may be wondering, if I’m using these muscles every day, why do I need to take the time to specifically focus on strengthening them? For one, our arm strength declines as we age. As explained by Harvard Health, “beginning at around age 35, strength and overall muscle mass start to decline by 1% each year”. While 1% may not sound huge, if you consider that between 35 and 65 you’d then be losing 30% of your strength, you can see how this starts to feel more important. 

Moreover, the fact that you have some arm strength today doesn’t mean you might not want stronger arms. Strengthening your arms may contribute to your ability to participate in fun activities like rock climbing or improve your tennis game. It may make you more able to do heavy lifting or help you achieve other fitness goals like learning to do handstands. 

Where to Start

If you’re looking to focus in on your arm strength, Hot Amazing Arms & Shoulders is a great place to start. The first half of the clos focuses on your shoulder strength, with the second half dedicated to arms. Hot Box Fusion would also be a great place to work your arm strength alongside your coordination and cardio. Or, slow it down and choose a Yoga class like Hot Yoga Freedom Flow where you can work through your arm muscles in each flow. 

If you have any question about how to best target or utilize your arm strength, please don’t hesitate to ask your local instructor and we’ll look forward to seeing you in a class soon!

Clear your mind on the mat and keep it clear all week long. 

Have you ever had the thought that your mind just isn’t as clear as it used to be? You might not even have noticed the mental state you were living in before to be particularly clear until all the second you realize it has become way hazier. If any of this sounds familiar, you could be experiencing brain fog. Brain fog, as explained by the National Institutes of Health is comprised of “a range of neurocognitive symptoms that can include forgetfulness and problems focusing, concentrating, and paying attention”. So if your attention span or your memory has lessened recently, learning more about brain fog and how to combat it could be worthwhile. 

Overcoming Brain Fog

If you’re feeling like you might have brain fog, then you might be wondering what you can do about it. Neuropsychologist Kamini Krishnan explained to Cleveland Clinic that there’s no “known medications or treatments” for brain fog, but still would suggest sleep, nutrition, and exercise habits as having an impact. A couple of the ways Bangkok International Hospital suggests treating brain fog includes regular exercise, positive thinking, and reducing stress. So while there might not be any clear answers about what can fix brain fog, some of the practices and focuses thought to combat it are, essentially, focusing on our mental and physical wellbeing. Yoga, as a practice that balances mind, body, and spirit throughout the practice, might just be a perfect place to fight your brain fog. 

While we aren’t medical professionals and recommend you consult with your own doctor if you think you do have brain fog, if you’re already at the step of overcoming your brain fog or if you simply want to work on improving your memory and concentration and think yoga might be a place to do it, look no further. Here’s our guide on how to utilize your yoga practice to combat brain fog. 

How to Utilize Yoga

Yoga is an unique form of exercise in that it brings together a combination of focus on mind, body, and spirit. Yoga has many physical benefits such as increased flexibility, increased strength, better circulation, and injury protection. It also has mental health benefits including boosting mood, creating clarity and calm, and relieving stress. In case all those benefits weren’t enough, yoga is also often thought of as deepening spiritual connection. So, if you’re hoping to find a way to focus on improving your mind and body, yoga could be a great option. Yoga is great for brain health and has even been connected specifically to counteracting decline in memory and cognitive skills, two of the areas thought to be affected by mind fog.

Poses to Combat Brain Fog

The benefits yoga can bring can come from any yoga classes. But, if you’re looking for specific ways to focus your yoga practice on overcoming mind fog, there are some things you may want to consider. For example, Brandt Passalacqua discussed yoga and brain fog with Bustle and suggested “poses that turn you upside down are especially helpful” because of their effects on your circulation and energy. So if you’re trying to make it feel like your head is screwed to your shoulders once more, you might want to start by flipping it upside down. Downward dog and headstands have been suggested as especially helpful. Breathing techniques may also be helpful, such as Breathing Fire which Jazz Psychiatry suggests.

Most importantly, listen to your body. Since brain fog can be different for everyone and can affect us all differently, different practices might help each of us more. Maybe a slow class will give you the time you need to connect with your mind and body like Hot Candlelight Deep Stretch & Relaxation. Or, maybe a quicker paced class that gets your blood flowing will help more, such as Hot Fast & Furious Fusion. For a full list of class offerings to try, you can check our website here, and we can’t wait to see you in the studio soon!

Your strength will be more stable if you can use it through flexibility: a greater range of movement.

When focusing on strengthening and toning, we’re often faced with a double edged sword. Strength training can leave our muscles tight and, if done with solely a focus on aesthetics or for other reasons without consideration for how we use our muscles or what smaller muscles we need to support them, we might find the strength we are building does not have the effect we hope it had. That is because, like so many aspects of our fitness, flexibility and strength go hand in hand, as do flexibility and many other aspects of our fitness. So if you have fitness goals outside of your flexibility, you may want to consider including flexibility training in your workout routine as well. 

What is flexibility?

Flexibility, as defined by UC Davis Health is “the ability of a joint or series of joints to move through an unrestricted, pain free range of motion”. In other words, flexibility is how able we are to move our bodies freely. While what might spring to mind when you think of flexibility is gymnasts tumbling in the Olympics or ballerinas kicking their legs above their heads, flexibility is not only stretching to these extremes. There’s lots of ways that flexibility is important to us on a daily basis. 

Are we born flexible?

You might remember back in elementary school when taking stretch tests in physical education classes or warming up for sports with your friends, some people could flop right over and touch their toes while some people would get nowhere close. It is true, genetics can affect our flexibility. But that doesn’t mean that there’s no reason to work on your flexibility if you don’t consider yourself someone who was born flexible. Flexibility can be improved through consistent focus on posture, stretching, and strengthening.

Why flexibility matters

Apart from a cool party trick of impressing people by sliding into the splits, why should you even want to be flexible? As it turns out, there’s a lot of reasons. For one, stretching can help improve your range of motion. If quality of life is one of the reasons that fitness is important to you, range of motion should be an important consideration in your workout planning because in order for your strength training to work for you, the strength has to be able to be used through the movements you want to do. As we age, range of motion can also decrease which means you may want to consider focusing more on flexibility.

Moreover, flexibility can help us avoid injury. As described by Very Well Health, “tight muscles can cause poor posture and increase the risk of injury” so therefore if we focus on loosening our muscles through flexibility training we may also be able to loosen muscles, increase posture, and decrease risk of injury. Flexibility can also increase our circulation and improve coordination. 

Classes that target flexibility

Here at OYF, we have plenty of options for targeting flexibility. To start, yoga is a great place to target flexibility, so any of our yoga offerings like Hatha Yoga, Hot Yang Yin Yoga, or Hot Yoga Freedom Flow could be a great place to get started. If there’s a specific area of your body where you’re most interested in growing your flexibility, look for a class with a focus on this region. Additional classes that are great for flexibility include Hot 20/20/20, which ends with a twenty minute focus on stretching, and Hot Candlelight Deep Stretch and Relaxation. 

Find the class that works right for you at our full schedule here, and don’t forget to keep up your strength training while you’re improving your flexibility too!

What are Sun Salutations, Why are they Important, and Why You Should Care

There’s many different types of yoga around the world and even within our studio. Signing up for a yoga class could mean a focus on breathwork, relaxation, and connecting body to mind like in our Hot Yoga Freedom Flow class. It could also mean a focus on strength training, building your core, mixed in with a balance of flexibility like in Hot Yang Yin Yoga. We think this variety is a great thing because it allows room for variation between workouts and provides options for everyone to find the class that is perfect for them. We also know that if you haven’t jumped into one of our options, or if you’re looking to try something new, this might make it feel like there’s a bigger hurdle to jump over. The good news is, there’s similar threads through many classes, from poses that pop up frequently to flows you almost never get through a class without. One of those, that you’ll see in many variations of yoga classes, is the sunset salutation. 

Sun Salutations, as explained by Masterclass, are also called Surya Namaskars or “Sun Salutes”. The origins of this flow is uncertain, but the practice has been recorded since the mid 1930s and it’s also been suggested there may be even earlier roots. Amy Lewis explained sun salutations in Byrdie as having been used for “morning prayer and worship rituals” by Hindus in ancient tradition. The practice has traditionally been practiced at sunset or sunrise facing the sun, likely because of its connotation as a greeting to the sun, but will also pop up in yoga classes regarding the time. 

If you’ve been to a yoga class, you may have done this flow before without even realizing you’re doing it. Some tentpole moments in the salutation that you might recognize include flowing from downward dog, a pose in which you have your feed and hands separated on the ground to form a triangle like pose with your body, through push up position and into cobra, a pose performed by lifting one’s chest off the ground from a position laying facing the floor. The entirety of the sun salutation is made up of 12 poses which you flow through. 

There’s a myriad of benefits to practicing sun salutations. Sun salutations target many muscles in your body, including your arms, neck, shoulders, back, abs, hamstrings, quads, and calves. In addition to the broad physical focus of the flow, studies have suggested practicing daily sun salutations can lessen stress, put you more at ease, and even increase joy. Studies aside, you may find pleasure in sun salutations because of the balance of challenge, relaxation, and enjoyment. Simply put, you may find flowing through sun salutations one of the most rewarding moments in class if one of your goals in class is to get your body moving and to feel like you’re connecting your mind and body throughout movements. 

Look out for sun salutations in your next yoga class, and ask your instructor about how you can best utilize sun salutations to achieve your goals both in and out of class.

Why you should incorporate leg strength into your workout routine. 

Have you ever seen a bodybuilder who skipped leg day? While leg strength can, for whatever reason, be easy to forget and as so has been a running joke of fitness memes, there’s more than only aesthetic reasons to focus on leg strength during your workout routine. Even during fitness practices you don’t think are focused on your leg strength, your legs come in handy. They are your base, providing support and stability. They allow for movement 

What are you focusing on during leg day?

Let’s back up a little and consider – when we say leg strength, what exactly are we talking about? There’s a lot of muscles in your legs. Some of the main leg muscles to consider when working out are our quads, the large muscles on the front of your thighs, the hamstrings, the large muscles on the back of your thighs, the adductors, the muscles on the inner thighs, the shins, the muscles on the front of your lower leg, and the calves, the muscles on the back of your lower leg. 

Already, just discussing the main muscles, as you can imagine there are already plenty of exercises you can do to target each of these muscles. But remember, a well rounded workout will not only focus on these leg muscles, but also the smaller ones in between. Small muscles affect stability, balance, and muscle control so don’t forget to explore how you can work out these muscles as well and be sure to ask your OYF teachers and staff members if you’re not sure!

What do we use our leg strength for?

Just like we have a large variety of leg muscles, our leg muscles have a large variety of uses. The main use of the quads is to extend at the knee and flex at the hip, while the hamstring helps us extend at the hip and flex at the knee.  Calves help you move your ankles and feet and adductors provide stability. These are only a couple of the many ways each of these muscles help us and it’s also important to note that for many of these exercises, the muscles work together alongside each other and the smaller muscles. Some of the main functions of the smaller muscle groups, as described by Shape, includes bending a joint, straightening a joint, twisting movement, and moving toward the midline of the body.

Where you can focus on leg strength at OYF?

If you are looking to work on your leg strength at OYF, there are plenty of options. Hot Barre Fusion, with its unique blend of Athletics style yoga, ballet barre, and endurance training gives a great opportunity to focus in on the leg muscles. Likewise, hot tone & sculpt uses weighted toning bars to work your arms, core, and legs in new and innovative ways. Once you’ve gotten used to identifying and strengthening your leg muscles as they are isolated, then transition into full body workouts like Hot Box Fusion and our new strength class O2 Pump to figure out how you can best utilize your leg strength alongside the rest of your body!

If you’re focusing on your leg strength, stop by and chat with our instructors to find out how you can best identify and utilize your muscles in the classes you’re taking, or what new classes you may want to add to your schedule to build their strength!

Deadlifts aren’t the only way to strengthen your upper body. 

Over the past couple of months, we’ve explored the importance of stretching and strengthening some different areas of your body. But now, let’s take it a step further. What yoga poses should you focus on if you want to stretch or strengthen this area? This week, we’ll be starting off with the upper body. While many yoga poses may on the surface look like they focus more on your legs or your core, don’t be fooled. There are plenty of ways to strengthen your arms, chest, and shoulders within your yoga practice. Whether you’re looking for something to accompany arm day at the gym or a way to strengthen your arms that you find more enjoyable or easy to work into your lifestyle, these poses might be just the thing you are looking for.

1. Downward Dog

While often referred to as a rest pose within yoga, as anyone who is new to yoga or arm strength training can attest, performing a proper downward dog requires arm strength. To achieve downward dog, you start with two feet rooted about hip distance apart and then reach your hands in front of you on the ground, far enough ahead that when you push your hips back you can create a triangle-like pose with your body. Your arms, neck, and shoulders being in alignment are an important part of this pose. This pose is also often a part of flows, such as sunset salutations, which will challenge you to push through the range of motion of these muscles. 

2. Pike Push-Ups

If you want to further extend and push your strength from downward dog, you might want to continue into a pike pushup. The starting position for this pose is not unlike downward dog, if you raised onto the ball of your feet in this pose. Then, while holding the rest of your body in this pose, perform the arm motions of a typical push up. This variation on a typical downward dog or pushup will allow you to target different areas of your muscles and create a more well rounded strength throughout your upper body. 

3. Side Plank

One pose that requires a strong collaboration between your upper body and core muscles is the side plank. To perform the side plank, one typical starting point is a regular plank pose and then lifting one arm off the ground and rotating to the side so that you have a triangle between your foot on the floor, your hand or forearm, and your shoulder. Side planks work your obliques, glutes, hips, and shoulders, and you’ll likely feel this pose in the arm and shoulder supporting your balance. 

4. Handstand

A pose you’re probably familiar with, whether from the playground in childhood or from yoga class, you’ll probably find if you haven’t tried a handstand in a year or twenty, it might require many more muscles than you remember. Handstands strengthen deltoids, serratus anterior, traps, triceps, glutes, and abs. A tip for beginners, use the wall to handstand against for balance and slowly work up to taking your weight off the wall and into your arms. 

5. Chair Pose

More so than any of the other poses on this list, chair pose is a hidden upper body exercise, or potentially even an upper body exercise yet to be uncovered. To accomplish the chair pose, you begin standing with your feet hip width apart and then sit back as if landing on an imaginary chair behind  you. To do so, you’ll undoubtedly have to activate your core and your lower body muscles. But next time you’re practicing this pose, think about what your upper body is doing. As you’re leaning back into your imaginary chair, your upper body will be balancing you out. What are those muscles doing? Try lifting your arms up to be in alignment with each of your ears and you’ll find activating your upper body muscles can help give a more full and upper body focused workout to your pose. 

Check out our full class offerings here and ask your instructor next class how to engage your upper body muscles in these poses.

There’s a lot of important reasons to raise your heart rate in your next cardio workout. 

We love helping our members find their favorite workouts and learning more about how to strengthen their bodies and themselves. We know lots of you love to focus on strengthening and toning, which is why we’ve carefully crafted our classes like Hot Tone & Sculpt, Hot Absolutely Burning Butts, and Hot Amazing Arms & Shoulders. We also know that one of the main reasons many people workout is to stay fit for their everyday lives. To achieve this goal, it’s important to focus not only on strength, but also cardio training. 

What is Cardio?

Cardio, simply put, is exercise that depends primarily on aerobic exercise or, in the words of VeryWell Fit “exercise that gets your heart rate up”. Some examples of cardio training include cycling, running, rowing, swimming, hiking, and skiing. 

Why Cardio Training is Important?

If you have kids to keep up with or a dog that loves to hike, you’ve likely considered how important keeping up with your cardio is before. But no matter how active or sedentary your day to day lifestyle is, cardio is important. In fact, if you work a desk job or don’t get the chance to move much in the day it could be even more important to devote some time to cardio, because you aren’t getting the chance to move as much throughout the rest of the day.

One of the main benefits that has been associated with cardio is health heart. Your heart health can be improved through cardio because, as explained by Hopkins Medicine, “improves circulation, which results in lowered blood pressure and heart rate”. These benefits can have important health impacts, but they are far from the only way cardio can improve your body. Cardio, also known as aerobic exercise, has been linked to improving our memory and ability to learn. Cardio training has a multitude of benefits including for your brain, joints, skin, muscles, digestion, and lungs as explained by Cleveland Clinic. 

How Cardio Helps Your Strength Training

Even if your main fitness focus right now isn’t cardio based, you may want to incorporate cardio workouts into your schedule. For one, cardio increases oxygen supply to our bodies including all of our muscles, which in turn affects all of our workouts. Cardio also helps fight osteoporosis and manage arthritis discomfort, which helps you “maintain range of motion” as explained by Cleveland Clinic. So even if targeting muscles is your goal, cardio may help you facilitate these goals. 

Cardio Classes You Can Take at OYF

If you are looking to add some cardio to your workout schedule, Hot Fast & Furious Fusion may be a good choice for you. The class is high energy, mixes athletic yoga and endurance, and aims to challenge, shape your body, and detox your system. Likewise, Hot Box Fusion is a high intensity class combining shadow boxing, kickboxing, Fusion, core, and cardio where you can learn a new skill while getting in your cardio workout. Or, if you’d still like to fit some yoga in with your cardio, try Hot Fit Flow to combine athletics yoga with endurance. 

Watch out for our upcoming blogs to learn about other aspects you may want to incorporate into your workout routine, or check our full class listing schedule to find the right cardio option for you.

An Introduction to Infrared

What is Infrared Heat and How will it Complement Your Workouts?

If you’re considering joining us here at OYF Far Infrared Yoga & Fitness once we open our doors, you might have noticed one of the key tenets of our business is the Infrared heating we offer in our classes. It’s so important to us, that we even put it in our business name! If you aren’t as familiar with what infrared heat is or why you might want it as part of your workout, don’t fret! Lucky for you, its benefits are also one of our favorite things to talk about. Today, let’s break down what infrared heat is, how it’s different from traditional hot yoga practices, and what it can add to your workout. 

What is infrared heat?

As explained by How Stuff Works, infrared heat is “a product of light that is invisible to our eyes”. When we’re feeling infrared heat, we’re feeling warmth because of light hitting us, much like when we feel warm in the sun. There are multiple types of infrared heat. At our studios, we use Far infrared heat, which is differentiated from other infrared by the section of the electromagnetic spectrum the heat exists within. This type of heat is capable of “deep tissue penetration”, which can be used for pain management, muscle recovery, and skin rejuvenation, all reasons why we think it is a great fit for our fitness classes. 

How is infrared different than your typical hot yoga?

If you’ve never been to a hot yoga class, you might have some concerns about what it would feel like to workout in a hot room. If you have visions of sweating buckets or struggling to breathe in a stuffy, congested room, we understand why you might have this concern. You might even have heard stories of friends who’ve been to hot yoga classes and had this experience. But while in a traditional hot yoga class, the heat is being pumped in through the air around you and so the experience might be like doing yoga outside on a humid day, we think you’ll find the experience in our studios quite different. In infrared, the heat is coming from the room itself, from infrared heating panels, and is  transmitted to you via light. This not only prevents the stuffy air feeling that can come along with an overheated room but also makes it feel like a more natural heat, like the sun. You might discover you find this type of heat more comfortable than you imagine – relaxing even. 

It’s Not Only Yoga

You may have noticed our yoga classes aren’t our only heated classes! We have plenty of heated yoga options, but you can also take strength, stretching, or cardio-based classes in our infrared heat. For example, you may want to focus in on a specific area of strength training in Hot Absolutely Burning Butts or Hot Amazing Arms & Shoulders, or you might be in the mood for a more well-rounded stretch in Hot Candlelight Deep Stretch & Relaxation.  There are benefits to exercising in far infrared heat that will help support your progress in all of these classes, such as pain relief and detoxification. Infrared heat can help lower blood pressure, boost the immune system, and reduce muscle tension. A new study on hot yoga even suggested that it could help treat depression. 
With the variety of options we provide for far infrared workouts, you can experience these benefits no matter what style of workout you prefer. Come see for yourself how working out in far infrared heated rooms impacts and improves your workouts at a studio near you.

What Class to Try Based on Your Zodiac Sign

We’re proud to have a lot of classes to choose from here at OYF Far Infrared Yoga & Fitness because we think this allows everyone to find their personal favorite. If you’re not sure which class you want to try first, read on to find your Zodiac sign class pairing. We’ve considered every sign’s strengths and the focus of each of our classes to give you a guide to the class we think you’ll love based on your Zodiac sign. 

Aquarius: For the community-oriented Aquarius, we think the perfect class to try is one that they can ensure any friends and family they want to invite to class with them will love too. Hatha Yoga, a class perfect for everyone from beginners to experienced practitioners, is a place where you can continue your fitness journey and those of your loved ones at the same time, no matter how different of paths you are on. 

Pisces: Hot Yoga Freedom Flow opens by connecting the mind to your breath, which we think will be the perfect opener to class for the spiritually guided Pisces. The class continues with a flow focused on taking one breath per movement, focusing on increasing strength and flexibility in the body and mind. 

Aries: Hot Total Body Conditioning is an intense class, which is why we think its well suited to the challenge-loving aries. The class alternates from cardio to strength training which will help ensure they never get bored, and can keep your caloric burn going even after class finishes. 

Taurus: For lovers of aroma-filled spaces and serene environments like the Taurus, nothing can beat our Hot Candlelight Deep Stretch and Relaxation classes. The slower pace of movements in the class will allow time for consideration of how your body moves through each and every pose, while the warm infrared studio and candle-lit environment will create the peaceful environment of your dreams. 

Gemini: In our hot 20/20/20 class, you get a little bit of everything. The class opens with 20 minutes of cardio, transitions into 20 minutes of strength, and ends with 20 minutes of stretching. This diversity of options is perfect both for the Gemini’s strength as a generalist with some knowledge about everything and for their interest in exploring multiple passions. In this class they can try and learn about everything.  

Cancer: We know our Cancer friends love a foundation of strength and have the talent for seeing things from a different viewpoint. Thats why we think they’ll love Hot Yoga Rise & Shine. Getting into the studio first thing in the morning will let them start there days off on the right foot and leave them going into their day with their hearts open and intentions set, giving them the peace and openmindedness to see things a new way. 

Leo: For any of us with a passion for performing, dance classes can be a great place to let ourselves shine. Leos can bring that passion into their workouts in our Hot Barre Fusion classes, a ballet-inspired class with a mix of hard-core pilates and Athletics style yoga mixed in. 

Virgo: The Virgos unparalleled ability to work hard and remain practical while honing in on small details will come in exceptionally useful in an intense class like Hot Fast & Furious Fusion. The dynamic class works your entire body while blending pilates and yoga, keeping energy high throughout the class. It can certainly offer a challenge, but it will leave plenty to practice and continue to improve upon. 

Libra: Libras have the talent of seeing the big picture and of seeing things from multiple perspectives, which is why we think they’ll have a special appreciation for our Hot Yang Yin Yoga class. The class has a powerful combination of masculine and feminine energies as it moves between stretching and strengthening. 

Scorpio: In our Hot Box Fusion class, Scorpios can safely externalize any desire they may have to guard themselves while diving into a challenging workout. The class is a high-intensity combination of shadow boxing, kickboxing, fusion, core, and cardio. 

Sagittarius: Adaptable and flexible, Sagittarius’ can keep building on their strengths in our Hot Core-lates classes. If you’re looking to build a strong fitness foundation, taking the time to strengthen each and every muscle in your body so that you can succeed in any class you decide to partake in, the core stability this class builds will be invaluable. 

Capricorn: Hot Power Core is an intense class, using various equipment in a high energy workout with pilates and yoga-style exercises incorporated. But, we think the hardworking and persistent Capricorn is up for the challenge. The intensity will likely lead to results no matter your fitness goals, so for goal-oriented Capricorns the effort might just be worth the reward. 

Whether you feel more aligned with the class we’re paired with your Zodiac sign or a different one completely, we hope you’ve found a class that sparks your interest in this list and we’ll hope to see you in a studio near you soon!

Your tried and true favorites + OYF Far Infrared Yoga & Fitness’s innovative options = Stepping closer to your goals!

Whether you’re just starting your workout journey or you’ve been showing up to the same classes for decades, it’s likely you’ve come to prefer some sorts of workouts over others. You might love getting your cardio in while singing along to your favorite music and show up happily to your favorite dance workout class each week, but dread picking up a weight. Or maybe you’ve found a new kind of peace on the yoga mat, but have a harder time committing to upbeat workout options. Whatever the combination is for you – we get it. We all have our preferences. We have things that come easier to us, things that are more enjoyable to us, and things that feel more connected to the goals we’re trying to achieve in our workouts. 

But, if you find a point where your progress is paused in your usual workout routine, you’re experiencing injuries more often than you’d like, or you’d simply like to know how you could better serve your body, you may want to consider branching out in your workout routine. Trying new forms of exercise can help prevent injuries, improve your performance in your usual workouts, and allow time for recovery. If you’re considering trying out a new class but don’t know where to start, 

If You Swear by HIIT Classes…

If you spend most of your workout time in high paced, fast moving classes, why not give yourself the chance to breathe and unwind in our Hot Candlelight Deep Stretch & Relaxation class. Giving your body the chance to move slower through the movements means you’ll have more time to focus on what your body is doing and how it is feeling through every part of the workout. Also, the focus on stretching and flexibility you’ll find in this class mixed with the impact of tapping into your inner strength will open your mind and loosen your body in a way you may not have experienced in your other classes. 

If The Serene is Your Specialty…

On the other hand, if you spend most of your time in slower paced yoga classes, get your heart moving in our Hot Fast & Furious Fusion class. You won’t have to step entirely outside of your comfort zone, because there is still an aspect of athletics-style yoga embedded within the class, but it will be mixed in with endurance training that incorporates weights, Pilates balls, blocks, and resistance bands all while keeping the energy high and your heart beating. 

If You Tend to Skip Arm Day…

If your workout classes focus more on ab or leg strength, take the chance to focus on your upper body in Hot Amazing Arms & Shoulders. The class opens with a focus on your shoulder muscles and then halfway through changes focus to your arms, giving you the opportunity to work on each of your shoulder and arm muscles throughout the duration of class. 

If Cardio is Your Go To…

If you spend most of your time running, biking, or focused on other aerobic focused activities, the class you may find the perfect balance to your workout routine is Hot Sculpt & Tone. Whereas your regular workouts may provide goals of distance or speed, in this workout class you’ll focus more on conditioning specific muscles, including many you may not even know exist! As the title implies, it’ll add a level of tone to your workout routine that you may find brings you different results to your regular workout. 

If You Want Options…

If you want the chance to figure out what best compliments your workout, no matter what that workout is, Hot 20/20/20 will allow for the opportunity to dip your toes into a multitude of different options. The class is divided into three sections – cardio, strength training, and stretching, meaning that no matter what sort of workouts you frequent, you’ll likely get to experience another type of workout as well within this class. 

Find out when these classes are available near you or check out the rest of our offerings here and we’ll look forward to seeing you in the studio soon!