The list of ways to stay physically active and fit in this town is long.

The mountain terrain makes for world-class skiing, bicycling and hiking, and the riverways for challenging kayaking and rafting. The city maintains swimming, ice skating and skateboarding facilities, and the schools have football and softball fields. Exercise centers across town offer yoga, dance and Pilates classes.

Still, humans, by nature, always yearn for something more. They often like to try new things.

Cast-iron weights with handles, half a rubber ball and a tall steel pole have all been incorporated into conditioning workouts.

So if you're feeling ho-hum about your fitness routine and want to "mix it up" a little, consider these alternatives.

Kettlebells: The martial arts of fitness

Plugging into an iPod isn't an option during a kettlebell workout.

These traditional Russian cast-iron weights - which resemble cannonballs with handles and weigh 6 to 106 pounds each - demand your full attention but deliver a full-body workout, said Sage Petersen, a kettlebell instructor in Durango.

Petersen teaches beginners five basic exercises that combine the lifting and swinging of a single kettlebell with yoga poses. His more advanced students incorporate hand-to-hand passes and flips.

Individuals who work out with kettlebells increase their strength, joint mobility, endurance and flexibility - plus get a good cardiovascular workout, Petersen said.

They also develop mental focus, body awareness and proper breathing techniques.

Todd Swanson, a 49-year-old Durango home designer and builder who likes to ski, kayak and climb, started using kettlebells last January and is hooked on the integrative aspect of the movements.

"Your feet, your legs, your abdomen, your whole core, your back, neck, jaw - everything gets connected," he said on Tuesday during a session with Petersen.

The use of kettlebells in American fitness programs has rapidly gained in popularity since 2001, when Russian kettlebell superstar Pavel Tsatsouline introduced them to mainstream America.

Since then, athletes such as Lance Armstrong and San Diego Charger LaDainian Tomlinson have incorporated them into their workouts. The Durango High School football team even gave them a try a few years ago.

Petersen was already an accomplished practitioner of tae kwon do, yoga and other martial arts when he became certified to teach kettlebells from Tsatsouline in 2003. He found himself drawn as much to the mental aspects of a kettlebell workout as the physical.

"In martial arts you always want to be conscious with your mind, you want to keep a level of awareness and patience and quietude within all the chaos that's going on. It's very similar with kettlebells," he said.

Swanson agrees.

"Since the whole body is involved in every exercise it takes focus to look inward to make sure all those different parts are connected and working together," he said.

Petersen's clients range in age from 15 to 86 years old and include both men and women.

Whether they stick with the basic exercises or go on to learn more advanced techniques, anyone can get a complete workout using kettlebells, said Petersen.

"Anybody can do it, and it's highly effective," he said.

Sage Petersen can be reached at 903-5520. He will be holding a kettlebell clinic on Saturday in Rotary Park; the cost is $99.

BOSU ball: Core fitness

Sara Linville recalls the first time she stood with her eyes closed on the squishy, domed surface of a BOSU ball.

"I couldn't stay on it five seconds," she said.

Now, the 19-year-old Fort Lewis College student not only balances on the blue half-ball a full 30 seconds but jumps, runs and does push-ups on it.

"It's just really fun. You're exercising on a bubble," said Linville, who attends weekly BOSU ball classes taught by Kim Oliger at Core Value Fitness Center in Durango.

Invented in 1999 by fitness enthusiast David Weck, the BOSU Balance Trainer has a simple design. Nothing more than an inflated exercise ball cut in half and attached to a platform, the ball can be used either dome side up or down - hence the acronym BOSU, or "both sides utilized."

Oliger, owner of Core Value Fitness Center, introduced Durango to the BOSU ball five years ago when she worked as a personal trainer at the Durango Community Recreation Center. She still considers it one of her best tools for helping clients develop core strength.

"As soon as you get on it … your stabilizers start to fire," she said, referring to the deep core abdomen muscles.

Like Linville, beginners almost always wobble around on the ball's uneven surface, but most progress quickly and within a few sessions learn to steady themselves by tightening their core muscles. Other benefits include increased agility and endurance.

Workouts with the BOSU balls provide excellent sports conditioning, Oliger said. Both the U.S. Ski Team and U.S. Army have incorporated the balls into their fitness programs.

Oliger stressed, however, that most of her clients aren't competitive athletes but people who like to stay healthy. One of her most faithful, long-term clients is a 71-year-old woman.

Linville finds her once-a-week workouts keep her plenty fit for horseback riding, swimming, skiing and hiking.

"It kicks your butt enough for the whole week," she said.

Kim Oliger can be reached at Core Value Fitness Center at 382-9200.

Pole dancing: Sassy fitness

Most women new to Eden Pole Dance Fitness in Durango don't anticipate the workout in store for them.

They're just girls who want to have fun and are intrigued by the idea of exercising in 6-inch stilettos.

The newcomers soon learn the truth.

"About the middle of class, after they stop giggling about the shoes and the fact that they can't believe they're here, they're sweating and huffing and puffing (and have) a whole new perspective," said owner and instructor Eve Presler.

Presler had a similar "aha" moment three years ago after she took her first pole-dancing class while on vacation in Long Beach, Calif.

"I thought, 'That was such an incredible workout,'" she said. "It was not what I expected."

Presler kept up with the classes, bought her own pole so she could practice at home and last summer completed the basic certification program offered through the Long Beach studio. In April she opened her own studio in Durango.

"The response has been overwhelming," she said. More than 60 women, ranging in age from 16 to older than 60, have attended her classes.

Although new to Durango, pole dancing is a centuries-old art and is well established as a form of exercise in large cities across the U.S. and other countries. Oprah has even featured it on her show.

Recognizing that many people erroneously associate pole dancing with dirty dancing, Presler describes it as simply a sassy way of staying fit.

Like other forms of exercise, pole dancing involves a workout prop - the pole - and specialty shoes - the stilettos, which are designed for easy pivoting.

Beginners learn three foundation spins, or "tricks," and then use them in choreographed, heart-pumping routines.

Although not all dancers develop the strength and coordination to take their spins "off the ground," Presler said anyone who sticks with the workouts benefits from improved body tone, flexibility, balance and posture.

Pole dancing is also empowering for women, she said.

"I think in the real world there is so much imagery about 'this is what you're supposed to look like and be like' that people don't feel very good about themselves," she said. "My ultimate goal is that every woman walks out of class feeling good about herself and feeling accomplished."

Eve Presler can be reached at Eden Pole Dance Fitness at 749-3279.