A little salsa in your exercise

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Joe Lewnard/jlewnard@dailyherald.com

Instructor Dora Baroti leads the SalsaAerobics class at Wheeling Park District Community Recreation Center.

When my editor contacted me about "doing a color story that might be a fun Neighbor centerpiece," I thought, "Why not?"

Little did I know that she had a possible death wish for me.

The assignment seemed easy enough. It was to check out a new SalsaAerobics class at the Wheeling Park District Community Recreation Center.

SalsaAerobics, a la Dora Baroti, is a high-energy routine she created that entwines aerobic exercises, such as lunges, knee lifts, and arm circles, with merengue, cha-cha, reggaeton, cumbia, and bachata dance steps. I love to dance (although I'm not good at it) and I'm OK with exercise (although I'm not good at it), so, so far so good.

I was impressed with instructor Baroti, the owner of Studio Viva! in Palatine, who is a European Boogie Woogie (swing) Champion. The Hungarian-born dancer received her classical ballet training from Lydia Barothy of the St. Petersburg Ballet, and her jazz and modern ballet training with the Abraham Jazz Performance Group, Szeged, Hungary.

Amy Lindstedt, wellness manager at the Wheeling Park District, felt Baroti's SalsaAerobics was unique enough to bring it to the center.

"I did a 10-minute class sample with her and she had me dripping sweat," said Lindstedt. "It's a good workout and a lot of fun that feels in some way like you are on a vacation.

However, she does incorporate exercise moves like squats and working abdominals and "really works the waistline."

Indeed, SalsaAerobics, which requires loose, comfortable clothing and shoes with flexible good grip soles, burns up to 900 calories during its 60-minute workout. From the first moment the music starts, participants work their entire body until they hear the last note, which signals comfort like the sounding bell at the end of a boxing match.

"After a 12-week class, one lady told me she lost 3 inches from her waist, something she was unable to do with other exercise," said Baroti. "That's a real health benefit because gaining weight around the waist is associated with health problems such as high blood pressure and heart disease."

Start the music

So there I was, positioning myself at the back of the class, in the hopes of avoiding total humiliation. The music started, but my body did not. Coordination was the brass ring out of my reach. The same was true of Wheeling participant Gwen Short.

"The coordination was a challenge. Just getting the left, right, left was hard," Short said. "I won't be signing up for this class, and you can quote me on that!"

I started to feel the same way. As all the breath left my body, and I was basically a comatose blob of muscles flying everywhere, I recalled something Baroti said earlier, which I could now testify to as fact.

"A person in one of my corporate classes had a step counter device. During the one hour class, we registered just 20 steps under what a person should walk in an entire day."

My analysis … the whole back of the class thing did not hide my humiliation, because although I wasn't dancing with the stars, I managed. The cardiovascular health gains were off the charts. If you need to lose weight, this is your key to the kingdom. If you have fun with it, it's a party in a bag. Even though it may sound like torture, people keep coming back.

"One of the things students tell me is that its fun, so they don't notice the hour passing," said Baroti.

That's exactly how participant Doree Bruno felt. The 53-year-old legal assistant from Wheeling will take the class again.

"It doesn't feel like exercising because you're dancing, so you forget you're exercising and the time flies," she said. "The steps are pretty easy and it's a good workout."

"The class will meet every Tuesday from 6 to 7 p.m., continuously, as long as the public wants to participate," said Lindstedt. "You can join anytime and work at your own pace."

If you go

What: SalsaAerobics

When: Every Tuesday from 6 to 7 p.m.

Where: Wheeling Park District Community Recreation Center, 333 W. Dundee Road, Wheeling

Cost: Residents $5.75/60 minute class, nonresident $7.75/60 minute class

Call: (847) 465-3333, www.wheelingparkdistrict.com