When I started this whole thing back in February, this class was in the top three of classes I was most nervous about taking. I had it in mind from the beginning to wait until the last week of the quest before tackling it.
Ronnie’s Monday night prime time Step class in the gym is one of the longest running and most popular classes on our schedule and has a reputation as being hard and requiring some ultra fancy footwork. There are only six pure Step classes on the weekly schedule and I’ve done the other five. I’ve also learned that in certain other classes like CardioSculpt, teachers often use the steps and risers for the cardio portion of class. So, I’ve been in and around the Step world enough now to fake my way through a hard class – even Ronnie’s – I hope. Since this is the last Monday of the quest, if I’m not ready now, it’s too darn bad and too late to do anything about it.
Ronnie Stone leading Step class
In almost every Step class I’ve been to so far, even the Basic ones, there have been times that I’ve gotten completely lost. It’s a surprise then when in Ronnie’s class tonight I notice that I’m able to follow just about everything. There are times when he shows a Level 1,2 and 3 movement and often I have to go with the easiest one but still, I’m doing it (look maw no hands)!
The logical but unexpected consequence of being able to follow all of the movements is that I’m huffing and puffing – getting a better workout than in previous Step classes. As I think about it, I realize that in the past I’ve had to slow down or stop when the choreography got too hard to follow. In this class, Ronnie’s movements are physically demanding with plenty of squats and jumps but the choreography (except for Level 3) is mostly within my grasp.
Poetry in motion (that's me in the foreground)
My handy-dandy Polar watch tells me that I burn a little over 400 calories in the 45 minutes of cardio that I measure. During that time my heart rate averages 120 and peaks at 140, both pretty strong numbers for me.
After class I tell Ronnie about my experience and he says that he’s purposefully making the choreography easier to follow for two reasons: 1) To attract newcomers to Step and, 2) Because it’s easier for everyone to get a good workout (just like I did) when they can follow all the steps. Furthermore, he says, that by showing Level 2 and 3 movements, he can still challenge the Step aficionados. Sounds like a good plan to me.
There are about twenty-five in class tonight with about five guys in the mix. The $25 gift certificate goes to Karen Mourot.
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