Re: Is Jazzercise still a 'thing'?

Isobel Archer · ‎04-04-2015

I do it and love it. It's about 35 -40 minutes of cardio (which can be high intensity or low - your choice), and then strength, ab work, and and stretching.

We are lucky here to have several facilities. Mine has 5 to 6 classes every day (3 on Sunday) and this morning we had about 40 women.

For those concerned about knee injuries, I'd say get shoes with swivel pads and be sure to always keep your knee over your foot. If your foot can't move when your knee does, you are asking for injury.

Isobel Archer · ‎04-04-2015

@Sweetbay magnolia wrote:
@sidsmom wrote:
Just for grins, I looked at a few Jazzercise videos on YouTube.
Has it always been high impact?
High Impact = both feet off the ground

I cut my teeth on step aerobics back in the day...early 90’s,
but it was originally low impact. I think Tae-Bo got everyone
wanting the bigger-faster-higher mindset and before we knew it,
everything was plyometrics/high impact ...and that’s where
injuries began. Have a feeling Jazzercise probably started low impact,
as well, yes? That’s all a shame...I’ve found the slow, controlled
movements are so much more challenging than momentum moves.
@sidsmom, yes, I used to be an instructor and yes, Jazzercise had us jumping. We got knocked in our evals if there was not air under the feet.

Brutal. Pointless.

Lots of injuries in the ranks. The corporate PTBs used to claim they were adding low impact, high intensity but the ironic thing was many students hated it, since they had "cut their teeth" on the jumping. I had students that would jump even when the routine didn't call for it, and they called me weak, when (of course I wasn't!) I was just doing the prescribed low impact moves. Yes, using major muscle does not require jumping. We would demo low impact (one foot on the ground always) but we were not to do it continuously unless the class was specifically labelled as such.

Don't even get me started on how she (Judi) decided to move away from stretching. Or how we were told to have no more than 6 seconds between songs, and that we were not allowed to look at our iPod to see what was upcoming (sure! I've got 16 routines to cue safely, effectively, and FUNLY and I will remember EVERYTHING). Or the machinations we went through to use all the equipment (balls, tubes, weights) even when some of the variations were terrible.

It's fun, though, and yes, it is still very much alive and kicking. If you decide to teach it be prepared for pain and much money spent.

End of rant. Glad those days are behind me.

Interesting. My doctor actually advised me to do exercise involving jumping if possible - said it was good for the bones. We do lots of stretching - before and after the cardio. I'm 67 and have been doing it now for 2 and half years - yes I'm jumping - and I have had no injuries whatsoever - and I feel great. Sorry you had so many problems.

chrystaltree · ‎05-10-2010

Yes, it still exists but they don't call it that anymore. I wonder if Jazzercise was a proprietary name. But fitness centers and many dance studio still have programs like that.

Isobel Archer · ‎04-04-2015

@chrystaltree wrote:
Yes, it still exists but they don't call it that anymore. I wonder if Jazzercise was a proprietary name. But fitness centers and many dance studio still have programs like that.

They still call it Jazzercise. Check out jazzercise.com

DrKelli · ‎03-10-2010

I have a friend who teaches Jazzercise in Maryland. She teaches several classes a week.

If you like dancing, you should check out LaBlast. It was developed by Louis Van Amstel (one of the DWTS pros) and it is based on those ballroom dances, only without a partner. There are several versions--land based La Blast (both Shape (more intense) and Silk--lower impact), Splash, which is the aqua version and the Line Dancing format. I have both land and Splash certifications.

They use all types of music for all the formats and surprisingly--Splash absolutely kicked my butt!!

Tinkrbl44 · ‎08-23-2010

@Helen Bach wrote:
The studio close to my house has closed and I can't seem to find the dvds anywhere for sale (even eBay!)
I used to love Jazzercise so much. Zumba doesn't come close. Any suggestions for an older bird who loves group classes but can't stand on her head anymore?

@Helen Bach

Not sure what you used in your ebay search, but I just did one for jazzercise - all categories - and 456 auctions came up. There's a variety of clothing, accessories ... and tapes. HTH