Step Aerobics – Is ’80s Fashion Officially Dead?
Now, before you go crazy on me… listen to me.
I’ve been in the health and fitness industry (more specifically health clubs) for a while and I really have to say that if I had to start a club from scratch…it wouldn’t include any aerobic programs.
Why?
Because I have REALLY never seen these programs work.
Sure, I’ve seen people start to lose weight with step aerobics, but they tend to plateau extremely quickly, and plateaus lead to frustration. Frustration leads to doubt and doubt leads to failure.
Studies have shown that aerobic activities can burn valuable muscle AND have contracting effects on the heart and lungs. Now of course I’m not talking about aggressive cardio routines that really challenge the body.
No, what I’m referring to is activities that try to “get” you into a certain target rate… you know… the vaunted “fat burning” zone.
Listen to this:
Yes, it is true that your body burns more calories from fat when it is operating at a certain level of exertion as it does when most people are involved in activities such as step aerobics.
What you really miss out on, though, are the “afterburn” effects that other types of exercise can provide. Most people lose any and all benefits of a fast metabolism within 30 minutes of finishing an aerobic step workout. Compare that to the 72-hour boost in metabolism that interval training and weight training can provide and you can now begin to understand why many of the people who are actually on the training floor put themselves through more strenuous workouts. they look and feel better than your “step”. aerobics”.
I’m sure you’ve seen all the aerobic exercise DVDs and tapes that come out for sale at places like Walmart or even on TV…
Don’t waste your money.
Most people only record these tapes for a short period of time and then put them down.
Why?
No results… too convenient… obsolete… etc.
Remember, your body is an AMAZING set of systems and its ability to adapt to any given stimulus is quite remarkable. That said, the other downside of aerobics is that you’re always doing the same routines over and over again and you adapt.
Adaptation = NO RESULTS
However, there is one good thing about step aerobics…
Most step aerobics classes are VERY SOCIAL and this social atmosphere really helps people stick with their training programs.
I like social programs and working out… the right social program properly formatted will give you incredible results.
Unfortunately, step aerobics doesn’t really fit what I would consider “proper format.”