Take that, Tae-Bo!

Oprah introduced me to exercise. I was sitting on my butt eating cookies and watching her show, like I do almost every day at 4 p.m.

Because I watch Oprah regularly, I often feel like the two of us have a deeply personal relationship, like she knows what's best for me. So, this particular day, by devoting her entire program to fitness, it was like she was sending me a message.

"Darcy," she was saying, "get with the program."

She then acquainted me, and the rest of America, with Billy Blanks, martial arts champion and creater of Tae-Bo, the hottest fitness trend to sweep the states since Sweatin' to the Oldies. Oprah obviously enjoyed the unique mesh of kickboxing, dance and aerobics, and I thought to myself, if she can do it, so can I.

So I bought the Tae-Bo tapes.

That was about four months ago.

Fast forward to the present day and you'll find those tapes are sitting on a shelf above the cookie jar, collecting dust. I gave it a shot; but just like "Buns of Steel" and Jane Fonda, Tae-Bo failed to motivate me.

The problem with Tae-Bo -- and all exercise videos -- is that when you start getting really tired during your workout you can just turn off the tape. Goodbye, Billy Blanks, maybe I'll see you tomorrow...or not.

But, despite my failure at Tae-Bo, I still had a lingering urge to get in shape. I decided what I needed was an actual instructor instead of a virtual one, and I needed some friends around to yell at me if I started to wimp out.

How `bout a kickboxing class? Sounds great, in theory, but then again so did Tae-bo.

I figured that I had better research this endeavor before I began sinking any substantial amount of money into it. Nevertheless, I resolved to give it a shot. And, after hearing radio commercials for Kardio Kickbox in the Spokane Valley, I decided I would start my inquires there.

Julie Tong, kickboxing instructor and co-founder of Kardio Kickbox, described her class to me as the "toughest one-hour workout anywhere," which made me a little nervous. After all, I thought, I am a beginner.

"The lessons can be really, really hard, but it's so much fun," she said. "The class is never the same but it's always high energy and an excellent aerobic workout."

Upon arriving at the studio, I quickly discovered that the aerobic kickboxing I was imagining (a karate-like class with people in colored belts sparring with each other to the beat of techno music) was far from the intense workout I would be receiving.

From the very start I was struggling to keep up with the others in the class, ranging in age from 17 to about 40. But after it was all over, the positive response I received from my fellow kickboxers was pretty overwhelming. It was easy to see why this sport had become such a popular aerobic activity.

Megan Hull, a senior at Ferris, has been working out at Kardio Kickbox for almost a year.

"I tried Tae-Bo, too, but I think it's hard to workout to a tape, I'm more motivated when I have people around me," Hull said. "My friends say they can really see a difference in the way I look. I don't know if that's true, but I do know that I sleep better at night and I've pretty much have more energy overall since I started kickboxing."

Another regular face at the kickboxing class, Amanda Hill, age 17, said, "After my very first class I was so sore I could barely move, but I came back two days later and after that I was never sore again. I also thought it was really easy to learn all the moves. Of course at first I was uncoordinated, but after you get the hang of it, it's so fun."

"They teach you moves to work almost every part of your body," said Alexis Stimpfle of Lewis and Clark. "I used to get really sore, especially in my stomach. But at the end of my lessons, my abs were ripped, man! It's totally worth the pain!"

So, I think I'm going to look into this whole kickboxing business, maybe get a few friends to join up with me.

And if in another four months I'm back on the couch with a bag of cookies, at least I can tell Oprah I tried.

Copyright 1999 Cowles Publishing Company
Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning Company. All rights Reserved.