1. Go and kick the shit out of those holiday Krapfen: kick boxing / martial arts
Photo courtesy of www.ironfist.at
If you want an intensive workout that will also help you release that suppressed anger inside, give kick boxing or martial arts a try. Both will give your whole body a thorough workout, and even if you’re the Dalai Lama, its extremely therapeutic to kick and beat the stuffing our of a punching bag.
Plus, here’s a tip: if you are going through a break up, just print out a picture of that person, pin it on the punching bag, and kick the hell out of it while getting in shape. You’ll even come out thanking them afterwards.
Try one of these recommended gyms
Ostermann (only for women)
Iron fist gym Vienna
Dimos Kampfsportcenter
Effect to your body during, and after, the workout: Just imagine what you’ll achieve between the amount of sweat your body will be dripping, the adrenaline rush you will be feeling, and the perfect mix of cardio and muscle training, with a splash of psychological training thrown in there.
Wellness feeling factor: you feel you can take on anything after you overcome that moment during the workout when you think – ‘I can’t do it anymore, I’m dying!’
2. Come to peace with yourself and tone your body: yoga
The benefits of yoga can be listed longer than you can say ‘OOOOOmmmmmmm.’ It clears your mind, strengthens your body, increases flexibility and tones your body into a oh so nama-wow body. Make sure to do your research before and choose what kind of yoga you would like to do – hot Bikram yoga, ashtanga yoga or vinyasa yoga? Check out our list of the best yoga places in Vienna, here.
Effect to your body during, and after, the workout: you will not feel like you did an intense workout after the yoga session, but you’ll feel zen, relaxed, and very flexible. All of these muscles you never knew you had will come to life, while your strength and flexibility will increase, and your muscles tone up.
Wellness fun factor: Mindfulness will become your new favourite word. You’ll also learn how to meditate, and calm your mind.
3. Row your booty up and down the Donau: kayaking
Get a small boat and start paddling. Rowing will not only give you those shoulders and rock hard back muscles you always wanted, but you’ll be able to enjoy the good weather and get in touch with nature as you row all over the Danube river. You’ll thank us once you’re out there and you’re gliding through the water. Also, when you’re done, you can jump straight into the river for a swim to reward your sore muscles.
Here are some places where you can hire a kayak in Vienna
Easykanu
Verbund-Wasserarena
Arwex-Sport Raabe
Effect to your body during, and after, the workout: this can be an insanely good workout for the arms and back
Wellness fun factor: you’ll get to explore the river, and paddling can also be extremely meditative.
4. Go on hiking trips
Nothing will get your legs and juices flowing like an intense 1–2 hour hike in one of Vienna’s surrounding forest or hill areas. Leave the stress of the city behind while you get the perfect muscular bum (you can bounce coins of that ass!). And the calves, oh, the calves you shall have. And the best thing is, this workout is free!
If you want the full experience, leave your phone at home. Check out some of our favourite nature hikes, in and around the city, here.
Effect to your body during, and after, the workout: it’s a peaceful way to get your heart rate up, but it’s more about the journey than the final result for this one. It will give you awesome calves and a cute butt, though. Choose the hikes with lots of hills for maximum effect.
Wellness fun factor: both your mind and body will benefit from the fresh air.
5. Be extreme! Do some rock climbing, or bouldering!
Photo courtesy by www.boulderbar.net by Sebastian Wahlhütter
This one’s definitively not for those of us afraid of heights. Bouldering, or rock climbing, requires you to lift yourself up a vertical surface, using only your body strength to get to the top. Both your physical and mental strength will be put to the test with this one! But everybody who does this, becomes a die hard fan of it, it seems.
You can go once, or even get a subscription for 1 to 6 months at most indoor rock climbing places.
Get high (in a healthy way) with these bouldering places
Kletterhalle
Boulderbar
Edelweiss Center
Effect to your body during, and after, the workout: your whole body will benefit from this workout, especially your upper body. It may seem like torture and impossible at first, but it does get easier, the stronger you get.
Wellness fun factor: there will be absolutely no time when you don’t feel your body working, and you’ll also never get bored as you’re always trying to sort out the puzzle – how should I get up this god damn wall?
6. The city is your obstacle course: parkour
Photo courtesy by flickr user Pakmail1996
Ever wanted to move like you see in a police chase on the movie screen? Parkour is an incredible trend which has people jumping across rooftops, flipping and climbing all kinds of urban landscapes around the city. The non-combative martial arts is very impressive when you see it in action. Parkour developed from military obstacle course training, and has evolved into a very popular sport, which sees people choose an end location and get there by using the city as an obstacle course. It’s very cool. Transform your body into a super hero’s body, made up of agility, speed and strength, and have fun while doing it. There’s a big parkour community in Vienna with different instructors.
All the instructors and courses can be found on the community’s website: Parkour-Vienna
Effect to your body during and after the workout: Your body and your mind will work quicker, and will certainly become more agile
Wellness fun factor: this will keep you challenging yourself and have you moving in a way you never thought you could.
7. JUMP! JUMP! JUMP: trampolining
Photo courtesy of www.maxx-e.com
A room full of trampolines? Say no more – we’re in! What can be more fun than doing flips and tricks while jumping around on a trampoline? You can jump around as much as you want and yes, it’s good for getting in shape. You can also play basketball or volleyball on trampolines, or even just jump around like the little kid you still are!
Plus: did you know that when you do a trampoline workout, you can burn about 410 calories per hour!?
Trampoline gyms in Vienna? Check out Maxx entertainment in the 21st district!
Effect to your body during, and after, the workout: this will inject you with an energy boost, followed by lots of laughter and the usual ‘did you see how high I jumped!’ And did we mention you can burn a lot of fat while jumping?
Wellness fun factor: this definitely was a fun way to get our juices flowing and boosted our heart rate while distracting us from the fact that we were exercising
8. Dance and swing!
Swing Dancing, and the Electrified big band swing version, Electro Swing, has made it into the Vienna bloodstream and is having side effects: uncontrollable kicks and hand jives, and people being randomly slid under other people’s legs on the street… ok, perhaps we’re exaggerating, but it sure is popular here in Vienna. The good news is, this kind of dance can also be a high intensity workout. So you won’t only learn some new moves to impress on the dancefloor, but you’ll also look good while doing it! Check out our guide to where to get your swing dancing fix in Vienna, here.
Effect to your body during, and after, the workout: Like most dance, swing dancing is a great full body workout.
Wellness fun factor: You won’t be able to keep a straight face when learning this fun style of dancing.
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