Maybe the opening of the state-of-the-art
Boll Family YMCA
had something to do with it. Or maybe Detroiters have been burning off
those collective Coney dog calories with an extra lap around the ice
rink at Campus Martius.
Whatever the reason, it’s official. Detroit has skated its way out of
the top 10 of the fattest cities list published annually by Men’s
Fitness magazine. In 2004, it was No. 1; in 2005, No. 3. This year,
Detroit dropped to No. 15. Chicago took the top spot on the rotund
roster for 2006. And Baltimore was named “fittest” city in the country.
The magazine admits that its ranking system isn’t a perfect science.
The fluid formula includes factors such as public park space, the
amount of fast-food restaurants, health care accessibility, air
quality, climate and safety — things that make you want to get up and
walk around.
Detroit and its denizens probably have some work to do before getting
an invite over to the “fit” list, but luckily, some creative fitness classes that
are working their way into the curriculum to get us moving in that
direction, or at least moving at all.
Celebs and trendsetters in New York and L.A. take off the pounds
in Japanese-sword-fighting classes, doing yoga in 100-degree sweat
lodges and
dancing in stilettos,
but Detroit has its share of class classes are equally as offbeat and
inspired. Want to move to African-Brazilian rhythms? We’ve got it. How
‘bout doing the hustle to get your heart pumping? It’s here. Or sweating to
punk rock? We’ve got that, too.
Get out your glow sticks …
Fitness centers such as the new Downtown Y,
FitnessWorks in New Center and the
Mort Harris Recreation and Fitness Center
on Wayne State’s campus in Midtown have stepped beyond step aerobics
and the Stairmaster to get the masses interested in a healthier
lifestyle.
The Y offers Capoeira, an African-Brazilian cultural art, which
incorporates dance, music and martial arts. The Y’s class schedule also
includes hip-hop dance, a Friday night Salsa class, yoga, tai chi and
kickboxing alongside more typical cardio offerings.
FitnessWorks offers a belly dancing class, ballroom dancing and
something they call “boot camp,” which includes military-style
calisthenics.
And at Wayne State’s gym, you can take a class called “Glow Stick
Cardio Party,” which includes moving, kicking and twirling glow stick,
which sounds like something straight out of a Fuse-in festival after
party.
No beer bellies here
Julie Hecker makes house calls. The self-proclaimed Detroit punk
rocker and certified fitness instructor goes to the source to preach
her get-fit message, and she’s been helping the punk crowd burn off
their beer bellies to fit into those skinny jeans for more than two
years now. Forget cheesy remixes of Cher’s “Believe” or whatever J.
Lo’s latest single is. Her class,
Punk Fitness,
features the likes of the Sex Pistols, Iggy Pop, The Ramones, David
Bowie and Beck. Classes are $5 and offered at the Belmont in Hamtramck
at 8:15 p.m. Tuesdays and 6:30 p.m. Sundays.
Kari Jones, a Wayne State English and creative writing student, has
been a regular at the Tuesday class since October. She likes how Hecker
even takes requests. Students e-mail Hecker their song picks during the
week and she downloads them and plays them in class.
Jones has belonged to gyms for years, and she’s heard her fair share of
bad music while working out. “For me, movement is inseparable from the
music, and if you have music that’s uninspiring, you don’t feel as
compelled to move.”
Jones also likes the casual atmosphere. “You can wear whatever you
want, swear; you can be yourself,” she said. “Also, you’re not in a gym
under unflattering fluorescent lighting. Everyone’s really cool.
Sometimes we hang out afterward and have a drink.”
Jones, an avid hula-hooper, often brings her homemade hoops to class
with her. They have been such a hit, she has started offering hooping
workshops outside of the class. (E-mail her at
[email protected] for
workshop information.)
“I think a lot of people imagine we use the skimpy hoops made for kids.
If you’re an adult, you think that’s not going to work for you. Mine
are personalized; if you’re tall, they’re bigger. They’re heavier,
larger and easier to do tricks with and dance with.”
Mind, body, spirit … art
Set in a former department store on the edge of Corktown,
Izzy’s Raw Art Gallery
on Michigan Avenue offers an open, pleasant space for personalized
pilates instruction on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 7-8 p.m. Art spills
out from the basement gallery space and first floor studio and living
space into an inspiring workout area.
Anne Dwyer, who teaches the class, is double certified, which means she
can teach instructors, says gallery owner, Karl Schneider. And the
classes usually have fewer than 10 people so she can give specific,
one-on-one training. The way your body is positioned in pilates is very
important, he explains. “It’s very difficult and very intense.”
Cathy Saman, Schneider’s partner at the space, says that beyond
one-on-one attention, Dwyer is especially talented at invigorating
one’s “mental, spiritual, emotional” body in conjunction with the
physical one. She asks about students’ special aches and pains, as well as their
worries and needs, to help personalize the workout.
Schneider says he’s fixing up the building’s front space to rent out to
a dance troupe or to turn into a wellness center, so the future might
hold even more fitness offerings at Izzy’s.
Line dancing – Motown style
Shirley Mitchell — or Miss Shirley to you — wants Detroit to “do the
hustle.” She teaches various styles of the popular line dance from 6-8
p.m. Mondays and Thursdays at the Holistic Development Community Center
in Midtown. The cost is $5.
Her classes provide a supportive environment for beginners,
intermediate and advanced dancers. Mitchell says each class has more
than one instructor so they can cater to different levels.
Mitchell, who has been teaching dance for about seven years, says her
favorite thing about teaching is when “someone comes in and says, ‘I’ve
got two left feet.’ They think they can’t dance. And they find out they
can.”
Sun salutations and skyline views
City Yoga offers yoga
classes downtown in the beautiful Buhl building. The five instructors
boast a friendly, noncompetitive environment in drop-in classes offered
daily.
The classes are $10 walk-in or $80 for a 10-class pass. The schedule
caters to downtown workers, with morning classes on
Wednesdays and Fridays, and lunch break classes on Tuesdays and
Thursdays. Monday through Friday, they offer classes starting at 6 or
6:30 p.m., and on Saturday and Sunday, you can take a basic Hatha class
or Ashtanga short-form at 10 a.m.
“You can join any yoga class as a beginner,” City Yoga’s Web site
explains. “The trick is to get to know your body’s ‘edge’ and respect
it. Yoga is not a competitive practice but rather a strengthening of
the body’s natural range of motion and a restoration of flow throughout
all bodily systems.”
So, Men’s Fitness still says we’re fat; but at least we’ve got lots of personality. And so do our fitness classes. So there.
Izzy's Raw Art Gallery Pilates Class
Fitness Works at the William Clay Ford Center for Athletic Medicine
Punk Rock Fitness at the Belmont
Hula Hooping at Punk Rock Fitness
Shirley Mitchell and her Hustle Class
Monica Breen leading a class at City Yoga
All Photographs Copyright Dave Krieger