Bikini season is almost upon us and are we ready? Most of us still have a little fat to trim, but the regular exercise routine is flagging in the home stretch. What do you do when you hit that rut? It's time to shake things up a little!

We read on msnbc.com about four crazy fitness fads that just might be the jump start your body needs to finish the job.

Laugh 'til it hurts. New York-based Crunch Fitness now offers the Abs'solutely Hysterical class, a 30-minute laugh attack taught by a comedian.

Strut your stuff. You know all about the pole dancing craze, now try the class with the best footwear. Crunch Fitness also offers Stiletto Strength, teaching you runway-worthy moves that will give you a fantastic calf and posture workout at the same time. This new fad was recently featured on the Tyra Banks show (4/30/07).

Sweat it. Definitely not something you'd do over your lunch hour, Bikram Yoga takes you through 90 minutes of strength-building postures in a heated environment no less than 105F (41C). The heat increases flexibility and lung strength while flushing toxins through sweating. Check your local listings for a studio in your area.

Kill Bill. Equinox Fitness brings you Forza, an hour-long workout with a samurai sword (ok, it's a fake of course) that combines two different Japanese sword fighting techniques.

We know what you're thinking: Great, here I finally got all the moves down for Step Aerobics...

Would you shell out for specialty classes like these?


Mamaluv is a busy mom whose exercise routine mainly consists of carrying screaming children out of the supermarket. She is more than ready for bikini season.


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