School of jock

We’re not sure what it is, but there must be some reason why men avoid group-fitness classes.

Maybe it’s the indelible image of a poofy-haired Richard Simmons hopping around with a group of women wearing Day-Glo unitards. Maybe it’s because your legs get all sweaty and blotchy when you work out. “Or maybe it’s because guys don’t like classes that have choreography—they don’t want to go right while everyone else goes left,” theorizes Kirk Moore, group fitness manager with Equinox gym.

It’s certainly not for a lack of opportunity—most local gyms offer group classes in activities ranging from boxing to Japanese sword fighting. But whatever the reason, men generally opt to stay on the treadmill or in the weight room, staring mindlessly at ESPN on big-screen TVs.

“We don’t have a class that’s predominantly men—we really don’t,” says Tony DeSignor, director of health and fitness at Union Station Multiplex. (With some prompting, he remembered a triathlon-training workshop; see opposite page.) It’s too bad, because group training offers myriad benefits, including an opportunity to try a new workout, a clearly defined start and end time, and most important, a strong kick in the ass.

“It’s great motivation,” says Anuj Jenveja, an investment banker and regular in Equinox’s Per4mance! fitness class. “It helps me to stick to a schedule. When I’m just running on a treadmill, I become less motivated.”

Look, we’ve had those nightmares about Simmons, too. But check out some of these groups, and maybe you’ll realize it’s time to put down the barbell and get into a class.

WHAT
Boxing Challenge
at Lincoln Park Athletic Club, (1019 W Diversey Pkwy, 773-529-2022, www.lpaconline.com)

CLASS BASICS
60 intense minutes of calisthenics, jumping rope, drill running, heavy-bag work and shadowboxing

WHAT TO EXPECT
Don’t come looking for a dancey, cutesy version of boxing: “It’s totally boxing,” says Fran Beckmann, LPAC’s group exercise director. “Think Rocky. When people leave here, they’re absolutely dripping with sweat.”

X-FACTOR
Two of the instructors have competed in the Golden Gloves, so don’t mouth off too much, Mr. Smart-Aleck Guy.

IF YOU LIKE IT, TRY
Fight Club, Contact Boxing or Cardio Thai Box at Crunch gyms (various locations)

WHAT
Cardio Obstacle Interval
at Lakeshore Athletic Club Downtown (411 N Wabash Ave, 312-644-4880, www.lsac.com)

CLASS BASICS
This 55-minute class is organized into a series of intervals—you’ll run over small benches or jump over tiny hurdles for four minutes, lift weights or do push-ups for two minutes, then repeat.

WHAT TO EXPECT
“There’s no choreography, no dance steps to learn,” says instructor Chance Kramer. “Anyone can do it, and it gives you a cardio and strength workout.”

X-FACTOR
Go ahead and snicker at the funny little obstacles like plastic squares and stepping rectangles—you won’t be laughing when it’s over.

IF YOU LIKE IT, TRY
Cardio classes like Triathlon Training at Union Station Multiplex (444 W Jackson Blvd, 312-627-0444) or Per4mance! at Equinox Gold Coast (900 N Michigan Ave, 312-254-2500)

WHAT
Absolute Abs
with Mondale Hackett at Lake View YMCA (3333 N Marshfield Ave, 773-248-3333, www.lakeviewymca.org)

CLASS BASICS
30 hard-core minutes of sit-ups, crunches, reverse crunches, and other abdominal and core-focused exercises

WHAT TO EXPECT
“Mondale’s style of teaching is very boot camp, in your face,” says Kellie Staiert, the Y’s fitness director. “He’ll work you so hard, it’ll hurt to laugh the next day.”

X-FACTOR
Staiert is right. Our stomach hurt for days after we took this class—but it was a good hurt. You know what we mean.

IF YOU LIKE IT, TRY
Muscle-conditioning classes like Guns or Pain & Pleasure at David Barton Gym

WHAT
FORZA!
(Japanese sword fighting) at all three downtown Equinox gyms

CLASS BASICS
FORZA! combines kendo, the art of Japanese swordsmanship, with aikijujitsu, a traditional Japanese martial art.

WHAT TO EXPECT
Okay, so we’re cheating: This hour-long, noncontact course doesn’t begin until April. But it entails using samurai swords to simulate swordplay and includes lunges, ducks and squats.

X-FACTOR
The wooden sword might seem light at first: It weighs a mere two pounds. But after an hour, brother, it’s heavy.

IF YOU LIKE IT, TRY
Martial-arts classes like Brazilian jujitsu at Crunch (939 W North Ave, 312-337-1244) or tae kwon do at East Bank Club (500 N Kingsbury St, 312-527-5801)

WHAT
Yoga for Jocks
at David Barton Gym (600 W Chicago Ave, 312-836-9127, www.davidbartongym.com)

CLASS BASICS
The 90-minute class is geared toward, well, jocks. There’s no set routine, but the poses are geared toward increasing the flexibility and conditioning of athletes ranging from weight lifters to golfers.

WHAT TO EXPECT
Think power yoga for Kobe Bryant—it’s a lot of the standard stretching, balancing and breathwork, but with an emphasis on improving athletic performance through flexibility.

X-FACTOR
Be prepared to get turned upside-down: One recent group was spent doing inversion work, on participants’ backs or heads.

IF YOU LIKE IT, TRY
Yoga Extreme at Crunch Lincoln Park (2727 N Lincoln Ave, 773-477-8400) or Vinyasa Yoga at Multiplex Halsted (3228 N Halsted St, 773-755-3232)