Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, July 23, 1990 TAG: 9007210157
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Beth Macy/Staff Writer
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
And down.
A single step.
Not even knee high.
And nothing like the bleachers you ran in high school gym class. That would be too easy.
No, try rubbing your belly and patting your head - while chewing gum and standing on your right foot. Now gyrate your hips, three times clockwise then two times counter-clockwise, and so on, for an hour or so.
That's what your first class of step aerobics feels like - all gusto, no form.
So why is it, you ask, that lots of perfectly normal adults are paying money to stand in line so they can walk up and down steps in front of full-length mirrors, feeling like prepubescents on an obstacle course?
Hmmm. Good question.
Welcome to Aerobics in Hell.
Step aerobics is the fitness industry's latest panacea.
Lose more weight. Burn more calories. Strengthen lower body muscles.
It's also billed as a "high-intensity, low-impact work-out," which implies that you sweat a lot but you don't really notice it dripping off you.
That's because you are too busy walking up, down and around a step to Top 40 music, doing things with your arms that in no way match what your legs are doing.
But the step can be your friend.
If you keep at it, you might start to have a body that resembles Cynthia Eckstein Edmunds or Tayloe Skelton, young stepaholics who teach this latest fitness craze.
"It has the impact of walking with the cardiovascular benefit of running," says Eckstein Edmunds, a teacher at the Roanoke Athletic Club, who swears it gets easier with practice.
Fitness experts claim that stepping burns 30 percent more fat than regular high-impact aerobics. They also say that one hour-long session is the equivalent of running 4 miles at a 7-mile-an-hour pace - like running pretty far, real fast.
But what makes step aerobics such a boon to the largely baby boomer-oriented fitness industry is this: It doesn't jar your joints, so it's safer.
Also known as bench aerobics, step training was invented in the mid-'80s by an Atlanta woman who injured her knees while teaching high-impact aerobics, a more strenuous form of exercise involving running and jumping movements. While in physical therapy, a doctor recommended the woman use a crate to do knee exercises, and she soon discovered the potential for the step.
Enter Reebok, the athletic-shoe manufacturer who saw the idea, liked it and bought it - literally. For the past year, Reebok has been teaching instructional stepping classes to aerobics teachers worldwide. And, of course, a special step-aerobics shoe is coming out soon.
"High-impact is on its way out; there were just too many injuries associated with it," says Skelton, a YMCA instructor who recently attended a Step Reebok training session in Atlanta.
"Stepping is much easier on your joints because you're not bouncing. Your feet are always in contact with either the ground or the step," which makes it a low-impact activity, she said.
The high-intensity part comes in the variety of step, which ranges in height from 4 to 12 inches. The higher the step, the faster your heart beats and the more you sweat. As you progress, hand weights of up to 4 pounds are added for further challenge.
"This is for all-comers, including beginners," who must start out with 4-inch steps, Skelton says. "It does require orientation and close monitoring because of its intensity level."
Stepping is particularly beneficial to people with knee injuries, he added, but they should consult their doctors before trying it.
In Roanoke, step classes are the rage at both the YMCA and the RAC. Both clubs report that aerobicizers are coming early for classes to reserve a bench; numbers are limited to about 25 participants for each class.
The RAC offers 25 step classes each week, including a special Golden Step class for those 55 and older. The YMCA has one weekly class, but plans to offer daily step classes by the end of summer. And the introduction of step classes at New Fitness (in the old Living Well building behind Crossroads Mall) as well as at both LancerLot clubs, will soon be under way, club managers say.
Even CMT Sporting Goods, which sells step machines that are similar to stationary bikes, is seeing the trend. Manager Wayne Mosdell reports that sales of step machines by Excel (retail $239) and by Wynmor ($329) are going strong.
So there you are. You can step to your heart rate's delight at a club or in the privacy of your own home.
Just remember the famous words of Tammie Sloan, the YMCA's health-enhancement director and a woman whose title couldn't be more fitting:
"Just don't forget to look down at your step every fourth beat - or you could fall off."
by CNB