Aerobics at Sunset

We discovered our preceptor's (Martin) passion the other day, and it is fitness. A few years ago, him and his wife started attending outdoor aerobics classes and now he travels the country with this fitness group to inspire others to take charge of their own health and exercise! Amanda and I, both being retired student-athletes, were extremely excited to hear him talk about this. The first question out of my mouth was "when is the next class!?" Martin was thrilled that we were interested in attending an aerobics class with him and it took him no time at all to bring us to a class.

Amanda and I with our preceptor, Martin.
Check out that gorgeous Zambian sunset.

This aerobics class was like zumba on steroids. Parts of it felt like kickboxing, parts felt like an Insanity workout. It was so much fun! The class took place on a big empty field; there was a stage set up at the front where the motivators would show everyone what to do and large speakers that blasted beat-dropping music. There was so much energy in the crowd, everyone was so excited to be there. I would say there were at least two-hundred people out on the field doing aerobics. Whenever there was a super high intensity portion, such as sprinting in place with high knees, people would make small circles with their neighbors to encourage each other to keep pushing as hard as they could. You truly felt like you were working together as a team and that motivated you to work even harder. It reminded me of being on the gymnastics team again.

Part way through the class, the power went out, but that didn't stop us. (Zambia utilizes hydro-power, and when the water is low -like it is right now during the dry season, power outages are pretty frequent). It was dark outside but a few people parked their cars on the field and used their headlights to light the way while the speakers got hooked up to a car stereo and started to blast from there. 

The class lasted a total of 2 hours, which is pretty darn long for a strictly cardio workout. Most aerobic like classes I got to in the United States are only 45-60 minutes. Needless to say, I was exhausted by the end of it but I couldn't stop smiling from ear to ear. I loved seeing all these people come together and inspire each other to "be their own life insurance."