That Eighties Classic ‘Step Class’ Burns more Calories at the Gym

If your goal is to burn more calories and lose weight – than dust off your leg-warmers ladies because research from Charles Sturt University (CSU) has found that eighties classic ‘step class’ is the number one group exercise for burning calories at the gym.

Anatomy and physiology lecturer Dr James Wickham, at the School of Biomedical Sciences at CSU in Orange NSW, has concluded the first study of energy expenditure and muscle activation in group fitness classes.

Dr Wickham’s study measured the muscle activity, heart-rate, and caloric expenditure of 10 volunteers as they each took a Step, Ride, or Power (aerobic weights) class.

“Our goal was to determine which group fitness class burned the most calories, which generated the highest heart rates, and also to determine the muscle activation levels for core, upper limb, and lower limb muscles.”

Dr Wickham found the Step class burnt significantly more calories overall than the Ride and Power class.

“If your goal was to burn calories and to lose weight you may want to consider a Step class as it burned the most absolute calories of the three classes. But on a calories per minute basis, there was no difference between the Ride and Step classes,” he said.

“Average heart rates for the Step and Ride class were also very close, while the calories burned and heart rates for the Power class were significantly lower.”

The research, which for the first time quantifies the muscle activity and the intensity of these classes, will allow gym-goers to make more informed choices about which class is right for their personal fitness goals.

“Higher levels of intensity were recorded during Step and Ride classes which would lead to higher levels of aerobic fitness than if you just relied on the Power class as a workout,” said Dr Wickham.

“The Power class was the most effective in eliciting upper limb muscle activation, particularly for the biceps, deltoid, forearm muscles, and trapezius and, of the three classes, either Step or Power should be selected for core muscle activation.”