I’m pleased to report that Step exercise seem to be making a comeback. A few years back, Step classes were all the rage in gyms and village halls everywhere, but then their popularity seemed to fade in favour of classes like a Bodypump and Bodyattack.
Don’t get me wrong here; I’m not against Bodypump and Bodyattack, but the drawback is that you need some level of fitness already before you join these classes as they’re very fast-paced and intensive, and if you’re the kind of person that get out of breath climbing the stairs then by halfway through you will be red in the face and wheezing like an asthmatic pit pony. Your muscle soreness the next day will also have to be felt to be believed and many people have been put off this type of class that this reason – it’s just too much for beginners.
In my opinion Bodyattack can be also be risky as it is high impact and requires a good level of balance, flexibility and coordination; again a certain level of fitness is required before attempting these classes. I know of two people who have recently injured themselves quite badly doing Bodyattack and one of them was the instructor!
So if you are new to exercise and new to a gym it will be quite a relief to you to see Beginner Step classes advertised. These classes do not mean that you only work out at a snails pace doing very basic moves (which gets very boring very quickly). Any good instructor in a basic Step class will do lots of repetitions of each move, making sure the class has had plenty of time to practise before moving on to the next move.
I need basic Step classes (you could always use The Wave as a step) as I am one of those people who are totally hopeless when it comes to telling left from right, and if the instructor is leaping and twirling and doing intricate moves then I am more than likely to get my feet mixed up and fall over my Step. Yes, it is very embarrassing, and yes it has happened to me more than once!
Step is in excellent form of exercise which burns large amounts of calories while toning the butt, thighs and calves, and it also improves balance and coordination. If you have weak ankles or knees it is an excellent way of strengthening them and is classed as low impact as long as you don’t jump.
Step is suitable for all ages and both sexes; I recently persuaded my other half to start coming to class with me and I have never laughed so hard in my life as at his frenzied efforts to copy the instructor, waving his arms like a demented windmill, one beat behind everyone else and usually facing the wrong way on his Step. It was wonderful exercise and wonderful entertainment and it says something for his strength of character that he agreed to come again; in fact the entire class begged him to come again as they enjoyed his performance so much!
So get Stepping to the beat, burn those calories, tone that body and enjoy yourselves 