Outdoor dance fitness is the rage

When you hear about a fitness boot camp, the first thought that comes to mind is a personal trainer barking orders as he takes you through a strict physical training programme that includes several push-ups.

Hardly do you sit to consider that you can burn the same calories from a workout that involves dancing to good music.

If this is the first time you are hearing about the women who gather at the JD Academy every first Sunday of the month just to dance, you could probably get a pass for being sceptical.

It is only after you have experienced various dance forms within the three-hour boot camp that you begin to appreciate just how dancing can help you remain fit.

Dance workouts

During last Sunday’s boot camp, organised by the Dance Fitness Queens, the ladies in attendance were taken through jazz and urban dance workouts, the Afro-Brazilian samba and fused Afro-modern dance by three different trainers.

Like all other workouts, the boot camp began with warm-up exercises and stretches just to have blood flowing and the muscles ready for the exercises.

The pace of the exercise builds up with each dance form and by the time you are taken through the final moves, it has become quite intense.

And when you are not jigging, you get to enjoy the good company of those in attendance, indulge in healthy snacks, salads and juices to maintain sugar levels. 

In addition to this, there is always a guest speaker who takes the ladies through a particular aspect of healthy lifestyle such as good cooking habits.
At the end of the session is a cool down that also involves stretches designed to gradually lower the heart rate.

Though formulated in August last year by Wambui Kairu and Natasha Nalyaka, the Dance Fitness Queens concept required a lot of panel beating before it could be actualised.

In fact, the first boot camp was held in May this year more than 10 months later, though the duo says the actual organisation and running around began in February.

Wambui says they came up with the concept following their own personal struggles and requests from parents who brought their children to dance classes at Muziki Tele.

“A couple of parents had asked us if we could come up with something for their children and from our own experiences, we struggled with working out. Going to the gym was exciting for the first few months but after that, it became a boring mundane task that we would struggle with.”

Lose track of time

For them, dance is something which gives a person the opportunity to lose track of time while making it preferable to running on the treadmill for more than an hour.

“We also discovered that there was very little appreciation of dance within the country and thought the outdoor boot camp would be a good way to raise awareness,” she says adding that this is the reason they give the first slot to guest trainers  to take the group through the dance form they have specialised in.

Wambui says that when they initially tested the boot camp idea, they held the sessions indoors at the dance studios which were not as popular as when they moved outdoors.

“Everyone who attends the boot camps keeps coming back and in a few months, I foresee us running out of space - having filled the 300 capacity at JD Academy,” she says.

Focus on women

The duo maintains that the decision to focus on women as a niche group was not a gender bias but rather was informed by the fact that women who play family and work roles struggle to go to the gym to keep fit because of their many responsibilities.

Going for the dance fitness boot camp individually would cost you Sh1,500 per session while going in a group of three would come at the price of Sh3,500 for the group per session.

At the moment, the duo is looking to invest in portable flooring that would enable them to take the boot camps to the next level.

“With the portable flooring, we will be able to take the event to other areas be it a sandy beach, on the tarmac or rocky path because we are sure even if a person falls, they are not likely to sustain a bad injury,” she says.