New Routines Try to Keep Aerobics On Right Foot

Aerobics instructors, facing declines in participation, are trying to invite more people to the dance.

Fitness instructors are adding exercise bikes and weight training to the choreography, hoping to gain participants instead of sliding backward.

The decrease was cited in a survey by a demographics firm, American Sports Data. Its analysis of questionnaires from nearly 18,000 Americans found that high-impact aerobics was down 8.2% in 1995, low-impact was down 3.3%, and step aerobics was essentially flat at a .3% gain.

Aerobics still has a strong base. The Hartsdale, N.Y., firm found that 10.5 million Americans ages 6 or older had done high-impact at least once in 1995. More than 13.7 million had done low-impact, and 12.6 million had done step aerobics.

Aerobics traditionally draws 90% of its market from women. To expand the market, clubs are gearing programs based on sports moves, with simple choreography “that appeals to men who don’t want to think of a routine they have to be super coordinated for,” said Libbie Armstrong, aerobics coordinator at a health club in Reston, Va..

Surveys also have found that women are increasingly working out with weights. But they will find something lacking in this, Armstrong said.

“They don’t have the same social interaction,” Armstrong said. “And they really enjoy the music. They find it more fun than spending time on the machines by themselves.”