The great new year fitness drive has begun and if you want to help your resolutions stick, it’s important to mix it up, writes Suzi Dixon.

Trying new classes and different workout techniques can keep your gym routine fresh and stop the boredom setting in mid-February. What’s more, varying your exercise is the best way to tone up all-over rather than targeting the same set of muscles time and time again. Here are four hot fitness trends for 2014.

Club fit

It’s a top fitness trend in New York and now Club Fit is available in Bournemouth at Halo (www.halobournemouth.com), as part of the club’s new community-led initiatives. A dance instructor takes you through a simple but high energy routine that’s fun and funky and will help you burn off those Christmas calories. Any excuse to go clubbing on a Wednesday! But there’s no alcohol here, just smoothie shots and glo sticks to up the atmosphere. Dancing is a great cardio workout and is good for the brain, too. Local DJs are on rotation to mix up the musical offerings. Classes start this week.

Tabata

Perfect for the time-poor, Tabata is a form of high intensity interval training (HIIT) where you exercise to exhaustion in periods of just four minutes. A full Tabata workout will include both aerobic and anaerobic fitness, bursts of cardio followed by four-minute weight routines that will leave your muscles screaming for mercy. Research suggests it can burn off as much as 13.5 calories a minute and double your metabolic rate for 30 minutes after your workout. Fitness First (www.fitnessfirst.co.uk) offers Tabata training and also freestyle areas, where instructors can show you how to use your own body weight or the club’s equipment to put together your own super-speedy Tabata routine.

Boxercise

Fitness is like fashion - some trends come round again and again. Boxercise is enjoying a revival, particularly in ladies’ fitness, as it offers an all-over workout. It makes you sweat, warm-ups include plenty of cardio such as skipping and shuttle runs, and the twisting motions of punching combos are ideal for toning up that Christmas tummy. It’s also great for stress relief! In Bournemouth, Jango, pictured, from Project U (www.projectu.co.uk) includes boxercise in his bootcamps, in the third week of every month. Or head to Ippon Gym (www.ipponfitness.com) on Poole Hill to ask for specialist one-to-one training.

Triathlons

If you are already fairly fit, the new year is a great time to set yourself a goal to push yourself a little bit harder. Cycling is very popular in Bournemouth and an eco-friendly and low-cost way of getting around the town. So why not push yourself to try a triathlon? The Bournemouth International Triathlon takes place in July 2014 and features various distances of swimming, cycling and running. Up your training at David Lloyd Leisure, where they will soon be installing a Wattbike, a hi-tech indoor trainer that combines real-time data and pedal analysis with the feel of riding a real bike.