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In September, I will launch two new workshops, Step Booty/Ab Kill and The Disco Deck. My inspiration for creating these workshops is largely based on my own misadventures with choreography, and the lessons I learned along the way. The overriding message is that you can translate mistakes into a successful format. 

Step Booty is a land workshop that focuses on combining creative step choreography with athletic intensity segments. Over the years, I have observed that students come to step class looking for serious cardio disguised in cherry flavor. Mixing up fun choreography with hardcore drills tends to please both the dance divas and the animals.

In the July Motivator, Relapse of a Choreography Addict, I wrote about my own obsession with choreography and the monster I became. The lecture portion of Step Booty will examine the never-ending debate of choreography vs. freestyle. Is there a verdict? I believe so. A class that combines both elements appeals to a greater audience and provides a more balanced and enjoyable workout. For myself, breaking away from 100% choreography has re-connected me with my classes and allows me more time to educate and entertain. Booty will showcase a step format that is easy to design, and ultimately more effective to teach. 

For students, the addition of the intensity segments gives their brains a break and encourages them to work at a higher capacity. I always remind my students that the intensity of the workout is incumbent upon them. In Booty, instructors will learn how to provide students with intensity and intricacy options. 

I would be thrilled if instructors walk away from the workshop with a cache of fun new moves, but that is not my primary objective. I think we ALL know that new choreography has a short life span! Depending on fancy new moves to re-invent your step class can only lead to frustration and burnout. If you truly want to re-invent your step class you must re-invent your thoughts about it. In Booty, we will re-examine why students come to class in the first place, and what we can do to meet their needs.

In Booty, we will also review four essential elements that will inspire a new approach to class design. My main objective is for instructors to leave the workshop feeling confident and excited to create their own routines. 

The second part of Step Booty is called Ab Kill. Without a doubt, students expect a killer ab workout at the end of class. Unfortunately, many students are misinformed about the purpose of abdominal exercises. Furthermore, many individuals who come to class are physically unprepared for the rigors of a challenging ab workout. 

For the misinformed, it simply isn’t a killer ab workout unless you flop down on your back and do 200 crunches at ballistic speed. In Ab Kill, we will spend time discussing the muscle and joint actions involved in abdominal movement, and the most effective exercises to engage those muscles. Educating students and dispelling myths is the first step to a toned mid-section. 

The second step involves strengthening the supporting muscles involved in abdominal exercises. How many times have you wandered around your class and seen students holding their necks in agony, or wincing from low back pain? Bottom line, a student will never be able to challenge their abs if they suffer from weak neck and back muscles. Ab Kill will demonstrate exercises that strengthen the neck flexors/extensors and the spinal erectors. 

The workshop will highlight abdominal exercises that incorporate various positions, including movement selections from Pilates and kickboxing. Variety is the spice of life. When my students curl their lips at my ab innovations, I politely remind them, “If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got!!” So there! 

In Fall 2003, I will also be presenting a new aquatic workshop called The Disco Deck. The lessons I learned on land apply equally to water. I have made a concerted effort to tame the intricacy of my aquatic choreography while keeping it fun, fresh, and challenging. The intensity segments that have worked so well on land, translate very well into the aquatic environment.

However, one lesson that I have learned is that you cannot simply incorporate hi/lo movements from land and call it an aquatic class. You must factor in the unique aspects of aquatic properties. Guess what? That’s a lot of fun! If land instructors only knew how much fun it was to choreograph in water, they’d all be clamoring to teach aquatics! 

The lecture portion of Disco is geared towards deck instruction. I realize that some instructors do teach in the water, but I personally feel that choreography needs to be demonstrated on deck. With that said, I am also aware that many instructors teach in the water because of physical limitations. In this workshop, I will demonstrate how choreography can be taught on deck with a chair, innovative cueing, and low impact movement. You can bet I sit my butt in a chair for a good portion of class! 

In Disco, it is not my objective to debate the merits of deck vs. water instruction. Instead, my goal is to help instructors improve their confidence and skill levels by teaching variations of instruction performance.

I believe with all of my heart and soul that teaching is a performance. Disco Deck is dedicated to enhancing the way instructors DELIVER the material, not just the choreography itself. I’d be terrified if I thought the primary objective of the workshop was to present fancy moves never before seen in the aquatic world! Personally, the best workshops I have been to, are ones in which I actually absorbed some of the techniques the presenter used in DELIVERING the choreography. (ie: cueing, breakdown, instruction tips, ect.) New moves are great, but new ideas and concepts have longer lasting impact. 

Lastly, I would like instructors to leave the workshop inspired by their role as ambassadors of aquatic fitness. It is so important for instructors to go back to their communities and work on promotional campaigns to get people in the water. It is up to us to show people how fun and challenging a water workout can be. Aquatic instructors are at the right place, at the right time. The baby boomers are aging and so are their hips and knees. Aquatic fitness programming will surely be the hottest trend in the coming years. If I can promise anything, I promise you will leave The Disco Deck motivated and excited to be a part of the aquatic fitness family!

Coming in November. Fit Motivation! Spreading joy and fitness into the community with a new motivational workshop designed for the general public.


Stay Fit and Motivated!
Mark

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