Back to basics: focusing on technique and cueing, when teaching step, could be the key to maintaining its popularity

American Fitness, March-April, 2002 by Amy Kolquist

When step aerobics burst into the fitness world in 1989, a revolution in group fitness was born. Group exercise was no longer a modified dance class, but an athletic workout that took the concept to a new level. During the '90s, step saw little competition as the heavyweight champion in the group fitness ring. Although other class formats took a shot at the title, they stood little chance against the powerhouse of step.

However, step aerobics created its own competition. In its popularity, step opened the door to an entirely new generation of exercise. Now, step finds itself vying for schedule slots against a series of new and improved classes that have found their own following in the gym. In a recent poll, Fitsmart.com found that 38.8 percent of respondents chose kickboxing as their favorite class and 21.5 percent preferred step aerobics. These numbers demonstrate the changing tide in group fitness. While change and growth are necessary in any industry, if step instructors want to keep students on their benches they need to understand why this new style of group fitness is so popular and how to accommodate the changing clientele.

As health clubs have grown in popularity, the number of club memberships have sky rocketed as well. According to the International Health, Racquet & Sportsclub Association's (IHRSA) Profiles of Success 2000, 30.6 million people claimed membership to gyms in 1999, compared to 20.9 million in 1989--the year step aerobics was introduced. This increase presents an interesting challenge for step instructors. Attempting to keep up with well-seasoned steppers, instructors fill their off-hours looking for dynamic combinations to impress students who have been stepping since the days of Flashdance. If that doesn't work, the highly controversial answer has all too often become increasing the challenge by increasing the pitch.

"A lot of instructors were coming to the workshops disinterested in technique and cueing," notes Randy Bichler, a former national presenter and current group exercise coordinator of Gorilla Fitness in Chicago, Illinois. "They only wanted to learn choreography, not how to teach it." The final result? These instructors left with a notebook full of steps they couldn't break down and classes full of students who couldn't follow. Today's mix of complexity and speed is not only challenging for advanced steppers, but it almost proves impossible for the 10 million club members who missed the introductory years of step.

While it might look impressive for an instructor to fly around the bench in a complicated flow of dancy steps, this attitude neglects the main purpose of being an instructor. Students attend a group exercise class to be led through a workout and motivated by a leader, not to stumble over a bench for an hour. Classes, such as spin and kickboxing, promise the same cardio workout, minus the intimidation. For example, "One of the main concepts behind Kwando is it's supposed to stay basic and structured so there won't be difficult patterns people can't remember," says Bichler.

The introduction of advanced cardiovascular equipment is another factor that may cut into the popularity of step aerobics. Leah Feldman recently joined the health club on her college campus and does not participate in any form of group exercise, instead she opts to use treadmills for her workout. For members like her, machines promise a consistent 60-minute workout without the potential embarrassment of stumbling through complex patterns in a step class. In fact, according to today's trends, students prefer a more athletic workout. "Today's students are more athletic and we need to approach step with a more athletic frame of mind," Bichler explains. "If students want a dance class, they'll go to a dance studio. If they want an athletic workout, they'll come to a gym."

What can you do to meet the changing demands of this growing student population? Janice Sontag, aerobic coordinator at World Gym in New Jersey, makes every effort to find beginning step students and steer them towards interval step and sculpt classes. "I like identifying new students and sending them to interval classes where [they won't be exposed to complicated] step combinations. There, [they] can also examine their form and make sure they use their arms to the fullest extent and add power to their legs if they need more intensity--rather than going faster," she says.

Another factor that remains vital to the continued popularity of step is the art of teaching, rather than impressing, the student. Sherry Kaczay, who has packed classes for 20 years with enthusiastic followers, has discovered the formula to keep students coming back. She has also been able to take the intimidation factor out of her classes and introduce countless new participants to step. Kaczay, a choreography lover, continually stimulates her class, but understands the importance of making sure they learn the steps correctly. Her technique of breaking complex routines down to basic moves, helps new and experienced students learn to perform the steps correctly and feel like experts.