When I see this face, I know I have about 30 seconds before they walk out the door for good. We have the tools available to get past the intimidation and confusion.

Step aerobic classes always have a reputation for being too difficult, they are intimidating. Imagine walking into a room, it is full of strangers. You begin to realize that you have no idea what you have gotten yourself into. When the class starts, you find yourself confused by tons of fancy choreography and lots of jargon you do not understand. As you look around, you feel like a dork, like you have two left feet. Nobody likes being the one in the class that does not get the moves. This is a classic case of step aerobics intimidation.

Unfortunately, this is a normal right of passage for this format. We have all been there. Luckily, we can change that today. 

Getting past step aerobics intimidation comes down to familiarity. In other words, if you are unfamiliar with a place, process, or a procedure you can become anxious about it. Left alone, the anxiety may build into fear. For many, it is easier to simply walk away from step aerobics to find something easier, rather than deal with overcoming any intimidation this presents.

Reversehook is an advanced step program. My live classes have always catered to the advanced clientele. There are two major reason for this. 

First, most gyms do not offer a variety of step classes.  Advanced steppers have little choice when it comes to step classes. Finding a truly advanced class offering is really hard to do. Because of this, my classes were often near capacity, comprised with mostly advanced steppers. People would travel from all over the bay area to regularly attend my class. The expectation was that my class would be advanced, it did not make sense to slow it down for one or two new participants that possibly would never return for a second session.

Secondly, the more you learn and become accustomed to the moves and combinations, the breakdowns become boring. You know the punchline to a joke that have heard a dozen times. Suddenly, you start to hear the same joke being told again. OK, maybe it’s not ‘that’ bad. Let’s put this another way, many dance formats at the gym are based on building a combination, or routine.  Everyone loves the “final run-through”.   For an advanced stepper who knows the final run-through, doing the breakdown is rather boring. To sum up, we want to get to the final run-through as quickly as possible and we want to mix it up so it is not the same every time. The sense of accomplishment upon completing the final run-through is very satisfying.

As an instructor, there is a balance you need to maintain. How much can you slow it down and make the content digestible for new comers and keep the advanced steppers interested. In a live setting, going a little too fast only leads to more group exercise intimidation. It is difficult to gauge on the fly.

Step aerobics is a cardio exercise. In a typical Reversehook class, you can burn anywhere from 300-1200 calories. Some consider step a dance format, the Reversehook approach is what I would consider more of an athletic style. Meaning, there is no emphasis on fluid graceful movements, rather, we use the choreography to direct large muscle movement. However, there is plenty of room to stylize the moves, in either direction; more 'dancy' with large sweeping arm movements, or more athletic with high powered explosive leg movements.

More proven benefits from step aerobics include:

Need more proof? Here are a couple of good articles about the benefits of step aerobics:

The cueing style is based off of military style, parade marching, adopted by many high school and college marching bands. A verbal command is given in rhythm, while the class executes the move in time with the music.  I have to admit, this probably adds to the intimidation factor. But let's not eat the entire elephant in one bite. Let's break it down into much smaller digestible parts. Rather than teaching a specific routine or combination to memorize, we focus on the smaller “moves”. 

This is how it works. Step combinations are comprised of a series of four, six, or eight count moves. There are strict rules to follow when building a step combination. The combination must be 32 counts and end in a manner where it is intuitive and natural to begin the next combination with the opposite foot. In other words, start with the right foot, end the combination so the left foot is now leading. Our step library has over 100 common moves.  By focusing on the moves, we do not need to memorize the larger pattern. Simply listen and execute. .

Over the years, I have perfected the verbal delivery of the cues so there are pretty much no breaks within the 1 hour aerobic step class. In a typical Reversehook class, we execute 40 -70 combinations. Yes, you read that correctly. In contrast, most step classes offered at the gym perform three to nine (32 count) combinations in a 1 hour class. We rarely break any combinations down because the class is familiar with all of the moves that make up those combinations. I can shuffle them in any order and every class is different

Because the learning curve is so steep, there is a huge sense of satisfaction accomplishing something that is so athletic, complicated, and fast. You will start to crave more, and what was tough at first will become easy. Advanced steppers are always looking for fast and challenging choreography, we deliver that with the Project: Forever Series.

Overcome the fears by arming yourself with knowledge. First, learn the simple moves. The Reversehook advanced choreography is based off of the moves introduced in the Project: Forever Free Sampler. Learn those moves by going slow at first, then increase the speed and duration of your workout. If you get confused by a command, our instructional videos are there to assist you. YouTube has an outstanding feature where you can slow the video down to .75x playback speed and still hear the audio. 

If you are reading this, know that you have a huge advantage at beating any fears you have in doing step. You have the tools to learn in the convenience of your home. You can take your time and go at your own pace. And when you are ready, you can reach out and join us. We are a friendly and encouraging bunch and would love to meet another fellow stepper!