The Weirdest, Most Fun Ways to Stay Healthy in Indianapolis This Summer

desire to keep fit ? Well , you could melt down , bike , maybe stumble the gym . But here in Indianapolis there are gobs of other , far more strange ways to interrupt a sweat . Most set the entry bar reasonably low , are geared more to good time than athletic excellence , and cost little or nothing to try . So give your gymnasium membership a residue and have something new . Like , crazy new .

Test your tolerance for pain with men’s roller derby

How exactly did a sport about plowing into resister at a high speed become pigeonholed as a " ladies ' plot " ? TheRace City Rebelsamateur squad wants to change that perception by offer men a opportunity to get in on the fun ( and contusion ) . They welcome all adult Male , regardless of grooming level or prior experience . But you will necessitate to bring your own skates , mouth sentry go , and pads . Plus something promise a " tailbone protector . "

Figure out what cricket actually is

This game , which look like a beta version of baseball , is in reality the 2d most - democratic sport in the man . Get in on the ( balmy ) excitement by contact theCricket Club of Indianapolis . Be send word , however , that this amateurish club is n’t kidding around ; they ’re like the guys at your company who take the corporal softball team really , really in earnest . If hard-core cricket is n’t your loving cup of afternoon tea , do n’t worry , they ’ll be happy to point you to entranceway - level local category and programs .

Play polo, without the high-end snobbery

This biz is exactly what it sounds like : you play polo , except on a bike instead of a cavalry . ( But there ’s probably no after - couple Champagne brunch . Sorry ! ) . Anyway , Indianapolis Bicycle Poloholds its contest every Tuesday and Thursday at the Arsenal Park Polo Courts . All you have to do is show up with your bike helmet and the club will loan you a mallet and a ride .

Fake a sweat with cornhole

We ’re not sure how much of a workout you ’ll get from a sport that can be played while holding a beer bottle , but we can say without reservation that you ’ll have play . Especially since cornholeleague"competitions " mostly take position in the parking lots of local pubs and microbreweries .

Take a ride inside with velodrome bike racing

Most bicycle racing convey place on the open route , but Indianapolis offers the opportunity to sheer light on one of the cosmos ’s few Olympic - timber velodromes . It ’s located at theIndy Cycloplex , which is basically a banked ellipse for two - wheelers that allows you to go very fast . The caterpillar tread host everything from devoid riding to preparation sessions to amateur and professional raceway .

Duckpin bowling, regular bowling’s weird (and forgotten) cousin

This oddball race of conventional bowling uses a hole - less , grapefruit - sized musket ball to knock over pins roughly a third the size of steady I . Though the biz , once hugely pop , now hovers at the bound of extinction , Indy still host two duckpin bowling alley , both located in theFountain Square Theatre . You ’ll find eight lanes ( and rafts of former 20th - century bowling memorabilia ) at Action Duckpin Bowl on the building ’s 4th base , and aJetsons - esque ambiance in the basement - degree , uber - retro Atomic Bowl Duckpin .

Play disc golf, the more entertaining version of golf

Remember tossing around a Frisbee on the quad between classes ? This sport is nothing like that . It ’s kind of like golf , in that it takes position on a sprawl course . But instead of sink putts , you deftly chuck fly saucer ( broadly heavier and stiffer than conventional Frisbees ) into pole - mount up baskets . Indy , which host half a XII courses , is a hotbed of sorting for this niche - iest of recess sports . There are even leagues , overseen by theIndianapolis Disc Golf Club .

Work that upper body by rowing

If you ’re concerned in slicing through the water ( specifically Eagle Creek Reservoir ) in one of those tongue - determine row shells we see every four years during the Summer Olympics , theIndianapolis Rowing Centeris the position to get your feet lactating . Eagle Creek sport an Olympic - form rowing course and offers everything from " learn to row " classes to competitions . You ’re also going to converge some new friends , because you ’ll probably direct in an eight - individual squad .

Defy everything about soccer with Gaelic football

Ireland ’s most popular sportis sort of like soccer , if you could use your hands and the team had 15 member . The aim is to sound off or chuck the ball into a end , or put it througha set of goalposts above it . It ’s an first-class aerobic workout , plus it ’s kind of cathartic for soccer players who can for once dispense with all the fancy footwork and just toss the damn thing .

Get in the pool for some water polo

This aquatic translation of land Marco Polo is patently less sweaty than the terrene version . However it ’s much , much more physically demanding , because you do n’t have a horse to schlep you up and down the plain of playing period . If this sounds like merriment , theIndy Water Poloclub would love to preface you to the fun . Added benefit : summer match ordinarily take place in outdoor pocket billiards .

Finally figure out what orienteering is

opine a world where GPS does n’t exist and you ’re forced to get around using a map and a compass . That ’s the experience offered byIndiana Crossroads Orienteering : tromping through the woods with Christopher Columbus - era navigational aid , struggling to , literally , get from Point A to Point B. It ’s a fine way to get some fresh air and exercise . Plus stepping on a copperhead or surprising a bobcat will really , really boost your heart rate .

Get ballsy with hurling

Thistraditional Irish sportis jolly like lacrosse , except you do n’t play with a basket on the end of a marijuana cigarette . or else you get a formidable - looking ball club call a hurley that ’s used to hit a testis squall a sliotar . Just make trusted you do n’t clobber another player with that hurley , or it ’s to the ER you ’re a - goin’ .

Velodrome Bike Racing