The new craze for fitness classes

If we’re to believe the news reports, the world’s population is becoming so overweight that entire continents will soon sink below the waters without a trace.

One solution to this is exercise. Exercise boosts energy levels, strength, and mental and physical well-being, and decreases stress. Whilst some people get their fitness fix from going to the gym, others find gym-going daunting. For gymophobes, the word conjures images of row upon row of contraptions of mass exercise, from cross trainers and treadmills, to rowing machines and exercise bikes.

Gymophobic superstition has it that all exercise is conducted under the eye, and to the amusement of, a gym instructor named Flash. People who sign up in January often leave by March, the dropout rate after six months being over fifty percent. Like other Eighties’ phenomena, the gym is slowly losing its appeal. But this is only the tip of the iceberg. Exercise is entering our lives in evermore diverse and pervasive ways. From Wii Fit workouts, in which wielding a wireless remote qualifies as exercise, to the latest fitness DVDs, there are now several ways to get fit at home. The increasing popular group fitness class is another alterative way of staying healthy.

The advantages of fitness classes are many. Hour-long routines are designed and led by qualified instructors, which avoids the trap of over-enthusiasm followed by next-day regret after an independent session at the gym. Both groups of friends and individuals can attend fitness classes, leading to a greater sense of interaction and motivation. Whilst the price tag of gym membership is another deterrent, classes are often paid for by the session.

Old fitness favourites such as aerobics, a series of exercises invented in 1968 in response to the nation’s increasingly sedentary lifestyle, are being overtaken by evermore diverse kinds of classes. If you are interested in aerobics, however, this is a good time to plug the aerobics society’s ‘aerobicsathon’ for charity on Wednesday of week 6. With the five weeks of the Easter holidays ahead, promising nothing but home-cooked meals and a nest of crème eggs, I decided to try some alternatives out for myself.

Some quick research revealed the many different possibilities on offer, from a total body blitz to spinning or fitness ballet. Fitness classes are held not only in gyms and leisure centres, but also at nail salons, and even the local pub. The first port of call was the promisingly-entitled Fat Blaster class. Stepping into the room, it became clear that the class before didn’t own an anti-perspirant can between them. The session was led by a woman called Debbie, a throwback to the 1980s in a spray-on leotard reminiscent of the golden fitness era of ‘The Green Goddess,’ and sporting a 118-118 style mane of hair.

Looking past the hair-flying, arm-flinging movements of fellow aerobicisers, somewhat regretting securing the spot at the back of the class, she did a non-stop routine of grapevine upon box step, upon star jump. The twinning of fitness with dance is also becoming increasingly popular, for example traditional aerobics classes with a Latin-style twist. This leads to the final item on my agenda: Zumba.

Zumba is the latest, fastest-growing craze to get the nation exercising. If you haven’t heard of it, there’s a chance you’ve been living on a rock in the middle of the ocean with only a painted football for company. Just over two decades ago in South America an aerobics teacher forgot his class music and had to play Latin salsa music instead. Zumba was born. The name is Spanish for moving fast and having fun. In a packed school hall, the popularity of the dance-orientated fitness class became instantly apparent. Any inhibitions about hip-wiggling to the latest contemporary music slowly vanished, and after an hour everyone around me was still beaming. Finally, a kind of exercise that didn’t feel like exercise.

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