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Stay fit when the weather outside is frightful with these fitness offerings at local gyms and studios.

Wednesday Nov 19, 2008.     By Maya Henderson

Fitness Feed

There are few better reasons to skip a workout than a bad Chicago winter day. The stress of the holiday season is enough to make even the most dedicated fitness enthusiast curl up on the couch in a baggy sweater, crank the heat and tune out - which is why keeping your workout routine diverse and exciting is crucial. "Always make fitness a part of your schedule, whether it's around the holidays or not," says Equinox group fitness director, Marcelo Ehrhardt. He encourages everyone to keep it simple and fun, which will make it much easier to get back in the habit once all the celebrating is done. These offerings from local gyms and studios will get and keep you fit throughout winter, which means more energy, a better night's sleep and maybe even a nicely toned body by spring.

Equinox (Gold Coast and Lincoln Park)
From breathing exercises to yoga poses to martial arts combos, Budokan has something for everyone. Equinox is one of the only gyms in the city to offer this new mind-body workout, created by Cameron Shayne and popular among Hollywood celebrities. With the combination of yoga for flexibility and calmness, martial arts for power and grace and meditation for relaxation and piece of mind, after a few Budokan sessions, you may just be a completely new person.

KettleBells have been gaining buzz in the fitness industry, health magazines and workout sites for quite awhile now, and for good reason. These oddly-shaped weights have been used in Europe for 100 of years to train the body using dynamic exercises that require the muscles to work in a more functional way. If you get easily bored in toning and training classes, Iron Body may inspire you to look at weight training in a new light.

CorePower Yoga (South Loop)
We've been raving about this new South Loop studio since it opened up during fall 2008. Try the signature CorePower style, a combination of a flowing, powerful vinyasa, heated yoga and core work to keep you lean, focused, flexible (and warm0 this winter. For an even more intense fat-burning, lean muscle-building workout, try YogaSculpt, a class that combines weight training with yoga poses in a heated studio.

Escape2Fitness
If you're not the gym type and you prefer to work out outdoors, don't let the cold weather stop you. Join Escape2Fitness for its Winter Walking Club, the Escape Eskimos. You can meet a walking group at Ohio Street Beach twice a week for an hour, receive a weekly home-workout plan from one of the E2F trainers, training tips, a meal plan, a 10-percent discount on other Escape2Fitness services like massage therapy and personal training and most importantly, a group of supporters to keep you motivated.