Kickboxing Aerobics – Day 70

With my love of kicking confirmed, I was invited by Tara of Versatile Fitness Choice to try her spangly new Kickboxing Aerobics class. The last time I met Tara was in her Piloxing class, where I fell ill mid-jump. I went on to spend the next three days in bed, which is completely unheard of for me. I was keen to go back to show that my complexion isn’t usually green and Tara was keen to show me the only thing usually infectious in her classes is her enthusiasm.
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The evening didn’t start well, as I got out of the car and dropped my iPhone on the ground, thus smashing the screen. I had to pull myself together, or Tara would think I’m a complete liability. As I entered the class, I could see that it was packed, with everybody in high expectation as to what kickboxing aerobics was all about. Clever Tara had choreographed the whole class herself, taking influences from pilloxing, aerobics and well...kicking.

You can tell when there is a class full of newbies who are just getting into fitness, as they are usually lined up in this type of formation: 3 in the front, 5 in the middle and 20 in the back row. I had already spoken briefly to a couple of ladies, who were keen to show off the post-baby bellies they were trying to shift. I empathised with them but didn’t mention that my youngest was coming up to seven and I still had that belly to lose! Tara encouraged everybody to space out for health and safety reasons, so there followed a reluctant manoeuvring around. The music started up and off we went.

The pace was bouncy but manageable as Tara built up the sequence. As there is the hierarchy of confidence and perceived ability in the front, middle and back of the class, I had situated myself in the middle, which meant that I had a girl in front of me, who I could follow as she seemed to have the moves off pat. What it meant for the poor person behind me is that they had my uncordinated self in front of them, swinging in the opposite way to everybody else and always that one beat out of time.

At the start of the challenge, my timings and coordination issues would make me really self-aware but now, I just enjoy the music and follow as best I can. In that sense, I do feel I have come a long way since I started. I also have a new admiration for fitness instructors. I would compare it almost to being a stand-up comic and tonight, Tara was performing her own material. Having met a number of instructors over this challenge, I have been surprised that some do suffer a bit from their version of “stage fright.” It takes a lot for somebody to stand up in front of a room and then perform and try and get it right for so many different abilities. As the crowd, you pay your money, but you must be open and enthusiastic and if you don’t get every movement – or joke in this analogy - hang in there because the jokes change and you are bound to find something you enjoy.

Tara ended her class by incorporating the “funky chicken” into a sequence, which everybody had fun with. If you choreograph your own class, you hold such extraordinary power...power which I should never hold. I don’t think I could resist including a bit of an arse-dance or a baboon inspired element. This is why the power I wield over people should be limited. My children only realised that baboon arse-dancing was not cool when they hit school age.

The class was a great aerobic workout and I was full of praise after the class for Tara. There was an influx of people for the next class, so the goodbyes were swift. It was nice to finish one of Tara’s classes with a smile on my face. I just had to break it to Paul about the phone. I decided to go home and ask whether he would prefer it if I had smashed the car, the camera, had the wallet stolen or smashed the phone…I was banking on one answer to turn it into a positive story.

Sofa Dodger; One Woman's Quest to Try 100 Different Sports and Fitness Classes in a Year is available on Amazon, please click here