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Spring fitness special
With eight weeks to bikini season, it's crunch time! ELLE rounds up the latest fitness trends and celebrity secrets for a hot bod.
By Alison Garwood-Jones and Dana Tye Rally
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Check out these exercises to get you beach body ready!
Kamikaze fitness
Exercise with attitude -- from combat cardio workouts to detox boot camps and knock-'em-out pillow fights.
Pillow fighting
Slumber-party pillow fights have evolved into a full-fledged women's league, complete with a world champion in Toronto's Stacy Reardon. Fights go on for five minutes and involve endurance stand-up fighting, pillow swinging and wrestling holds. "I don't try to hurt people," says Reardon, "but sometimes competitors get carried away." Foam or feather? "We're only allowed foam. Some people are allergic to feathers" www.gopfl.com.
Parkour
Adrenalin junkies who loved the rooftop chase in Casino Royale should check out parkour. Developed in France, parkour is a form of free running where the goal is to adapt your movements to every obstacle that comes your way. Devotees leap across rooftops, slide down handrails and scale walls in a quest to keep moving forward. Most cities offer classes in local parks www.pkto.ca.
Urban detox
Party all night and then hit Vancouver's trendy boutique fitness club Studéo 55. Urban Detox classes every Saturday morning offer a co-ed, bootcamp- style workout featuring a 40-station circuit of mat exercises, free weights and lunges -- all done to the beat of a live DJ. It's perfect for sweating out last night's martinis www.studeo55.ca.
Krav Maga
The next time a thief tries to run off with your Choos, kick into Krav Maga mode. This self-defence program -- the official hand-to-hand combat system used by the Israel Defense Forces -- has been adapted to a high-intensity workout that combines sparring with disarming techniques. Fans include Jennifer Lopez www.kravmaga.com.
iPod workout
Hook up your iPod to the fitness commands of Chris Carmichael, Lance Armstrong's long-time trainer. Carmichael is the author of 5 Essentials for a Winning Life and producer of a range of workout DVDs that are sure to whip you into shape. Carmichael also has iPod running and cycling workouts available online for $11.70 a class www.trainright.com.
Slim fast
If you want to look slimmer...
• Adopt what beauty-pageant coordinators call the "hesitation stance": stand with your hips turned slightly to the side and put your weight on your back leg; throw back your shoulders, extend your front leg forward slightly and point your toe-then smile!
• Get a slimming mirror.
• Invest in the HP Photosmart R927 Digital Camera with a built-in slimming function. It instantly sheds the 10 pounds that a camera adds.
• Wear a chunky watch or some bangles to make your wrists look dainty.
Image courtesy of Geoffrey Ross
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