by MIKE HANSON / NBC Charlotte

WCNC.com

Posted on May 21, 2014 at 6:07 PM

Updated yesterday at 6:24 PM

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Charlotte residents dealing with the pain of arthritis are getting a good workout and having a good time with water aerobics.

Dozens of people attended a class at the Harris Family YMCA Wednesday afternoon. Instructor Diane Baist believes the benefits are obvious.

The biggest thing is that it keeps them moving. A lot of people get into a position where theyre in pain, maybe they have an injury and they just cant move. So when they get to come to the water they get to do a lot of things they cant do on land.

For Jean Lennon, a chance to move freely in the water is making a difference.

Its really, really helping my legs and my arthritis, it really is. Anybody with a condition needs to come to water aerobics, She said.

The hour-long class focuses on the helping people with the everyday activities that can become difficult with painful joints. The weightlessness of water allows for stretching and pulling of muscles that otherwise would be too painful for regular aerobics.

Go here to read the rest:
Charlotte arthritis sufferers find relief in the pool

So this month, my newest quest was to try a Red Hot Dance Fitness (RHDF) class. Some friends of mine have been taking classes at the Ridley YMCA and they said it was a blast!

I have always loved to dance; even did a brief stint as an aerobics instructor while in graduate school. But it has been some time since I took a weekly class. Red Hot was voted the Sexiest Workout by PhillyFit Magazine. So Red Hot it is, on my check list of fun fitness things to do!

If you have never taken an aerobics-like dance class, the format across the board is the same: Instructor in front and dancers all facing instructor trying to follow dance steps. Pending on where you are standing in the class, your position provides you with visual cues from the instructor to hop this way or kick that way.

So if you are a beginner I can understand the frustration when it feels difficult to get the dance steps down and everyone is zigging while you are zagging. (Best to stand in front with a good view of the instructor).

According to http://www.redhotdancefitness.com, Red Hot Dance Fitness combines the hottest music with even hotter moves. It is similar to Zumba, but not to Latin or world music. The music is top 40 pop and more of a Dance/Hip-hop style, says Ridley Y instructor Pam Klotz.

Pam has been teaching Red Hot at the Y for almost a year now. I fell in love with dance fitness five years ago when I took my first Zumba class. Then I discovered Red Hot and decided to get certified to be an instructor. Now I teach five classes a week. The more I dance the better I feel!

Pam states, In RHDF, beginners build confidence with easy to follow dance moves set to your favorite songs, while more difficult choreography is layered in so the advanced dancer can be challenged.

However, while I was dancing with the group, and as I look around the room, the insecurity of being a beginner wanes when you see the common goal is really just to keep moving.

Some follow and know the dance steps perfectly, while others perform the steps to own pace and energy level. Meanwhile, those of us who figure we just arent going to get that step use our own personal spin on the instructors steps. To really perfect the moves you need to attend several classes, but I found the moves were not that difficult for my first time out.

The benefits of Red Hot, says Pam, especially in my class, is to burn calories and KEEP MOVING. You want to keep the heart rate up and move with minimal stopping. Songs are layered in such a way so you can warm up then move to high intensity then finally what we call a groove down or stretch to get the most out of a 60 minute class. Continued...

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TO YOUR HEALTH: Getting Red Hot for the summer