If I had to come up with an origin story to explain how POUND came to be, it’d go something like this:
A fitness class and a drum set were introduced by mutual friends, met for drinks, ran away to Vegas, and…yadda yadda yadda…several months later POUND was born! (The real story behind POUND is here).
Founders call it a “full-body cardio jam session, combining light resistance with constant simulated drumming.” There are squats and lunges and plyometrics and the rhythmic banging of drumsticks – on your mat, on the floor and overhead.
See what I mean:
I learned about POUND the same way we learn about so many things these days: Facebook (thanks Joanne Jordan for sharing).
Fountain of Youth in Naples was hosting a POUND demo, so I did what any curious human (who wants to work out more and who also really likes to bang things with sticks) would do. I went!
Instructor Jolene Hall handed out the drum sticks – referred to as Ripstix – and had us roll out our yoga mats widthwise. There would be mat work, she said, but the mat also serves as a drum pad, too. (Although that didn’t stop us from drumming on the floor at times, too.)
The music came on – lively and loud – and Jolene led us in deep squats and high knees, our arms reaching high and drumming low. We clanked our Ripstix together over our heads, then hammered the mat like super-fit rock ‘n roll drummers. We mostly kept to the beat, too. (Musical talent is not required for this class, but it sounds really cool when everyone’s drumming together to the beat of the music.)
It felt silly at first – the way new things sometimes do – but it was FUN. The whole class was laughing and sweating and drumming and calling out, “holy crap!” when our abs began to ache or when our quads started to fatigue.
It’s an aerobic workout, no doubt about it. And a core workout, too, which became clear for me the next morning when the midsection soreness kicked in. (Ah, the sweet and tender pain that follows a solid workout, amiright?!)
Sure, the drumsticks probably offer some beneficial resistance, and the act of drumming high and drumming low definitely helps get your arms moving in more animated ways than many aerobics classes. But the drumming is downright entertaining, too. It’s wonderfully distracting to bang away or to try and keep up with the spirited clank, clank, clank, forgetting at times that you’re actually exercising.
And probably on your way to being the best drummer ever. Maybe.
Jolene Hall teaches Pound at two Maine venues: Ultimate Fitness in Lewiston and The Silver Spur in Mechanic Falls (The Silver Spur is where those Monday night line dancing classes are, too). There are also POUND classes a few days at week at Spotlight Dance in South Portland.
(The class in Naples was just a demo, although if you live in that neck of the woods, check out the Fountain of You class schedule. Perhaps there’s something there to pique your interest.)
Pound classes in Maine
The Silver Spur, 272 Lewiston St., Mechanic Falls.
7 p.m. Monday
Class is in the dance hall. Bring a mat.
thesilverspurclub.com
Ultimate Fitness, 25 Adams St., Lewiston
5:45 p.m. Wednesday
First class is free
www.facebook.com/ultimatefitnesslewiston/
Spotlight Dance Maine, 875 Broadway, South Portland
6:45 to 7:30 p.m. Monday
5:45 yo 6:30 p.m. Wednesday
9:45 to 10:30 a.m. Sunday
www.spotlightdancemaine.com
