Friday, February 6, 2015

Dance Fitness Expose: Clubbercise!

Bokwa. Doonya. Piloxing. You know I love to try different types of dance fitness classes! Today, Lesli of Fit & Happy shares a guest post about her experience with a dance fitness class that feels like a party!






 
 
For the first time in a long time, I spent my Friday night clubbing. Well, Clubbercising to be more accurate. And it was awesome. 
 
 
 
I love getting my dance on (even though I suck, and that is no exaggeration. If you watch Jimmy Fallon's 'The Evolution of Hip Hop Dancing' and 'Evolution of Mom Dancing' and combine the two, that's pretty much what I look like when I'm dancing. Ohhh yeahhhh.) So when the awesome Elle of Keep it Simpelle offered up the chance to go to the Clubbercise event for charity at Pineapple Dance Studio in London (where I live!), I jumped at it. 
 
It was my first time at Pineapple, which was pretty cool in itself (for some reason it reminded me of Fame!) but the fun really kicked off when we got to the top floor studio and the lights went down. 
 
The instructors handed out glow sticks to everyone, turned up the music and we barely stopped for the next hour. The tunes were awesome, everything from 90s club classics like Sandstorm, Love Generation and some Venga Boys, up to recent hits like Black Eyed Peas and David Guetta. 
 
The moves were pretty easy to follow (although my lack of dance skillz made the whole thing a pretty huge giggle-fest, and apologies to Elle on one side and the clearly professional dancer on the other who I'm pretty sure I almost beheaded with a glow stick at one point!) and the vibe was great. It was a really high-energy class and every age and body-type was there, so it was really inclusive and I was sweaty, tired and on an endorphin high at the end of it. 
 
The best part (other than dancing your butt off -- literally)? The fact that when we took our first water break, 45 minutes had passed and it felt like 10. 
 
I loved this in so many ways. It was a fun workout, not too challenging, and could be a great night out with friends. In fact, since that first class I went to, I've convinced a group of my girls--of all fitness levels, even some who are normally averse to fitness classes--to have a Friday night out doing just that! You can visit the Clubbercise web site to find a class close to you or if you're in London, you're in luck as they're doing weekly classes at Pineapple from 13th February
 
If there aren't any classes near you (yet! ...these things are spreading like wildfire and you can train to be a Clubbercise instructor, too) and you want the Clubbercise vibe for your dance/aerobics class, there are a few simple keys to creating the atmosphere.
 
1) Turn those lights down. Low lighting and some dance club lights if you can get them will mean you'll be less worried what you look like while you're having a blast.
2) Pump up those classic dance tunes. Just pick your faves! After class I listened to a Ministry of Sound best-of compilation that I already had on my phone for gym workouts and running and it would have been perfect in the class.
3) Add glow sticks, of course!
 
Now get your dance on!
 
*Rave whistle* Woop woop! 

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