Alternatives to the gym: ten of London's best unusual workouts Flying trapeze in Regent's Park and other temporary venues citywide Take your exercise regime to new heights (pun intended) with a flying-trapeze class. This summer, circus-skills trainers Gorilla Circus is taking to the great outdoors and bringing London's first outdoor trapeze school to Regent's Park. It will be based there until September and will also visit other locations, such as The Roundhouse in Camden. A two-hour beginners" class (costing £23.50) teaches basic tricks on the ground before participants are taken to the high platform to try them out in the skies. As well as offering great views of the city and a rush of adrenalin, the flying trapeze is said to provide a similar workout to gymnastics, particularly focusing on the lats, abdominals and shoulder muscles. If you enjoy the beginners" class you can book a place on a four-week course (£94) - think of it as an unusual summer supplement to your year-round fitness routine. Hula hooping in locations throughout the city Image: London Hula Hoopers The humble hula hoop has graduated from children's play thing to adult exercise aid. The London Hula Hoopers group holds classes in Kennington, Islington and Hackney to get newbies started and teach regular hoopers more advanced tricks. "It's a gym in a plastic circle" they promise, and you're sure to be left out of breath after an hour-long session (during which time someone weighing 11st would use around 320 calories). Regular hip-centred hooping tones the waist and abdominal muscles, but the more body parts you integrate into your hooping routine the more muscles you work. Class prices vary but typically cost less than £10, with hula hoops generally provided. Once you've mastered the basics you can get your own hoop and easily do it at home for free too. Aerial fitness in Battersea and Farringdon Another circus trick-turned-exercise-craze, an aerial fitness class sees participants attempt to act like a mid-air acrobat as they clamber up two thick lengths of silk that are suspended from the ceiling, all the while performing holds and tricks. If you're a beginner you'll start by learning how to climb the silks and be taught some simple holds before going for the more difficult inverted moves. A great complement to Pilates, it's all about the core muscles with aerial fitness, plus your shoulders, back and arms get to work as you lift your own body weight. In London you can try it at Flying Fantastic, which has venues in the Wilditch Centre in Battersea and Gymbox in Farringdon. Prices vary but one-off classes cost an average of £18; it can be tricky to get started but the team at Flying Fantastic say that if you stick at it for three sessions by the fourth you'll be totally hooked. Pole dancing in locations throughout the city It may have a somewhat unseemly reputation but pole dancing is about "much more than standing by a pole and gyrating." So says Alison Hudd of Polepeople. The company runs tutored women-only pole-dancing classes and claims that practising spins, tricks and poses on the poles will develop flexibility and upper body muscle tone while also enhancing cardiovascular strength. More experienced dancers have to carry their body weight elegantly while performing advanced moves, so, over time, develop hefty core strength while remaining svelte and toned. Polepeople's pole-dancing classes take place in venues throughout London and a six-week course costs £140. British Military Fitness in locations throughout London Sounds a bit terrifying doesn't it? But British Military Fitness isn't about a drill sergeant punishing you with press ups every two minutes. At the outdoor classes, held in more than 25 different London parks, you'll be given a blue, red or green bib according to your level of fitness, and spend an hour doing circuits, paired exercises and team games. Yes, games - it can be fun too. Sessions are tailored to your group and lead by a serving or former member of the armed forces. A decidedly cardio-focused workout, a typical British Military Fitness session might see you climb over, crawl under and run around your classmates. You're warned to expect to get at least a little bit dirty, and organisers say you should expect to burn about 600 calories at a time. Parkour, throughout London Also known as freerunning, parkour isn't just the preserve of urban teens in Nike adverts. The activity demands that practitioners, known as "traceurs" run, leap, swing, climb, vault and roll their way around a series of obstacles, be they walls, fences, stairwells or other manmade or natural hurdles. With the cityscape serving as traceurs" playground and the workout so varied the fitness benefits are obvious, but it's not without risks. An indoors beginners" class provides a good way to experiment in a safe environment, and, of course, a thorough warm up is essential before you hit the concrete jungle. In London, Parkour Generations run a variety of indoor and outdoor classes across the city, with one instructor per eight students. Youth classes, for those 8-19 years old, typically cost £5 while two-hour adult classes cost from £8-£10. Japanese swordsmanship in East and North London If you think yoga is way too mainstream, then get a more esoteric Oriental experience with Battodo. A form of Japanese swordsmanship, the ultimate aim of the practice is to mimic the skill and mindset of a swordsman in battle. Before you get there though, a four-week beginner course at the Battodo Fudokan training school will teach you the basic stances and swinging actions with a wooden sword. More about gaining greater concentration and control over your body than providing an intense, sweaty workout, Battodo will nonetheless increase strength and flexibility. Classes are held in Islington, Bethnal Green and Hackney and drop-in classes for beginners cost £10. Swing dancing in locations throughout London Every popular dance genre you'd care to mention is catered for in London, but it's swing dancing that provides one of the most intensive workouts. The dance style originated from the swing music genre of the 1930s and 1940s and includes Charleston kicks, swirling and twirling, all done in pairs. It's fun and energetic, but also reassuringly tiring, so you know you're getting a decent workout too. Someone weighing 11st will burn about 310 calories if swing dancing for an hour. Swing Patrol holds classes all over London and you don't even need to take a partner. Drop-in classes are an affordable £8 and organisers are confident they can create swing dance aficionados out of almost anyone: "It will replace your gym membership" they claim. Parkrun in parks throughout London Everyone knows that running is one of the most effective cardio workouts you can get. If you want to run but lack the self-motivation to actually get out and do it, Parkrun could be the answer. Every Saturday at 9am, Parkrun stages timed 5km runs at 30 different London locations. The completely free sessions are open to runners of all abilities which is why the runs are 5km in length: it's achievable for beginners and ideal for more experienced runners wanting to kick start their weekend routine or to improve their training method. Just register in advance online, print out a barcode and show up. Times are recorded so you can evaluate how your form is improving each week, giving anyone with a competitive streak plenty of motivation to keep their attendance up. Katie Wright is a retail head office nine-to-fiver by day and a fashion writer and editor of the Style and Then Some blog at night. The blog is written by four London-dwelling girls and covers fashion and culture, with a focus on what's going on in the capital. You can follow S&TS on Twitter @Style_thensome.