I’ve seen you. You’re the person running laps around SPAC’s indoor track, sneaking jealous glances at the exercise classes in an attempt to see what they’re all about. I was once in your running shoes.
Today is the day to stop stalking and start doing SPAC’s (free!) cardio classes. This guide will help you make informed decisions about which classes to take and which to skip — and banish those boring laps for good.
For the beginner: Interval Training
Though it sounds intense, the choreographed and fluid exercises in interval training provide an easy-to-follow, low-intensity workout. Instructor Debbie Miller shares the teaching position with three other instructors and brings her energetic disposition to move through the segments.
“Interval training is about peaks and valleys,” Miller says. Since the body responds better to a varied routine, Interval Training gets results quickly. The class targets individual muscle groups with bursts of cardio build-ups in between: the instructors begin with a “level one” cardio move and then increase to levels two and three. Each level is more intense than the last.
If you’re looking for an all-out sweat session, Interval Training probably isn’t the class for you, but if you’re looking for a good way to get moving without feeling sore tomorrow, this is just what the doctor ordered.
For the early bird: Body Pump
If you’re looking for something to do in the wee morning hours, check out Body Pump. SPAC’s newest class (offered at 8 a.m. and noon) will make your muscles burn, but not to the point of complete fatigue. Using steps, body bars and free weights, instructor Debbie Miller describes the class as “weightlifting to music.” Miller, who teaches the afternoon class on Wednesdays, powers through the muscular endurance workout to a playlist of everything from techno to Beyoncé. Body Pump targets each muscle group and gets the heart going with some light and moderate cardio. Your quadriceps will burn and after a long set of lunges, and your legs will have the consistency of jelly. But the end result is worth it!
“You’ll feel better about yourself if you’re disciplined,” says Miller, who stresses commitment, consistency and fun as workout fundamentals.
If you’ve been avoiding Body Pump because of those advertisements showing sweat-drenched body builders, don’t worry: the class is nothing like the posters suggest. Being a lean, mean, muscle-building machine is not a prerequisite.
For the energizer bunny: Total Body Workout
Did you ever watch your mom aerobicize her way through workout tapes from the 80s? This class is the updated version. Total Body Workout employs steps and light weights to get that heart rate up, and have fun while doing so. Instructor Candus Supplesa encourages participants to work out at their own pace, and, as in Interval Training, demonstrates several intensity levels for each exercise.
Total Body Workout is less strenuous than Interval Training, but more strenuous than Boot Camp. It is as hard or easy as you make it, but pushing yourself will guarantee the best results.
For the Non-Runner: Cycle Challenge
Maybe you have shin splints, or maybe you just hate running. Either way, Cycle Challenge is a welcome break from the treadmill’s monotony. This hour-long class lets beginners, veterans and everyone in between work at his or her own pace.
Offered several times throughout the week, Debbie Miller describes Cycle Challenge as a way to “work your legs while challenging your cardio system.” The early morning class, which begins at 6:10 a.m. is a “real fast jolt to the morning” according to Miller, but one that helps jump-start the day.
If you focus on the music — which includes everything from Taylor Swift to Tina Turner — you may not notice how uncomfortable the bike seat is or that your legs are burning like never before. Each time the instructor tells you to turn up the bike’s resistance factor, just remember that the intensity is only temporary and that a slice of cake after class will be totally justified.
For the exercise buff: Boot Camp
The name sounds intimidating, and rightfully so, at least if you are the type of person who hates being yelled at. Instructor Kevin Ware wastes no time getting into the workout. If you can’t keep up, expect shouting — and lots of it.
After doing circuits of jumping jacks and mountain climbers, Ware merges right into squats, lunges and jumping squats. Then it’s down to the floor for push-ups. The first set is easy enough, but by the third go-round… not so much. Between push-ups and squats with a medicine ball, my arms were definitely burning. The runs around the court came as a welcome relief.
Despite the yelling, Ware stresses the importance of understanding the individual body and working with others to develop “muscle toughness.”
“What you put in is what you get out,” Ware says. “If you put your mind to something, there’s nothing you can’t do.”
It’s about time you took a break from running in circles or climbing the Stairmaster’s perpetual flight of stairs. Sure, biking for an hour while physically moving nowhere is a great way to pass the time, but you’ll feel more accomplished after kicking your own butt in a cardio class. Who knows, you may even get some jealous glances from the runners on the indoor track.