New Workout Trend Uses ... High Heels

It might seem a little more logical for women to slip off their heels to do some dancing, but the Wall Street Journal says a new fitness trend requires precisely the opposite. Called things like "heel hop" or "stiletto fitness," the classes are offered in a handful of spots from LA to Vegas to Kansas City, but proponents expect them to be spreading quickly. The idea is to strengthen lower leg muscles—the ones needed to wear high heels without stumbling around.

"You realize the weak points of the body and how fragile the ankles are, and you're strengthening that," says one happy class-taker. "I really did notice it immediately." The classes involve everything from dancing along to thumping hip-hop, to strutting from one side of the room to the other, to doing sit-ups, all while fully heeled. (More fitness stories.)