Women who dreamed of becoming a mermaid since their youngest years, have started turning their fantasies into reality in a new type of fitness trend – mermaid swimming.

Special schools have opened in many places around the globe: Philippines, Germany, Thailand, Florida, Hawaii and most recently in Russia that are teaching girls, women and even a few men, how to flip their way to a better body. A take on the dolphin kick, the mermaid workout allows girls to live their Disney fantasy while promoting good exercise habits, not to mention giving those abs a serious workout.

A swimming school in Moscow offers to teach women to glide through the water like fairytale mermaids.

One of the first schools to offer this type of water training was the Philippine Mermaid Swimming Academy in Boracay, founded in 2012. Established by Anamie Saenz, she teaches classes in hopes it will catch on and become the new fitness craze for “mermaids” of all ages. “Olympic swimmers use the monofin to train butterfly and freedivers use it for records. Mermaid swimming is all about the core—the power comes from there because you are gyrating all day,” she explained.

Swimming like a mermaid burns approximately 700 calories per hour and tones the entire body!

All Images© AFP 2017/ Natalia Kolesnikova via Sputnik