Try Piloxing: Fun New Exercise

Female using boxing as a workout.Piloxing is the new ultimate exercise, blending Pilates core work with boxing moves and bouncing footwork to burn calories, melt fat, and sculpt muscles. It uses the principles of interval training - varying intense with moderate effort - to improve health most effectively.

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I am over 60 and joined at my fingertips with a computer most hours of the day. A non-athlete my entire life, exercising is always grueling for me - and messy. I sweat more than anyone on the planet when I become active - so it better be fun to keep me coming back, which is why I kept going back to Zumba despite feeling I was going to have a heart attack every time.

Piloxing is even more fun than Zumba because you get to pretend you are hitting someone, which I've wanted to do for a long time, but it's not polite. Created by Swedish dancer and celebrity trainer Viveca Jensen, the routine empowers women with its boxing jabs and boost to quick-on-your-feet agility. It can incorporate the use of weighted gloves, which add to arm strength and maximize cardiovascular health, but you don't have to wear gloves.

A former Swedish Body Building champion, Jensen completed a 3-year program at the Stockholm Ballet Academy as well. In Los Angeles, she studied with Bill Goodson and toured as a professional dancer appearing in music videos and films. An injury in 1997 ended her dance career.

Like many athletes and dancers who have been injured, Jensen discovered Pilates as part of her efforts to find a practice that would develop and maintain strength while avoiding injury. Her hybrid program of Pilates and Boxing has attracted celebrities such as Hilary and Haylie Duff, Kirsten Dunst, and Victoria Secret models to her Toluca Lake California studio. In fact, plus-size Melissa McCarthy was losing weight with Piloxing when interviewed in 2010. So there's a bit of "if she can do it so can I" involved for me.

The first 20 minutes were invigorating and fun, but I had to dial down the intensity for the next 20 minutes. My cardiovascular system is not up to Piloxing standards yet. The last 20 minutes I could look forward to mat work and cool down, so I made it through the class, although had to take several breaks.

It's a brilliant workout and I look forward to many more derivatives: Piloga, Pilumba, and Pilancing With the Stars.

Go to http://piloxing.com for locations of instructors and studios that offer Piloxing. Near Delray Beach, go to Barre Fitness, http://thebarrefitness.com.

Judy Kirkwood is improving, with the help of her asthma inhaler.