Fitness

In this set of videos 3 projects are described that show us new tendencies in fitness. Describe the projects and give your opinion of them.

Questions before listening

1. How often do you do fitness? Do you prefer group classes or individual training, with or without an instructor?
2. What innovations in fitness have you heard of?
3. How affordable are fitness centers in Moscow?
4. Who usually visits fitness centers in Moscow?

No Gym? No Trainer? No problem!

CNN

This flash-mob style fitness movement is taking the U.S. by storm.

http://money.cnn.com/video/news/2015/06/15/free-fitness-movement.cnnmoney

Questions before listening

1. Have you ever done fitness outside?

2. What are the differences between doing fitness inside and outside?

3. Can a group class encourage people or is it better to plan your program individually relying on your needs?

Script

[Maggie Lake/New York:] – Workout ads! They are everywhere you look! As people worldwide grow more conscious of their waistlines, the fitness industry has exploded. Companies promising to whip us into shape, rated an impressive 8 billion dollars last year! But not everyone believes you have to spend money to be healthy. Members of one unique workout group say all you really need is an alarm clock. It’s almost 6.30, the sun is just coming out and we are heading to meet The November Project people.

The November Project meets early morning twice a week at various landmarks around New York. There is no membership fee and workouts are totally free. Brogan Graham and Bojan Mandaric started the project two years ago with the fellow members in Boston. The two just wanted to stay in shape without the expensive crowds of the gym. The movement has exploded from there.

[Bojan Mandaric/ Co-Founder, November Project:] – It’s the comradery; it’s the sense of community that we built, we interact with people.

We go humane, sweaty. We are coming for sweaty hearts, we are coming for high buzz here and there. And that’s the community that people like, that’s the community that people get up for when the alarm goes off, it’s so easy to switch this button off. Then all right, I know my friend is going to be right there. I’m gonna come out, I’m gonna have an amazing workout.

[Maggie:] – It is so easy to switch that button off as we found out this morning. This is in sharp contrast with a lot of other fitness ideas that involve a lot of money. You can spend a lot of money trying to get fit.

[Bojan:] – Absolutely. Which is kind of counter-intuitive, because people have been moving and have been working out since the dawn of time. And we got to the point where in order to be healthy and fit you need to spend a lot of money. We need to eat healthy food, we need to pay a lot of money for the gym memberships. We believe it’s kind of backwards, we should be able to use the city as our playground. And we are 19 cities right now, wanting to be 25 maybe even 30 by the end of the year. And it’s just very exciting.

[Maggie:] – Sponsors have taken notice. North Face has partnered with the group saying, “November Project has been at the forefront of the free fitness movement, and has inspired thousands of people to get outside, be more active and have fun doing it. We are both proud weatherproof brands – training no matter what the conditions.”

A dedicated friendly atmosphere but what about results?

I am tired!

Let’s just say sometimes… the best things in life are free.  

Questions after listening

1. How much money does the fitness industry earn?

2. Do you always have to pay to stay fit?

3. Tell me a little about the history of the November Project

4. What motivated people to wake up so early and do a workout?

5. How large is the movement?

Retell the video that you have watched.