The original lyrics are deconstructed and reassembled at will by a rapper riding shotgun on the groove. Fitness is a good thing to have in your life. The instructor--a striking woman dressed in an oversized black T-shirt and baggy black sweatpants, with a shock of braids tied up overhead--glides effortlessly to the right in an intricate sequence of hip-hop dance steps. The 30-odd students behind her mimic each move to a T. “Turn it, turn it!” she yells, and everyone reverses field. “Grapevine! Do it!” Only by screaming into a handheld mike can she momentarily raise her voice above the music. “Grapevine, grapevine! One more, one more! Five, six, seven . . . Whe-e-e-e-e-e-e-w! All right!” After 10 minutes of this, the instructor stops the tape. By now her students are sweating rivers and sucking wind, but they appear to be having the time of their life.

When it comes to selecting a class, this person identifies two particularly important variables: an instructor’s personality and his or her selection of music. “The music really helps make it fun,” she says. “If you like the teacher’s personality and choice of music, chances are you’ll hang in there; if you don’t, you’ll probably have a hard time sticking with it.” Any gym offering aerobics classes should be able to explain which ones most closely meet your own needs and interests. VIRTUAL REALITY OR VIRTUAL WORKOUT? Just as the world of aerobics classes has grown increasingly diverse and sophisticated in the ’90s, cardio exercise machines have become more elaborate in recent years.

A PhD, with the department of exercise science and physical education at State University, agrees. "Warming up implies temperature, but just increasing body temperature does not mean your muscles are ready for intense activity." She supports the practice of moving through the entire range of motion during the warm-up phase of a workout to not only increase muscle temperature, but to also stretch the muscles. Warm-ups are important not only for injury prevention but also for optimal strength and performance. Powerlifters and strength trainers alike lift light weights and thoroughly warm up before going heavy. Whether you''re bodybuilding, doing aerobics, swimming, mountain-biking, rock climbing or even doing yoga, your mind and body benefit significantly by warming up, enhancing both your enjoyment of the experience and the results.

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