FitSteps was created by Ian Waite, Natalie Lowe and Mark Foster as a dance workout class incorporating the steps and dances that can be seen on Strictly Come Dancing. Dances include the quickstep, cha cha cha, jive and charleston or perhaps a more gentle waltz, paso doble, tango or American smooth.
These classes are a fun and effective way to keep fit and in shape. The mix of Ballroom and Latin dances creates a cardio workout for the whole body. Regular practice will certainly leave you noticing improvements in toning, balance and core strength. Expect to burn a staggering amount of calories whilst dancing (and singing) away to a mixture recognisable tunes.
A typical class includes a warm-up which gets the heart rate going and the muscles warmed up. Then there would be a mixture of dances normally around 8 or so. Followed by a cool down just to stretch out and bring the heart rate down.
Suitable for all abilities the steps can be adapted from just going with the feet, keeping the arms in one position, and then moving onto adding in different arm positions or a jump for example. Even if you think you have two left feet each dance only contains 4 steps in it and doing them repetitively helps participants to pick them up.
The beauty of the class is that you can get involved in latin and ballroom dancing without having a partner as all the dances are designed to be done on your own. A FitSteps class is an hour long. Come and give FitSteps in Kettering at the Ironstone Wellbeing Centre a try for yourself!