Mandoline Royer takes the Cirque du Soleil Jukari fitness class in Montreal, May 23, 2009.John Morstad/The Globe and Mail
Women dangle from the trapeze, executing jackknifes in mid-air. Others pirouette around the room with gusto. But they're not under a big top. They are in a Montreal gym, taking part in a new total-body workout hatched by Cirque du Soleil.
Launched in early March, the Jukari fitness program was designed by the Quebec-based Cirque in partnership with Reebok. During a session, participants perform moves on the Fly Set, a neoprene-coated steel bar suspended from the ceiling. With it, they leap and swing across the room as if they're performers in the latest Cirque production. But while professional acrobats make it look so easy, make no mistake, this is a workout.
"People find Jukari surprisingly tough," says Jean-Pierre Le Gresley, general manager of Club Mansfield, one of only three gyms in Montreal (and all of Canada) hosting Jukari classes. "They come in thinking the class is funky and maybe easy, but discover it's a full-body workout combining both aerobic and anaerobic exercises."
Although Cirque had been contemplating a fitness program for years, Jukari didn't get off the ground until 2007, when Reebok approached the entertainment company. Work began last year, and Lyn Heward, who oversaw such grand Cirque productions as O and Zumanity, signed on as the Jukari creative director. She designed the equipment to Cirque standards, and ensured that each exercise in the hour-long workout is inspired by real moves from shows.
The result is a program that appeals to Cirque lovers and fitness fanatics.
Mathilde Lacoursière, a fan of Cirque du Soleil, signed up for Jukari classes with a friend after following links from the Cirque's website. "It was tough to resist trying out the trapeze," says Ms. Lacoursière, sitting outside her class at Club Sportif MAA. "It's hard, but fun. Usually you're hurting for two or three days after, but it's worth it. You don't feel like you're training in a gym, it's more like a dance class."
It's this fun aspect that is attracting fitness buffs looking for something to mix up their routine. "I got tired of just doing the same old thing," says Madhvi Shah, who regularly does spinning classes, weight training, Pilates or tennis. "It's unlike anything else I've tried. It gives your arms a real workout and it's great for your core. The best part is flying around like a trapeze artist. Who doesn't want to run away and join the circus?"
With the upbeat soundtrack of a Cirque show playing in the background, MAA Jukari instructor Suaad Ghadban hollers encouragingly as her class swings through the air on the trapeze, while doing chin-ups. "Most of us are on our legs a lot, not using our upper bodies," she says. "Many Jukari moves make us lift our own body weight, strengthening the upper body."
To become an instructor, Ms. Ghadban, a former world fitness champion, attended a two-day workshop and then practised on her own for about 20 hours. Jukari is like various workouts rolled into one, she explains, since it includes elements of cardio, strength and flexibility training. There are plenty of leg lifts and stretches while holding the trapeze bar for balance, as well as running, jumping and inverse pushups. Her gymnastics background, she says, helps her with the more circus-related elements. "You don't have to lift you leg as far as I do," Ms. Ghadban says. "I'm just here to be firm and get people to push themselves."
Alexandra Apjarova, an acrobat who's been with Cirque du Soleil since 2005, says Jukari is similar to actual big-top training. While preparing to perform in Delirium, Ms. Apjarova worked out for eight hours a day, sometimes six days a week, in dance, Pilates, cardio and conditioning classes. "To train I do different hanging moves from a rope to challenge my flexibility and strength," she says. "The best way for me to exercise is to lift my own body weight." In Cirque lingo this is called trapeze suspension training, and when Jukari participants do pull ups, swinging, jumping or hanging exercises from the Fly Set, it is close to what real acrobats do.
Although Jukari classes have so far been limited to women (because of a tie in with a new Reebok clothing line), interest is growing among men. "I've been a member at the gym here for seven years," says MAA member Omar Slim, as he waits for the Jukari class to pack up. "Usually I do cardio and weights. But this seems to be a new concept, and I'm really interested in trying it."
Soon he'll get a chance, says Marc Fisher, a marketing manager for Reebok. "By the end of this summer ... Jukari classes will start popping up in Toronto, Calgary and Vancouver," and these will be open to men as well.
But, as Ms. Ghadban says to her class, "it's not going to come along as a gift. You've got to work for it!"