Hooked On Aerobics

Man oh man. My love for the 80's is out of control! This was a show that began in the conservative state of Utah, then went to mass television in the early 80's. It's too funny - the outfits, the music, the goofy looking man instructors, but they did get some things right. The three levels say low effort, medium effort and high effort. Actually, it should say the three levels in terms of impact. The high really looks like you could hurt yourself. On the other hand, the medium and low are not so intense that you could really injure yourself. In fact, the instructors encourage people who are of limited mobility to try the low effort and cater it to their own needs. Even those who are physically disabled should try. Now, what workout program allows for that kind of flexibility with it's viewers?

The program still airs on the KBYU channel here (that's the public broadcasting channel designated for BYU...high Mormon influence) on Saturday mornings. A couple of years ago, I would set the VCR to tape the shows, so I have several episodes. The other nice thing is that there are no commercials to interrupt the workout. I did one of these last night, so that I wouldn't wake up my mother-in-law (the workout room is next to the guest bedroom). I pendulumed, ponied, chugged and grape-vined my way into a heavy sweat,then jumped into the shower. I did well, for not having done a workout in the last few days. I was proud of myself.

Today, I feel really good and am thinking another episode is in order this evening. I think I will stretch a bit more (although, there is a stretching segment). I think I may be headed for a Charlie horse in my right calf today. I've been flexing like crazy to try and ward it off.

So here's a bit more information about the workouts, if you're interested.

My Hooked on Aerobics Review
There are three instructors, as I indicated earlier. The cast is made up of a host and two additional instructors. The host, a very pretty, almost exotic looking woman named Ellen, warms up the viewer and shows them some of the steps that will be used in that episode's workout. The hosts then rotates to the left (like Volleyball...hmmm) and the workout begins with the second instructor. Intensity is increased and by that person's end, the heart-rate chart appears to make sure you have reached your training zone. Rotate! The next (third) instructor takes the viewer through a series of moves and then...rotate! Our original host has returned. Again, a series of moves and...rotate! The second instructor who, once again, stops at the end to allow for a quick heart-rate check. Rotate! We have our third instructor taking us through moves that are, hopefully, a little less intense. I've watched many an episode and I often wondered if they allowed BYU students free run of the audio. The music is sometimes way too fast or entirely too slow. Rotate! We're back to the lovely Ellen who cools us down and gives us some additional stretching time (encouraging the viewer to continue stretching, even after the program ends). With a quick plug to the write in to the station with questions, our workout ends and the viewer is left worked out and energized.

Pros - a. The variety of workout intensities. I would never recommend the high due to possibly killing your knees or another living person. I've seen so much bouncing around that it's scary. Truly 80's, before we knew how bad it was for people b. The variety of instructors. If you don't like one, another is bound to start up sooner or later c. The pace. This definitely clips along without a lot of lag time. You don't feel like "it's never going to end"d. The female instructors are non threatening (no cheerleader types, thank God), pleasant and attractive. They appeared to be in their late twenties to early thirties (hard to tell with all the 80's make-up), average height with fit bodies. Not too skinny and very tone. Achievable results in instructors. I really like that.

Cons - a. The clothing. Ugh! What the hell were we thinking wearing belts during a workout, anyway? The color scheme is enough to either distract or blind you. Geesh! Ellen has a lot of hair and most times it's braided and in a ponytail, but there are episodes where I think she's going to smack the hell out of herself with her hair b. A couple of the male instructors are totally annoying to hear, strange looking and too aggressive. There is only one I find tolerable and he comes across as a dad-figure c. Guest instructors. There are about 6 or 7 standard instructors but, every so often, they bring some random person on who (most times) looks utterly ridiculous and out of place. They never speak and look like little aerobic puppets; "Do my bidding! Jump, I say. Jump!" d. the music isn't the best. As I said before, they catered this show to a Mormon audience initially. Very conservative with their dress, mannerisms and music. Once they went mass-market, that changed a bit, but not by much. Many of the songs sound like other, more known 80's songs. There are even a couple of songs heard on some famous t.v. shows of the time (Love Boat & Fantasy Island) Some of the music sounds just plain stupid e. There are many editing problems. I understand that they taped the first twelve episodes one after the other, wiping down the instructors and adding more make-up between takes (eww, nasty!). Then, when they went nationwide, they taped more episodes daily. Sometimes, our instructors seem to be lost or unsure of what to do next. Hesitations between moves, primarily (okay, we've ponied for two minutes, now what?). Sometimes, Ellen would make all sorts of mistakes in her "speech" to the viewers. One I remember distinctively is "Remember, aerobics isn't for everyone," (when that's what they touted from show to show) and "Let's get hooked on maerobics." Hmmm. Maerobics. Sounds like a disease.

So, there you have it. These episodes are not on DVD and there are a couple of VHS tapes you can buy, but they're expensive for VHS. I would imagine, with the resurgence it's had here in Utah, they will be converting those episodes to DVD soon enough.

Other than that, the eating is good, I'm on a new supplement and hubby has me doing a colon cleanse for the next fifteen days. Doesn't that sound appealing!