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Gym workouts aren’t for everyone, but good health and fitness are. If you want to become fit and healthy without the mechanized machines, you have quite a few options, like those we’ve outlined below.

Zumba
When Beto Perez, an aerobics instructor in Colombia, forgot his standard CDs, he retrieved his Latin music CDs and shared how he normally danced at parties and clubs. The Latin-based aerobics class was wildly successful and later imported to the U.S.

Movements include a lot of shimmies and elements of salsa, the merengue and the samba. Jake Fisher, owner of Blue Martini Entertainment, also throws in  ballroom and swing moves, and a little hip-hop, but his Zumba classes are still 70 to 80 percent Latin-inspired.

“It’s a feel-good kind of exercise,” Jake says. “Higher endorphins burn more calories. At a moderate pace, [you can  burn] 500 to 800 calories in a 45- to 55-minute class. At one time per week, within a month, you might see some loss of inches in the waist. Muscle tone is probably one of the best things I’ve seen with Zumba; I saw that within two to three months.”

T’ai chi
Comparing the potential health benefits of T’ai chi to those derived from other forms of exercise outside the gym is a bit like comparing apples to oranges, says Kim Kanzelberger, owner of Center States T’ai Chi Chuan and a practitioner for more than 30 years.

This mild to moderate aerobic activity increases muscle tone, particularly in the legs, as it enhances circulation and strengthens the heart. T’ai chi also increases bone mass as it improves respiration, flexibility, balance, coordination and concentration.

“[We also do] a great deal of work on posture, keeping the spine relaxed and in good alignment and adopt a natural deep-breathing method,” Kim says. “T’ai chi is less injurious to the body, particularly the joints. It’s also a form of meditation and a process of self-discovery. The main  focus is to exercise in a way that creates a  relaxation response.”

Nia
Whole-body, integrative movement is the key to Nia technique, a holistic fitness and lifestyle practice that promotes finding health through movement. The nonimpact, barefoot regimen incorporates elements of the martial arts, dance and the healing arts like yoga. Sharon Bowman, certified Nia instructor for the last six years,         recommends that students participate in Nia sessions two or three times per week in order to see results.

“It is cardiovascular and endurance with some simple choreography,” she says. “[It improves] cardiovascular and endurance, strength and muscle tone and flexibility, mobility and agility.” Participants also develop increased focus and balance.

Sharon’s students have lost inches and weight. A few students with high blood pressure say it is lower after a while. “Nia is so easily adaptable to each individual,” she says. “You’re getting what your body needs.”

Jazzercise
Connie Leonardelli teaches Jazzercise classes at the Stanley Jazzercise Center. Created in the late 1960s to early ’70s, dance-based Jazzercise could be a perfect fit for students who love to dance but want serious workout benefits. In addition to 30 minutes of aerobic/cardiovascular exercise, students practice 30 minutes of strengthening exercises with weights, exercise bands and stretching.

“It’s like going out dancing with your girlfriends, but dance, kickboxing, yoga, and Pilates are all in every session,” says Connie, who has taught for more than 20 years. “It is so much fun that you don’t realize you’re getting your butt kicked.”

Connie says most students who attend classes two or three times a week will begin to notice positive physical and    mental/emotional changes within four to six weeks.

Ballroom Dancing
Ballroom dance is the third-best one-on-one calorie-burning exercise around —  second only to tennis and swimming, says Jim MacAuley, supervisor at TC Dance Club International. The low-impact cardiovascular workout also has been documented to strengthen the heart, lungs and mental agility as it speeds up metabolism.

“If you attend two to three times per week, you’ll notice changes in a couple of weeks,” Jim says. “If you stick with it, you’ll easily drop 10 to 15 pounds in a couple of months.”

Attending classes without a partner is just fine; in fact, only 40 percent of students participate as half of a couple.

“When you’re ballroom dancing, it’s also a social time,” Jim says. “The biggest benefit is probably mental and emotional.”