Barefoot fitness training-a fun, meaningful challenge

 Above: Stacey Lei Krauss leads a transitional pose that fuses a cardio section with Yoga stretches in the Willpower & Grace barefoot fitness sequence.  Below: Stacey Lei leads foot foundation exercise.

Combine two regular ingredients that have never been mixed before, and you may get something really special that's worth reproducing. The instructors at willPower Fitness, one of Denver's newest fitness studios, have cooked up a new recipe that stands out boldly amidst the crowded market of work-out instruction.

I attended two classes this week, on Monday and Tuesday night. I loved the fact that I could do a very full work out without wearing shoes, but it was more than the barefoot factor that made this training an excellent experience that I recommend.

The barefoot factor is important, though, becasue one needs to have strong feet and ankles as a foundation for the rest of the body, and that's something that can't happen with shoes on since shoes don't let your ankles and feet move freely, and thus make many of those muscles dormant. But the willPower workout combines every important aspect of a workout, starting with the feet and going all the way up.

WillPower workouts weave Yoga poses into a  series with cardio work and strength training, but it is more than "Yogarobics".  There are also moves designed especially for building strength fin the feet and the rest of the body from the feet first, a concept ignored in most exercise boot camps or other classes. And the instruction method combines the gentle approach from traditional Yoga with traditional exercise instruction to create a hybrid that is neither wimpy nor overbearing.

These classes are excellent for general strength and cardio training, for the Yogi who wants to move, and as preparation for one of my favorite ways to work out: barefoot running.

As there is more to come on barefoot running, there is more to say about willPower Fitness. If you don't want to take my word for it, then take the class. I have more to say in the coming week as I'll be following this studio closely.

This new fitness opportunity makes me even more excited for a new season of barefoot running classes I'll be scheduling soon.