Like their leader, many haven’t stopped smiling and laughing since the class began. For a dance/aerobics workouttone&stretches class, the group’s choreography looks amazing. Still, the instructor isn’t satisfied. “Y’all didn’t get that easy step?” she laughs, presumably referring to the aforementioned workouttone&stretches “grapevine.” “We’ll do it one more time.” If hip-hop and funk aren’t your thing, don’t worry: Aerobics enthusiasts today have more choices than a couch potato with a satellite dish. You can still sign up for a traditional step, low-impact or high-impact/low-impact class, but if you want to learn some self-defense while you sweat, you can check out a cardio kickboxing class.

To build some muscle while doing your cardio, try circuit-training and body-sculpting classes that roll resistance and aerobic training into one continuous routine. That’s just the tip of the iceberg. None of these types of classes is inherently better or worse than others; it depends on where you’ve been and where you want to go. “If you used to run track or play basketball, you should probably try something like a high-low workouttone&stretches class, which entails a lot of running and jumping,” she explains. “On the other hand, if you aren’t a dancer or a ‘movement’ person, I wouldn’t recommend a funk or a hip-hop class, at least not initially. It’d be confusing and you probably wouldn’t get a good workout.”

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