Chalk it up to the fact that it's March. A lot of us are fed up with the same-old, same-old routine [0] at the gym. We're itching to get back outside. We're open to trying something a little off-the-wall.

Perhaps that's why Equinox Fitness Club [1], a trendy gym in Manhattan, decided to inject a little chaos into their workout classes.

Their new Chaos Training class [2]is billed as "the workout even MacGyver would love." At the very least, it'll appeal to those who like their workouts [2] to include a mental challenge along with a physical one.

It basically involves a ton of highly atypical fitness equipment, including traffic cones, drinking straws, and helium balloons.

And, as per the chaos theory, each workout is based on all sorts of random, unpredictable, erratic movements to work up a sweat.

The theory behind the 60 to 90 minute class goes something like this: No two classes are ever the same. All the movements are unpredictable. And each workout is meant to stimulate both your muscles and your mind.

The classes revolve around various "chaos tasks" that set up different physical and mental challenges. A typical example would be to release a bunch of helium balloons to the ceiling, then ask each member of the class to get one down. Participants can climb on each others' shoulders or go in search of a step-ladder, or resort to any other tricks they can dream up to accomplish the task.

This article in The Guardian [3] mentions other chaos tasks. They also consulted a few exercise physiologists, who weighed in that this type of workout is actually quite popular when training athletes. The challenges keeps people on their toes, improves agility, and engages an array of different muscles.

It sounds great. However, some of us -- especially the clumsier folks among us -- don't really need to take a special class to get in a chaos workout. Just riding a bike on a windy day is often chaotic enough for me.