IT’S MY FAVORITE TIME OF YEAR – Pride month! What better way to celebrate than kicking it off with a 50-minute Beginner Step class with Rico? And boy did I kick it off.
You can’t really go halfway when celebrating Pride (or maybe you can but I am not aware of how to do that.) I decided to get in the spirit with my favorite Pride gear, including my dog’s rainbow cape. Nothing makes you feel more capable of great things than a cape. Add in a glitter photo filter and you have the “rainbow-infused space unicorn” that is me, doing Step.*
Now for reference, I am not good at Step. I have never tried it before but I knew I would not be good at it. If you have read my blogs before, you know that I am not good at anything that requires more than simple 1 or 2-step motions. I struggle to keep up with instructors who move quickly through these steps, expecting you to already know them or be able to just pick it up. I CANNOT pick it up.
If you’re like me and you can’t follow anything, here’s the good news: this is a beginner class! Yes, for all you Step newbies like me, Rico’s got you covered. He has a beginner, intermediate and advanced course available On Demand, so you can start simple and move up when you’re ready. This is a low-impact aerobic workout; I was sweating but not overly tired or out of breath. It would be great for people starting out their fitness journey and then working their way through the higher-level classes as they progress.
I must admit, I didn’t get all of the moves down completely this first time as you can see in this epic video of me being confused here.
But I felt a lot more confident by the end knowing that I had a solid understanding of each move. And the choreography is fun, I felt like my coordination would improve over time in the class.
It was also just fun to learn something new, and to do some kicks and hops on the little plastic container I used for my step. (Don’t worry, if you don’t have anything you can use at home, you can still try this class without any step.) The class ended with the song Manic Monday, which it had been for me, and this class helped me decompress from it. It was fairly chill while also being aerobic, and required enough thought that I couldn’t concentrate on anything else so it helped calm my mind.
I think I will keep trying out this class until I am ready for the next level. And in the meantime, I am going to keep going hard with my Pride celebrations! Feel free to join in our Pride events also, learn more about them here.
*Please note – as much as I would like to say that quote is about me, it is not. That is a Leslie Knope special, but one day maybe someone will say that about me.
Merritt Clubs On Demand is available to members and non-members. Click here for more info or to try it out free.
