Stepping out.....

Step Aerobics

This is what me and 14 of my fellow students trained for all day Sunday.   Exam results for this will be given to us in two weeks. All going well we will each receive a certificate to allow us to teach it in the future. 

As you can imagine, as it was a day course it was extremely intense.  We sounded like a herd of water buffalo heading to the watering hole, 'sweated buckets' and probably smelled a bit like them by the end of the day too :)  What a workout!

I was first introduced to Step Classes way back in '93/'94 in a little gym on Clanbrassil Street called 'Slim Gym'.  Ah the memories....and my 'claim to fame' was that the wonderful Mary Black was in the class I went to and, as true as I'm sitting here, used to be on the step behind me and followed my moves during the class.  She had/has a fantastic voice but alas....no coordination.  I on the other hand had/have the coordination but not a note in my head. 

The gas thing is...little did I know that in years to come, one of my favourite bands, who I go to see on a regular basis, is The Coronas...and the lead singer Danny is Mary's gorgeous 26 year old son.  Feeling old or wha'?!   I felt even 'better' when the fine strapping Sean sitting beside me in class leaned over and whispered, after I revealed that I used to step back in '93/'94...."Pam, I was only 3 back then"....I smiled sweetly and thanked him for 'cheering me up'...grinning back he said "but you don't look it"...hey I don't care if he was lying through his teeth....I took the compliment....well it was that or cry :)

Anyhooo, here are some benefits of Step Aerobics:

It improves cardio-respiratory fitness, body composition and muscle endurance, in particular the Hamstring group (large posterior thigh muscles).

 

How Step Aerobics Burns fat

Step aerobics is an effective workout because it gets right down to the reason that people gain weight and become heavier than they want to: body fat accumulated from taking in too many calories. As you work out by way of step aerobics, you're actively increasing the amount of calories that your body burns; as you do so, you're making sure that your body begins to burn its stored fat. What's great about step aerobics is that the stored body fat it burns is also that pesky and annoying ring of fat around your stomach, long the subject of frustration in people of all ages. You also get a small bonus when you do step aerobics: parts of your body are also developed and shaped. The muscles in your upper as well as lower body get worked out.

Length of Time Needed to Burn Fat

Step aerobics are an effective way of burning your stored body fat and also, consequently, burning off calories that you take in. 450 calories are burned off in a 45-minute session of step aerobics. Imagine the implications that this holds. In just less than an hour, you're burning off almost half a thousand calories, allowing you to eat a corresponding amount of calories for that day without weight gain being a problem. Since step aerobics is also enjoyable due to the fact that it is often practised in a communal group setting, the time you spend doing it will seem more like recreation than actual exercise.

Derivative Benefits of Step Aerobics

Step aerobics is so great because it leads to the improvement of health in other ways besides weight control through calorie-burning. When you lose fat through this exercise, you are less likely to succumb to illnesses that being overweight carries with it, such as heart disease and other effects from obesity. Because vigorous exercising leads to the release of endorphins in your brain, step aerobics also has mental health benefits in that it betters your mood.

WOW look at the shoulders and arms on these girlies!  This is the advanced level, but you can also do this on your knees and gradually build yourself up to this level :)

As in this picture above, you can also do your MSE's as we call them (muscular strength & endurance) exercises on the step. This is strength and conditioning involving isolation of a muscle or muscle group, working against gravity.  It utilises body weight, law of the levers or an external weight as the resistance i.e. your push ups, tricep-dips, lunges etc.

* It is recommended that nobody does more than 3 step classes per week *



I may invest in a few steps so I can potentially give classes in the future. 

I wonder would anyone be interested in joining me?