Day 34 ! Reggae Aerobics

Oh, it all went to pots. For those checking me facebook updates, today was supposed to be a 20.20.20 class but then I was LATE and the teacher gave me the shakey get-out-of-here-you’re-too-late-shame-on-you headshake. Drat and darn it, there was no decent alternative class at the centre (or nearby). Originally, I blamed TFL (8mins till the next train) but then was it my fault for not leaving more than enough time? Probably. So what to do? Go home and write off 90minutes in total for the useless travelling time? No siree. So, I decided to cross-trainer in the gym for a while, got bored after 22minutes, pushed through to 30mins then walked for a half hour to Highbury and Islington station and felt satisfied that I had not had a totally wasted journey. But, I did also conclude that that doesn’t count as a valid blog post, on its own (for those interested, the hour burnt about 169calories and average HR was an uninteresting 96). So, the next day, I double-upped and started with Reggae Aerobics.

For the record, I’m still making up classes from the few days I spent in Edinburgh so the posting dates won’t match up exactly but the sequence of classes is true and accurate!

Now, Reggae Aerobics. Some of you may recall that I first tried this on Day 9 (Reggae-less) Aerobics but the “Reggae” part was cancelled and it ended just being plain old Aerobics. But, as with Chumbawamba, you get knocked down, you get up again. So here we were, praying that Levi Roots’ dance teacher was going to turn up. And she did, thankfully. Though, by the end of the class, Instructor Khaeden might not have been so thankful that we turned up.

If someone asked me how Jamaicans danced, what would my answer be? With their booty. And their chest. And fast. Think of isolating your pelvis, circling your ass (the “wine” I believe it’s called) as you squat, circling as you bounce on your heels (t burns I tell ya), shaking your behind as fast as you can while stepping forwards and backwards, isolating your upper body and pumping your arms against your chest and then circling your chest as you’re circling your pelvis and opening/closing your legs in a “butterfly” motion. Imagining it is hard enough, doing it is harder. But, if you let go of any inhibitions about how silly you look (everyone looked silly. Except the teacher), it sure is fun to try!

Instructor Khaeden  was a lovely person (also camera-shy) – almost too lovely as she clearly had more faith in our ability to reggae dance than deserved. When she saw that we were struggling with a move, she would stop and try another move (which was probably still too hard) and so the class had a very stop-starty nature. Some moves, perhaps with practice, we would have got eventually but I think Instructor Khaeden didn’t like to see us struggle (or ruin her favourite dance moves) so would move on before we mastered. The music was solid reggae reggae music and fun to listen to, but hard to fully appreciate when you do not feel like you are moving in time to it.

Between the music and the free feeling from shaking it without caring how it looks, it had the potential to be a very fun class but with the stop-starty nature and quick abandonment of moves before one had the chance to get used to one move, it was mildly frustrating at times and I couldn’t help but feel lost.

All in all, I found the moves a lot harder to catch on that in any of the classes (dance or aerobics) so far – I guess to be good, you have to feel da ridim, feel da rhyme...and get on up, for reggae dance time!

The Need To Know:

- Where: Aquaterra’s Highbury Pool and Fitness Centre

- Nearest Station: Highbury and Islington (1min)

- When: @Highbury P&F, only on Sat 12.45pm, at Aquaterra’s Tennis Centre, Tue 7.35pm

- How Much: Drop-in around £7.50 for single class

- Special Note: The aquaterra website has an exercise class finder which lets you search classes across all their venues by day, venue, times and even for women-only classes. See Day 30 willPower and grace for another class review at the venue.

The Want to Know:

- Who’s it For: For those who like to shake it!

- Sweat Scale: 6/10.

- Strength / Cardio / Flexi / Tone: Butt and core toning

- Complexity: 8/10

- Fun Factor: 6/10

- Changing Facilities: See Day 9 (Reggae-less) Aerobics

- Instructor Inspiration: 7/10. She can shake it!  

The Stats:

- Total Time: 50mins

- Calories Burnt: A very decent 231

- Average Heart Rate: 121

- Max Heart Rate: 148 

Instructor Khaeden was camera-shy!

Pissy attempt on the cross-trainer