Dominatrix-style Fifty Shades of Grey workout, anyone?
People are always on the lookout for new and inventive ways to get in shape, and fans of the “Fifty Shades of Grey” books and…
Would you be brave enough to take a ’50 Shades of Grey’ workout? (Shutterstock)
People are always on the lookout for new and inventive ways to get in shape, and fans of the “Fifty Shades of Grey” books and movie are making their wish come true in the gym.
Innovative fitness facilities in in Miami, Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco are holding classes called “Whipped: 50 Shades of Fitness,” and the rooms are packed.
SEE ALSO: Dakota Johnson’s ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’ workout
“Every now and then, I like to try something more fun and out of the box,” Donna Cyrus, senior vice president of programming at Crunch gyms headquarters, told Good Morning America. “[The instructor] would say things like, ‘If you dont do these 20 push-ups, you’re going to get whipped.’”
Cyrus explained people in the classes don’t realize how hard they are working because they are too distracted by the novelty and the modest sexual innuendo. Some participants even dressed in their own costumes to further add to the experience, and the instructor, dressed as a dominatrix, isn’t afraid to push people past their comfort zones.
“Being a fitness instructor and being a dominatrix are very similar,” said Melody Henry, a yoga instructor at Crunch who used to be a real-life dominatrix, “because I tell you what to do and I cause you pain and you pay money.”
Though the sexual nature of the classes may not appeal to everyone, research indicates Cyrus’s creative classes may provide the right kind of distraction to help people workout.
Fitness classes may never be the same. (Shutterstock)
Listening to music, for example, can improve an individual’s workout significantly by distracting them from aches and pains, elevating mood, and increasing endurance.
People who are appropriately distracted swim further, bike long, and run more miles often without realizing it. A report from Scientific American explains music as a distraction is ideal because it also invokes emotions.
Distraction in general, like experiencing a dominatrix-led fitness class can be enough to keep people focused on things other than how many reps they’ve done or how long they’ve been doing an exercise. Such classes keep the toil of exercise light-hearted.
“Given that exercise is often tiresome, boring and arduous, anything that relieves those negative feelings would be welcome,” stated Costas Karageorghis of Brunel University in London, one of the world’s leading experts on the psychology of exercise music.
SEE ALSO: What reading ’50 Shades of Grey’ says about your health habits
Not all distraction is created equal, however. Other research shows that when individuals workout under their own supervision (not in a class or with an instructor) distractions like television really are just plain distracting. People watching television while working out tend to work slower and less efficiently.
The key is minimal distraction, like that of a “50 Shades” class.
