How to Get into Shape: Enjoy Yourself

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Outside Magazine, May 2005

Bodywork: The Play's the Thing
You're on the Team
Treadmills are fine when the weather isn't, but once the sun comes out, you need friendly competition and contests that turn exercise into a romp

By Ted Spiker


	"At the end of every day, I ask myself, 'Did I do everything in my power to be better?'"—JEREMY BLOOM (Photography by Cliff Watts)

HUMAN FOOSBALL
Two teams of up to 15 people position themselves like foosball figures across a field: five team members to a row, each team alternating rows. Players must stay fixed to their position on the field—with one foot on the ground at all times—as they kick and head a soccer ball to their goal.

Perks
Working those oft neglected inner and outer thigh muscles, which help you move laterally and stabilize your torso. "It looks hilarious," says Robyn Benincasa, who incorporates the game into her weekly fitness-boot-camp classes, "but it also builds communication and leadership skills."

Jeremy Bloom Video

For a behind-the-scenes short film of Jeremy Bloom in action by Cliff Watts, click here

GATOR BALL
Divide into two teams and try to throw or run a soccer ball from one end of a soccer or football field to the other. If the ball touches the ground, you can use only your feet to pick it up. And if the opposing team touches the person with the ball at any time, your squad has to turn over the ball.

Perks
Developing your fast-twitch muscles through sprinting, cutting, throwing, catching, and kicking. "This game's got it all," says conditioning coach Tom Shaw, who uses it to train off-season pro football players like the Patriots' Tom Brady. "It's the ultimate all-body workout."



	KICKBACK SWAG: ADIDAS's PREDATOR PULSE 2 X-TRX soccer cleats mean stronger kicks. The weighted toe improves the energy transfer between shoe and ball, producing 3 percent more velocity off the foot. $210; www.adidas.com (Illustration by Jonathan Carlson)

FOLLOW THE LEADER
Pair up with a partner on a field or a beach. One of you acts as the leader; the other mimics the leader's actions—from one-legged hopping to zigzag running to walking lunges. For a harder anaerobic workout, switch leaders every 15 to 20 seconds; for aerobic conditioning, every one or two minutes.

Perks
Building stabilizer muscles in your knees, ankles, and hips can help improve your reaction time. "This game engages your mind," says Nancy Cummings, a research scientist at the National Training Center, in Clermont, Florida. "You have to react quickly to whatever your partner is doing."

TED SPIKER is a fitness writer and an associate professor of journalism at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

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