Getting fit can be fun… if you know how to take a joke. Cardio Step Beat, a free aerobics class, uses encouragement from classmates and a tradition of perseverance to help people get fit and have fun at the same time.

Exercise routines are done to music, and students are encouraged to go at their own pace.

Judy Vitrano, the class instructor, has been teaching aerobics for close to two decades. “Some of these ladies have been coming for 19 years,” she said

KC White, mass communication and theater arts junior, used to take Sculpt Aerobics on Tuesdays and Thursdays. She said she liked the instructor, but the intensity of the class was not for her. “I’m not going to exercise in an environment I’m not comfortable in,” she said. But she also makes a point that no one is lazy in the Cardio Step class. “We push each other to work harder,” but at the same time, “we tell each other a lot of jokes,” White said.

“They care about you,” White said. She used to take another class for aerobics, but, “never again,” she said. “I couldn’t make it through the first 20 minutes.”

Vitrano’s class begins with a brief toning exercise with weights followed by a quick break. Then there is more toning floor work, with the remaining 30 minutes of class dedicated to cardiovascular activity. Just before ending the session, the class stretches again.

Darlene Spinello, biology sophomore, says she has ankle problems, but the class fit her comfort level. She is also glad for the adjustability of the cardio steps, which can rise to her preferred level. “You can step it up any way you want,” she said.

Jokes in this class can also be a serious matter. The e-mailed “interventions” are the feared punch line. If a pupil misses just one session, they should expect pictures of people eating a dozen donuts or a picture of a person sitting in two chairs in their e-mail inbox.

“For those who don’t come to class, you better have a good excuse,” said Lisa Martin, mass communications professor. Students fear the e-mail and make sure to tell their classmates details about their absence.

However, this is not a girls-only club; men are always welcome.

“We should have more [men],” White said. “I don’t mind guys in the class. I hope we don’t scare them.”

The Cardio Step Beat class has several traditions.

“Friday is our black and gold pep rally,” Martin said. “We do our toning to crunk music.”

During class, all students share food stories of their nutritional goals and guilty pleasures while in mid-workout. Outside the aerobics room, the class meets up regularly for lunch or margaritas. Two official luncheons occur every year with a sizeable turnout.

Cardio Step Beat is held every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at noon in the RecPlex and is open to all RecPlex members.

Santiago Caicedo can be reached at [email protected]