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A growing global fitness trend has men rolling out their yoga mats for so-called broga classes – a macho twist on the thousands-year-old practice with a little added sweat.

Michael DeCorte of Jock Yoga in Toronto says anywhere from half to 85 per cent of people in his classes, which offer an athletic mashup between stretching and strength, are men.

But Nikki Martin, a teacher at the Rock in Opposition Yoga & Pilates Studio in Halifax, says her dude-centric Jo-Ga class is largely attended by women who want to “keep up with the boys.”

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The Massachusetts-based official Broga empire claims to have more than 12,000 students and 500 teachers, boasting classes online and all over the world.

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Founder Roberti Sidoti says there are even man-only retreats for guys who fear the allure of women wearing pants may distract from their yogic journey.

Sidoti says most of broga’s disciples are just regular guys – dads with back pain and office workers trying to trim down.