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Get a wriggle-on and try the newest form of aerobics at Britain's first Pole and Tableside Dancing School. Apparently, the vigorous manoeuvres these activities require, including "The Pelvic Ripple", provide an excellent workout for the thighs, abdomen, buttocks, neck and upper arms. The school is based at For Your Eyes Only in Mayfair, central London (020 7499 6816, www.fyeo.co.uk). One class a week for three weeks costs £110.
Slide this
A workout you can let slide. Designed for rehabilitating injured ice-skaters, slide boards consist of a sheet of rigid plastic, up to 8ft long, with rubber bumpers at each end. Boarders wear slick-soled booties over their shoes and push off alternate bumpers, gliding from side to side in a skating motion. Slide boards offer a cardio-vascular workout with minimal impact, and develop agility, speed and flexibility. Details from: www.performbetter.com.
Beat this
Welcome to the toy department – balloonist Ian Ashpole is attempting to break his own world record for the highest-ever toy-balloon flight. Suspended in a harness beneath 500 helium-filled balloons, Ashpole hopes to better his 1996 height of 10,000ft before cutting himself loose and parachuting back to earth over East Anglia. Favourable weather conditions are essential, so Ashpole – who already holds records for the world's highest bungee jump and longest abseil – is currently on permanent standby.
Watch this
Get on the right wavelength at the White Air 2001 Festival, from 26 to 28 October on the Isle of Wight. The event showcases the latest in extreme watersports, and visitors can try kitesurfing or wind-surfing. If you're a landlubber, opt for BMX, skating or mountain-biking competitions. Top of the bill is the Red Bull "Whizz of White" challenge; the UK's top athletes take on allcomers to find the ultimate water-sportsman. For details: 023 8033 3811.
Read this
The November issue of 'Adrenalin' magazine (£3.50), the ninth edition so far of this alternative lifestyle and sports magazine, has globetrotting features on skateboarding in Sweden, surfing in Bali and Panama and snowboarding in South Africa and Iran. In keeping with the issue's 'substances' theme there is a look back at 1969 and an article on Beach Boys guru Brian Wilson.
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