The Most Unique Fitness Classes In Toronto

Little Mermaid fans rejoice — there are now classes teaching swimmers how to become mermaids. Marielle Chartier Hénault, the owner of Aquamermaid, wanted to bring her love of mermaids to life in a fun, active, and inclusive environment. Aquamermaid classes are a fantastic form of exercise, toning glute, quad, and abdominal muscles, all the while squeezing in some cardio. The swimming pool also offers a low impact form of exercise that alleviates pressure from joints. Aquamermaid provides high-quality mermaid tails for swimmers, so all swimmers need are a bathing suit and a fun attitude.

Those large, brightly colored rings you would swing around your hips as a kid have the power to tone abdominal muscles. Sugar Hoops owner, Mandy Harvey, is a dancer-turned-hoola hoop instructor aiming to connect community, music, and movement through her classes. Hoola hooping is a form of low-impact exercise that ranges from basic waist hooping to hoop dance. All Sugar Hoops classes provide hoola hoops (also available to purchase) along with instruction on how to twirl and dance with the hoops, all the while working up a sweat. Sugar Hoops operates at three different studios in Toronto.

For yoga enthusiasts who are bored of sun salutations and downward dogs, Float Suspension Yoga is the studio for you. Owner and instructor Amber Gotzmeister had been practicing yoga for over ten years when she decided to open her own studio. Since then, her practice has grown based on her students’ positive attitude. Amber’s studio values strength, restoration, meditation, and playfulness in its students, allowing yogis to align their heart, spirit, and soul.
Float Suspension Yoga, 236 George Street, Toronto, ON, Canada, +1 416 886 6954

The newest fitness craze, ballet barre, is known for its ability to produce long and lean bodies. Jennifer Nichols, professional dancer, fitness specialist, and owner of Toronto’s Extension Room, is well aware of this fact. The Extension Room offers a diverse range of classes, from ballet fitness to pilates and dance. Each class focuses on fitness conditioning and rehabilitative techniques to improve flexibility, agility, coordination, core stability, muscular strength and tone, and postural alignment.
The Extension Room, 30 Eastern Avenue, Toronto, ON, Canada, +1 647 352 7041

Skyzone, the world’s first indoor trampoline park, offers fitness enthusiasts a deceivingly difficult cardio workout. Trampoline jumping boasts many benefits, including improved circulation, cardiovascular health, balance, coordination, and mental health. Skyzone offers classes for beginners and advanced trampoline jumpers focusing on strength, flexibility, coordination, and spatial awareness. Advanced classes also focus on individualizing movement, learning technique, and navigating through obstacle courses.

Brass Vixens is Toronto’s first and largest pole dance studio. With three locations around the city (Queen West, Bloor, and Yonge Street), Brass Vixens is easily accessible by Toronto’s public transit. Classes offered include pole dancing, circuit classes, meditation, yoga, pilates, and twerking. For those who are unsure of their pole skills, Brass Vixens offers classes for first timers. Tight fitting clothes and leg warmers are recommended.

This 10,000-square-foot indoor and outdoor space is essentially an adult-sized playground where participants can run, jump, and climb to their heart’s content. The Monkey Vault offers parkour, freerunning, tricking, gymnastics, breakdancing, and circuit classes. The space is also available for independent use, including a rock wall, foam pit, and weight room.
The Monkey Vault, 100 Symes Road, Toronto, ON, Canada, +1 647 350 1111

Fans of Soul Cycle should not miss the opportunity to try Rocket Cycle. Partners Dana Rocket and Rory Pederzolli have created a state-of-the-art studio with a sophisticated sound system and iPads for checking in. Rocket Cycle inspires and challenges its riders to a better place by providing classes for all fitness levels. For anyone who has never tried a spinning class, Rocket Cycle offers a ‘Rookie Ride’ that promises to hook riders on spinning forever.

For those who want to experience both spinning and yoga, Spynga offers a fusion of both exercises, along with circuit training. Spynga is a community-oriented fitness studio that encourages its loyal following to live authentically. There are no mirrors in Spynga’s studios, creating a comfortable, friendly, and vibrant environment.

SURFSET Toronto offers a new way to challenge the body. SURFSET instructors lead their classes through yoga, high-intensity interval training, and cardio workouts on surfboards. Surfboards allow instructors to take a full-body approach, engaging core and stabilizer muscles. Classes focus on burning, building, and balancing muscles while developing core and leg strength, pectoral muscles, flexibility, and postural muscles. The founders and instructors at SURFSET have structured classes for optimal fat burn, muscle build, and improved balance.