At 40 minutes into the CardioKnockout class at the Downtown Athletic Club, the unmistakable strains of the theme song from "Rocky" emerge triumphantly from the pulsing beat of the background music.
It couldn't be more appropriate as members of the class, wearing boxing gloves and dripping with sweat, do a series of jab-jab-jab-jab-hooks to the beat.
Boxing -- and its cousin kickboxing -- may be losing favor as sports, but never have they been more popular as an exercise routine, minus the actual blows. At fitness centers throughout the Baltimore area, classes incorporating boxing and kickboxing moves are filled to capacity. Participants -- often with their hands wrapped in tape -- bob, weave, jab, shadow box and kick their legs out to the side, martial-arts style.
The immense popularity is thanks to Billy Blanks, creator of Tae-Bo, his trademarked fitness routine seen in infomercials and available on videotapes.
Blanks, who recently was seen on "Oprah," is a former Massachusetts amateur boxing champion and a martial-arts champion who captained the 1980 U.S. Olympic karate team. He has starred in martial-arts movies -- from "The Last Boy Scout" and "Lionheart" to "Expect No Mercy" -- and has appeared on numerous TV shows. A few years ago, Blanks developed Tae-Bo while training at home, combining dance music with tae kwon do moves.
In 1989 he opened the Billy Blanks World Training Center in Sherman Oaks, Calif. According to Blanks' Web site, clients include Paula Abdul, Wayne Gretzky, Magic Johnson, Shaquille O'Neal, Gail O'Grady, Farrah Fawcett, Sinbad and Goldie Hawn.
And nearly a million Tae-Bo tapes have been sold.
Since Tae-Bo is a licensed, trademarked entity, fitness clubs must pay a licensing fee and have their trainers certified to offer Tae-Bo classes.
However, the moves that make up Tae-Bo are not new; what is new is the way Blanks has pulled them all together into a fun format that appeals to the masses.
Bernie Caplan, owner of Quest Fitness Centers, has offered kickboxing classes for last five years. "This is really nothing more than a kickboxing class to music," he says. "You'll find everybody's been doing it. It's just that this guy is doing a great job with these infomercials."
Caplan isn't complaining; interest in Tae-Bo is bringing plenty of people into fitness centers. He offers five classes a week, with 30 people in each class.
Liz Rhode is the owner of the Maryland Athletic Club and Wellness Center, which offers classes that incorporate tae kwon do, karate and aerobic dance; they call their format Tai Bo. "We started out with two classes a week, and the members are begging for more," she says. "We're turning people away."
They now hold four classes a week, with 65 to 100 people in each class. The demand was so great they had to move out of the studio to the basketball court. Club members attend for free, but non-members can pay $15 a class, when a slot opens up.
Kristen Callahan, area group fitness supervisor for Bally Total Fitness, says they offer Bally Boxing and Bally Kickboxing classes in combination with a PowerFlex class, which is nonaerobic conditioning with barbells set to music. They, too, turn people away, even though, for example, at the White Marsh center they raised the class size from 50 to 60.
What makes this type of exercise so popular?
"People can visualize themselves doing this," says Rhode. "It's something that everyone feels like they can do. It's a challenging workout and it's easy to follow and you sweat profusely -- you get your bang for your buck."
The classes give an intense cardiovascular workout, and improve body alignment and posture. Mike Barbour, group fitness director for the Downtown Athletic Club, took a class from Billy Blanks himself. "I was taking the class with 200 fitness instructors and they were dropping like flies," he says. "It gave me a run for my money."
Although no one disputes that Tae-Bo and similar classes are a great workout, it might not be the ideal workout for everyone.
Lew Lyon, who holds a doctorate in stress physiology and is director of the Good Health Center at Good Samaritan Hospital, notes that Billy Blanks is a great physical specimen. "People see that and say, 'I want that body.' But people who are using that to get in shape are really putting themselves at risk, in my professional opinion."
It's a ballistic activity, one that requires pivoting, kicking and rapid movements with the hands. "It's a very good fitness activity, but it's for one in a very good state of physical fitness," says Lyon.
The highest risk, he says, is to someone with weak ankles, hips or knees. Also, he cautions, older women should be careful of the risks of osteoporosis. "You do a sudden little twist, jump and -- boom -- you can snap the hip."
He also worries that it will send couch potatoes, eager to join this latest fitness trend, right back to the couch. "They'll try it and then strain a muscle and say, 'See, this fitness stuff is not for me.'"
His advice? Get in shape before getting into a kickboxing class.
The CardioKnockout class at the Downtown Athletic Club is taught by physical therapist Kim Peterson, and two certified instructors are present, watching to make sure people use the right motion.
"I will always start with the basics, and it's always an option to do it at a lower level," Peterson says.
Any fitness class should include a warm-up, often with stretching, and a cardiovascular workout followed by a cool-down. Classes should be taught by certified instructors.
Til Strudwick, who is in Peterson's class, is 48 and swims four times a week. But after a 60-minute kickboxing workout in the class, he says, "you're whipped and done and you don't feel like doing anything else. This is more cardiovascular -- you're just pumping blood through your system."
Pub Date: 03/07/99