This new gym offers "barre fitness" classes (all the rage in NY and LA) which combine dance, core work, and yoga for a workout that's sure to leave you feeling the burn--if you can keep up, that is.

Read my profile of Barreworks in the fitness section.

Fitness is getting increasingly complicated with too many machines and too many contradicting opinions on what actually yields results, so this Yonge and Eg gym is going back to the basics - treadmills, weights, aerobic step blocks and small class sizes - with a system that promises the best workout ever.

Read my profile of Ferris360 in the fitness clubs section.

Affogatos in Toronto are experiencing a seasonal surge in popularity. With another hot and humid summer in full swing in Toronto, afternoon coffees have been temporarily replaced by their iced counterparts or soft-serve frozen yogurt, gelato, and ice cream. Fortunately, many places around Toronto have begun offering affogatos, the perfect compromise between the two, to help cool Torontonians down.

Slacklining in Toronto is almost guaranteed to draw a crowd of curious onlookers, and after spending several months of eyeing others practicing slacklining in Toronto, I was ecstatic when one of my friends suggested it for our next monthly 'fitness outing.'

Slacklining is an activity that involves balancing and walking across a nylon rope (similar to the sensation of walking on a tightrope), and has been growing in popularity across Toronto. Unlike a tightrope which is kept fairly taut, a slackline is more dynamic and "bouncy," which allows advanced users to practice more than just walking from one end of the line to the other.

In general, slacklining as an activity requires very little investment; at the very least, you need the line itself, ratchets to secure the line with, and tree protectors. David Wilkins from Trial Tensions was kind enough give our group a free lesson using his own equipment.

Yoga teacher training in Toronto is more common, and useful, than you might think. Ask any yoga instructor and they will tell you that the benefits of completing a yoga teacher certification program extend far beyond the practical benefit of becoming qualified to teach a class. While gaining the skills to teach yoga is undoubtedly, the main draw for most, another, perhaps more important draw, is the guarantee of taking one's practice further by deconstructing the most basic and fundamental principles of practicing yoga in the first place.