Fitness fusion beginner-friendly workouts gain popularity on Long Island

Melissa Meris lifts weights while perching on her foot in a dancer’s pose, then maneuvers a ball with her feet before holding a knees-bent pose at the ballet barre.

"Every single muscle in my body is shaking right now," Meris, 41, a swim school owner from East Meadow,  says during her Barre class at the Life Time fitness club in Uniondale.

Her exercise class fuses Pilates, yoga and strength training with ballet moves, helping turn the tapped-out mother of four into a toned athlete who lost 120 pounds in two years, all without changing her daily intake of chocolate, she says.

"We want the members to get the most efficient workout in the shortest period of time," says Coco Xie, who teaches Barre and other fitness fusion classes at Life Time.

Fitness fusion creates workouts by combining at least two types of training, often very different ones, a trend that’s picked up steam in recent years. Piloxing blends Pilates, boxing and dance. Pound provides a cardio session through dance and the beating of weighted drumsticks on floors and surfaces. Aqua Fusion offers low-impact jogging and powerlifting with logs and dumbbells. Strike blends kickboxing with martial arts stick fighting. Tabata alternates between high-energy exercising, such as jumping jacks, with short periods of low-intensity exercises, such as weights, to increase endurance and metabolism.

It’s a departure from the old way of getting in shape by taking a bunch of classes, such as weight lifting to boost muscles, aerobics to boost heart health, treadmill to boost endurance and yoga for stretch.

Experts say the industry has always had a level of fitness fusion, but these classes have become more popular for several reasons.

They appeal to people who don’t have hours a day for exercise but want a total body conditioning, fitness instructors note. At the same time, a population that’s living longer has become more health- minded and want classes more tailored to their needs, from fighting off osteoporosis to sitting down for cardio exercises, experts say. In fitness fusion, instructors say they can even create a regimen to accommodate the abilities of several generations in one class.

When it’s something different, like drumming to a rock song, it might not even feel like exercise, according to students and instructors, and that’s the key to keeping up with fitness classes.

"Nobody wants to do something that’s just too hard or they can’t follow you," says YMCA instructor Tammy Siffert, 60, of West Islip, who teaches Aqua Zumba and Pound, the class with drumsticks. "I always say just have fun. You’re going to get your steps and exercise and you won’t even realize it."

Long Islanders have no shortage of fitness fusion options, from free ones in libraries to membership clubs.

AQUA FUSION

255 W. Main St., Patchogue

Water exercises have long been touted for their low impact, and the YMCA of Long Island has several types of classes.

For example, Boga classes combine yoga, Pilates and boot camp to improve balance and core muscles, including through workouts with controlled instability.

Aqua jog uses a flotation belt to help people jog, ski and power walk to boost muscle tone and cardiovascular fitness. Aqua Zumba uses motivating music for high-energy dancing.

"Water fitness is really easy on your bones and it’s something you can do for the rest of your life," says Isabela Gaskill, aquatics coordinator at the YMCA Patchogue center. "We have had quite a few injured athletes come in and take our classes and we generally have a more senior, older crowd doing those classes."

COST Starting at $40 for monthly membership

MORE INFO ymcali.org

QIGONG WITH MEDITATION

871 Montauk Hwy., Montauk 

The Chinese qigong way of aligning breath and movement can be flowing or forceful, like a kick, but one goal in the class is to get rid of stress, says instructor Dorothy Mandrakos, 62, of Springs.

The class held 11:45 a.m. Fridays at Montauk Library, combines the qigong with a little yoga, some mat exercises and meditation, including students walking around in a circle and imagining they’re slogging in mud, then making a throwing motion to signify throwing away negativity.

"People come in stressed out, especially this time of year," Mandrakos says, "and then they leave much more refreshed."

COST Free

MORE INFO montauklibrary.org, dorothymandrakos.com

GTX, CYCLING, BARRE AND MORE

750 Zeckendorf Blvd., Garden City

With 175-plus "athletic country clubs" nationwide, Life Time has been using several of its centers to test what will work in fitness fusion.

The Garden City location will be one of five or so clubs piloting a class comprised of various "stations" with cycling, resistance bands, weights and mat-based exercises.

"People like variety," says Kenny Lippe, who heads the Garden City center. "As people really focus on longevity more and more, they want a combination of different things."

From the pool to the ballet barre, several popular fitness fusion classes number among Garden City’s 200-plus classes a day. Among the most popular is GTX, or group training experience, a total body workout that’s half cardio and half strength training. Members switch between the treadmill, weight lifting, balance balls, resistance bands and other exercises.

COST Starting at $329 for monthly membership

MORE INFO lifetime.life

FITNESS WITH A BEAT

395 County Rd., 39A Unit 4, Southampton

Trainer Vanessa Acero and drummer Mila Tina describe their classes as fitness with a live drum beat for a martial arts and cardio regime that pays homage to legendary women. The fitness class is held at 7:30 p.m. on the third Thursday of each month at Southampton Gym. 

It’s like a performance. Tina, in flowing goddess-like garb, plays on drums lit from below to set the exercise beat. Acero, 35, founder of a fitness business Alumbra Sport, leads students in mimicking Artemis, the Greek goddess of the hunt, as she shoots an arrow — a move that engages the shoulders and core muscles. Or she might curtsy to honor Princess Diana, toning the legs and promoting balance. There’s also dance, with students pounding the air as if they were playing bongo drums.

"These movements remind participants that they, too, can overcome challenges, tap into their inner power, and carry themselves with grace and purpose — just like the remarkable women who inspire them," says Tina, 37, also a martial artist, of Water Mill.

COST Starting at $30 

MORE INFO ritmofitxp.com

JAZZERCISE

80 Lake Ave. South, Suite 7, Nesconset

This dance and weight training format started decades before fitness fusion became a thing, so it may be among the most established fitness fusion business today.

Nowadays, Jazzercise incorporates HIIT or high-intensity interval training in many routines — several minutes of high-energy dancing and aerobics, followed by less intense weight training, says Tara Griesing, 52, of Smithtown, owner of Jazzercise Nesconset.

In recognition of an aging nation, the company expects to roll out the Vitality Sculpt format of Jazzercise, one that focuses on movements and muscles that people need to keep primed as they get older, she says. "It’s really important for us as we age to do heavy muscle work because we need to strengthen our bones," she says.

The new format will use a person’s body weight through planks and pushups to build strength and keep life skills, such as getting up and down, Griesing says.

COST Starting at $25

MORE INFO jazzercise.com