Mëtal Aerobix ruled!

In the late 80s/early 90s I taught hour-long aerobic (Mëtal Aerobix) classes Monday-Friday at noon, Friday night, and two back-to-back classes on Saturday. Man, was I starving when I got home after those workouts! The first class was in the morning so I had to eat enough breakfast to fuel my body BUT not too much that I would feel weighed-down. I snacked on a handful of raisins the half-hour in-between. (My favorite post-class meal on Saturdays? Two toasted peanut-butter and jam sandwiches. Yum. Followed by a cat nap. Those were the days.)

Since 80s Hair Mëtal ruled the MTV (h)airwaves back then, I offered a bit of music appreciation along with the workouts. Ratt, Poison (We were working-out to their first album before it received airplay on the local radio stations.), Ozzy, W.A.S.P., Twisted Sister, Megadeth, Grim Reaper, Armored Saint, Bon Jovi, Skid Row, Van Halen (not Van Hagar), Scorpions, Y&T, Def Leppard, Dokken, and of course Mötley Crüe.

I had a solid core of Mëtal Aerobix students head-banging along with me, too. The guys outnumbered the ladies, though, because they liked the hard rockin’ music I played. It was a nice change from the pop tunes everyone else was using.

After three years of teaching classes, the new manager of the gym decided to give me the shaft. The reason: People were “complaining about the music”. I found out days later that his girlfriend wanted my classes so he had to come up with an excuse to kick me out. Well, fuck them and fuck that! With the help of my then-boyfriend I built an aerobic studio in the garage of the house I was living in – complete with an elevated wood platform covered in carpeting. Our feet, ankles, and knees would be protected from all those high-impact moves. Mëtal Aerobix lived on! \m/\m/

(While the aerobic studio was being built in the garage,
I worked out in the second bedroom.)

I was a Personal Trainer for over 30 years and though my routines have varied over the years, working-out is still an important part of my life.

A few words about workout shoes.

NOTE: Until the company quit making their shoes in size 5, Avia was the only shoe I wore and recommended to all my students. (I still recommend them.)

Recently I’ve gotten BACK into high-impact aerobics; however, the shoes I’d been wearing for STEP and weight-training were not giving me the support I needed. After two minutes of jumping around my feet were killing me!

But I finally found a shoe that’s as good as Avia: Rykä. I’d never heard of the company but Prime offered me a 10-day Try Before You Buy. So I did. Love them and will buy again. Like Avia, they are not cheap but you should never, ever skimp on footwear when you are engaged in activities such walking, running, or aerobicising. (As an aside, I also found that the Rykäs provided better ankle and foot support when STEPping, too.)

It’s all about shock absorption and you can clearly see Rykä (left) is superior to what I’d been wearing.