Happy New Year! Of course, it’s well known that the new year is a big time in fitness centers, so that means new people in our fitness classes. That means that we’d better make our step choreography slightly easier than normal, as getting the hang of step aerobics the first time is tough enough as it is.
I also want to be sure I teach an excellent class. Again, step can be overwhelming, and actually group fitness classes in general can be intimidating. I need to be sure I’m not tripped up so I teach an excellent class that hopefully newbies like and keep coming back! To that end, I put together a routine that would with the following goals:

1. Moves I’ve taught before (& therefore am comfortable with breakdown)
2. Moves that are fairly simple to follow
3. More repetition in the routine than usual
4. Fairly high intensity choreo
5. Options to keep my regulars interested, some of whom enjoy trickier stuff

(Of course, I always aim for #4 and 5 in all my classes.)

So here’s the routine- horizontal step, 100% tapless choreo, 32 count self-reversing combos (except combo D, that’s only 16 cts), counts written at the start of each line.

Combo A:

10 “Stop out” (2 stomps R, 2 stomps L)

6 Abduct 2-repeat (option pendulum)

• BREAKDOWN:  basic 2, march 2 beats, 2 ptr abduct
• stomp 2, 2 ptr abduct
• stop OUT 2, 2 ptr abduct
• pendulum option on the 2 ptr abduct

16  Alt kick 4X (Option kick jump down/ flick kick 2X)

Combo B

16 Shuffle stroll 2X (Shuffle turn, march 2, pivot/ march)

12 Ultra-Rocking Horse (curl knee curl knee curl exit)

4 Mambo

• BREAKDOWN: Build shuffle turns with alt knee/ alt tap the floor/ shuffle turn
• Then shuffle turn/ 4 counts march, then march 2/ pivot
• Ultra rocking horse is just a 5-ptr curl

Combo C

16 Charleston kick 4 (option on the 2nd – ski instead, or lunge-jump (slow ski)

8 knee-Elvis-knee (3 ptr knee with Elvis in the middle instead of 2nd knee) – option step up ON to the bench

8 Glutes 2 (scissor over & back option)

Combo D (16 cuts total)

4 Basketball

4 Basic

8 Broadway knee