Why I prefer step class to running
I have an on-off relationship with running (it’s off at the moment), but this week I started taking step class again. I’ve always loved step class, but I hadn’t done it in years since I cancelled my YMCA membership (I started it again last month. Hurray!).
For the past few months I’ve been much preferring lower-intensity workouts to high-intensity ones. I’ve been walking a lot and I’ve been doing strength training, but it hasn’t been crazy intense boot camp style. So I was delighted to discover, when I went to step class this week, that the high intensity aspect didn’t scare me off. I liked it, even though my calves burned for the next two days (clearly I really needed to be doing high intensity exercises again).
But why? Step class is just as good of a workout as going for a run is, so why do I have such a great love for step and a dislike for running? I thought about it for a bit, and this is what I’ve come up with:
Five reasons why step class is awesome
1) An instructor tells you what to do. Sometimes the external motivator is exactly what you need to keep going with lots of energy right to the end. If I go running by myself, I might decide to call it quits after about 15 minutes, even though I know I can run for longer than that.
2) Everything’s choreographed. I like this because you learn something along the way, and it keeps you really focused. It’s fun and it keeps your brain sharp since you need to concentrate and remember each step exactly. Plus I can pretend I’m a dancer 😉
3) You work a variety of muscle groups. In Winnipeg, the biggest “hill” near me is the Osborne Village bridge. Yes, a bridge. And it barely even slopes upward. But I definitely notice a difference when I’m biking over it, which just goes to show how freakin’ flat Winnipeg is. Anyway, when it comes to running, flat ground is all well and good, but it’s nice to have some bumpy terrain to mix things up once in a while. In step class you’re constantly going up and down the step, doing knee lifts and twirls and hamstring curls and everything. Hence my burning legs for the next two days after my first class 😉
4) A warm-up, cool-down and abs exercises are included in every class. I don’t know about you, but I am terrible for doing a proper stretching, warm-up and cool-down when I’m on my own. I really like that it’s a part of every step class. And abs exercises are always excellent to do at any time!
5) The music. Yes, that’s right, I’m talking about the generic almost club-style music they play in just about every aerobics class. I would never listen to that stuff on my own, but somehow the strong beat and awful lyrics put a smile on my face and give me more energy in a class environment 🙂
Are you a runner? How do you feel about aerobics classes? Do you have a preference for high or low intensity workouts?
P.S. The 100 Push Ups Challenge is coming along wonderfully!
Teehee. I remember accompanying my mom to step class and sitting on the side as a child in the early 90s.
They are both good for V02 max. as long as you do not rest too long between songs. Personally, I do not like step, but I do like the high impact aerobics for the reasons you mention. Step can be a knee killer.
Funny – the knee issue is part of what I don’t like about running! I often get knee pain from running but I don’t believe I’ve ever gotten sore knees from step class. Strange. I hadn’t thought of that before you mentioned it.
My sore knee has been cured due to step. I always get knee pain doing bikes or jogging but not step.
Oh step is SOOOO fun. But alas, I can’t really work it with my lower back restrictions. Same with Zumba. 🙁 🙁
I have to do cardio that is pretty steady and not super impact. So no running flat, but I do the stair stepper and the step mill. That way, I’m stepping UP and not slamming DOWN, and it is steady so I’m not twising and jarring.
Sigh, I love step but my back yells at me after.
Aw. Important to listen to your back though! That’s great you’ve managed to find the stair stepper and the step mill to satisfy your craving for step 🙂
Do you remember back in 2009 you posted about how you were getting into running, and you trained for a 6 or 10 k run? Well you may also remember that your enthusiasm prompted me to run regularly, as opposed a a few times a year, and to enter the Great South Run that autumn, a 10 miler. That experience in turn prompted Mike to finally go through the surgery on his foot so that he could start running again. The surgery was a great success, he’s been running for the past year, and has just obtained a place in the 2012 Paris Marathon! So it should be renamed the Sagan Morrow Inspiration Run, and what’s more you have got me a trip to Paris next spring :))) just shows what a wide ripple effect a blog can have…. Anyway it’s a bit late now to say you don’t like it that much anymore! Glad you like the steps though 😉
AWWWWWWW!!! That makes me so happy 🙂