15
Jun 2024
Drumsticks and dance music – the Harrogate exercise class offering a new way to work out
It seems that every so often there’s a new class or way to get fit – whether it’s trying a reformer Pilates class, a new form of yoga or the latest HIIT session. However, at the Stray Ferret we’ve found a new type of exercise class for a full body workout – and that’s Pound.
Using weighted drumsticks – named Ripstix – this workout is all about rocking out.
Tapping the drumsticks to the beats of the music, the 45-minute class is held on Mondays at 7pm at the gym at St John Fisher Catholic High School.
It combines cardio, conditioning, and strength training with yoga and Pilates-inspired movements, and each song is between two and four minutes featuring interval peaks and extended fat burning sequences.
Run by Katie Dance for Fitness, the music is turned up loud so that participants can fully immerse themselves in the songs.
Katie said:
After being a Zumba instructor for years and working in the fitness industry, I later stumbled across Pound in January 2019 and like Zumba, I was instantly hooked. I then trained and qualified as a UK Pound Pro.
I truly believe that Pound is more than just a drumming class and nothing you've ever seen before. You become the music.
One of the reasons people apparently return to the classes is that they strategically distract you from the high intensity and duration of a workout and shifts your focus to rhythm and volume instead.
Catherine Smith, who tried one of the classes, said:
What I enjoyed most was that it didn’t feel like I was working out; it is like exercising and drumming at the same time.
It was great to try something new and different.
The class is sometimes held outside when the weather is warm
There are also other benefits to the classes. These include the brain-boosting, stress-relieving effects of drumming, as well as helping to improve rhythm, timing, coordination, speed, agility, endurance and musicality.
Interestingly, Pound started some 13 years ago in 2011 in Los Angeles.
Founded by two women who were both recreational drummers and former college athletes, it wasn’t until they were forced to drum without a stool and squat over the drum kit that they realised drumming and exercise could be one and the same, and so set up the workout.
The classes are now taught by more than 25,000 instructors, one of them Katie, in more than 100 countries.
All you need to do is book online – the first class half price at £2.50 – and bring a yoga mat with you (Ripstix are provided).
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