It seems as though there’s a type of workout for just about every interest these days. And my most recent experience with Jazzercise got me hooked on the fun, easy, and definitely not Jane Fonda style of exercise.
Taught by my friend and colleague Vivienne Tseng-Rush every Tuesday night at Sanlitun B Active, the class is roughly an hour of stretches, cardio, and a damn good time. She’s the first and only Jazzercise instructor in Beijing and her class is that perfect blend of both sweating it out and hanging out that I’ve been searching for.
The first thing I learned about this new incarnation of Jazzercise is that it’s nothing like what we saw on TV in the 80s. There’s no neon pink leotards or teased hair, although truth be told, I wouldn’t mind a themed-out dress up session of 80s style Jazzercise!
Simply put, this ain’t your mother’s Jazzercise. In fact, it’s an entirely different ball game from four decades ago, if for nothing else than its name. Instead, it’s similar to Zumba in the way that it gets you up and moving the entire time. There’s no resting here, not even a water break!
Check out the video of my first class at the link below:
But according to Tseng-Rush, unlike Zumba, the curated moves target different areas of your body as you work out rather than an all around cardio session. The instructor stands in the front of the room and demonstrates choreography for each song while the class follows along. The moves are pretty easy to follow and usually involve repeating a sequence of two to four movements then switching to another sequence of two to four movements per song.
How hard could that be? After all, it’s named after something that used to involve neon leg warmers. To be honest, it wasn’t difficult in terms of the dance skills you need to keep up. The moves are relatively easy and the repetitive nature means that even first-timers with two left feet can stay afloat. The class is difficult in the sense that, like Tseng-Rush, it’s high energy and doesn’t stop. You literally don’t stop moving the entire time you’re there.
With any intense cardio classes I reach a point where I hate myself for going (and in this case hate Tseng-Rush for talking me into it), but then I get over that hurdle and am filled with an endorphin high that makes me feel like I can conquer the world.
Jazzercise is every Tuesday night at 7pm. For first timers who want to try it out, the first session is free! Get in touch, add VivienneTseng-Rush on WeChat.
Sanlitun B Active
Unit 6218, 2/F, Retail Mall 6, Sanlitun SOHO, 8 Gongti Beilu
工体北路8号院三里屯Soho 6号商城2层6218室
Images: Vivienne Tseng-Rush
