Before the advent of the Wii Fit, Power Plate or personal trainer, came decades of fitness fads and dancefloor crazes. Taking inspiration from 1980s and 90s “fitness fever”, “retrocise” is the latest way to exercise. But even before Jane Fonda and ‘Green Goddess’ Diana Moran graced our screens, pursuits such as the hula hoop and ballroom dancing were keeping Britons active. Looking to the past for inspiration, we take our pick of the best nostalgic ways to stay fit.
Jane Fonda Tribute, Frame, London
“Oh I wanna dance with somebody!” Whitney Houston belts from the stereo, as I lean forward, bottom out, squatting for what feels like the hundredth time. “I wanna feel the heat with somebody.” My legs will be feeling the heat tomorrow.
Lycra-clad, cinch-belted and leg-warmered, I’m squeezing, lifting and toning: feeling the burn, Jane Fonda style. The tribute classes, which run at Frame studios in Shoreditch, boast, according to their website, “an instructor to rival Jane in both enthusiasm and leotards” and, I find out after being put on a waiting list, are fully booked every week.
“When we started up, there was a big 80s revival in music and fashion. So we thought a bit of nostalgia would be a great way to have a fun workout,” says the Frame owner, Pip Black. “Not everyone wants to be an Olympic athlete, they just want to get active and have fun. That’s why we run these classes”.
Jane Fonda’s Workout, the first home fitness video of its kind, sold 17m copies after its release in 1982. Her brand of high-impact aerobics, mixed with her extraordinary career reinventions – from Barbarella film star, to political campaigner, to exercise supremo – made Jane more than just a fitness freak; for the first time ever, exercise was glamorous.
“She just made it look so sexy and elegant, all dressed in her Lycra,” says the class leader, Elkie – our modern day Jane Fonda, dressed in an oversized t-shirt, leggings, and lime-green Reebok Classics. Even though mine is the only leotard in the room of 20 mid-20-to-30-something women and one man (my housemate, brought along for encouragement) there’s still the same enthusiasm. “Those of you who’ve been before, come to the front for this one, so the others can copy,” Elkie says as we attempt the box step. Three quarters of the class edge forward.
“We’re going to do some gardening now,” she says as she bounds over the jagged boom of the Pointer Sisters’ Jump (For My Love). “Bend down, reach for the weeds, and throw the weeds – left and right!”
When we start on waist toning – essential for a slim under-bumbag silhouette – we are told that fitness research has come on a fair way in three decades and warned not to always copy Jane. Even the most devout 80s aerobics fan will want to avoid spinal injury from her signature move – the unsupported side stretch.
As we move on to the floor mats, lying sideways with our legs up in the air, I feel like it’s 1985 and I’m just about to appear on American breakfast TV. I’m flushed and my hair is bedraggled, but I’ve been exercising for nearly an hour now and it’s still fun, and the tunes keep coming. I glance at my housemate as the intro of New Order’s Blue Monday pounds from the stereo like a siren call – “this is insane”, he mouths. “In a good way!”
Jane Fonda Tribute runs at Frame in Shoreditch, 6.15pm until 7.15pm on Tuesdays. £12 for non-members, £10 for Frame card holders, Free for Frame members
moveyourframe.com
Top ten ways to get fit, retro style
1. Raving
Taking you back to those disused warehouses and vacant fields, London’s GymBox offers an energetic rave-out to the electronic sounds of 90s acid-house parties. Complete with glow sticks and laser light shows.
gymbox.co.uk
2. Hula Hooping
All the rage in the 1950s, the hula hoop became very much back on trend in the late noughties. Tesco even started selling an extra-heavy 3lb hoop which, if you were so inclined, could apparently burn off 200 calories an hour. Hooping Mad offer classes across the South West and South Wales, from beginner to advanced level (£35 for a six-week course).
hoopingmad.co.uk
3. Lindy Hop
Developed in the smoky jazz clubs and basements of New York’s Harlem in the 20s and 30s, Lindy Hop is one of the most popular forms of swing dance, characterised by its tap- and Charlston-inspired footwork and signature spins, jumps and throws. Try Lindy Fridays at the Carriageworks, Leeds (£5 or £3.50 concessions).
lindyfridays.com
4. Roller Disco
Think Farrah Fawcett hair, leg warmers and men in too-short shorts. Admittedly, the roller disco’s heyday fizzled out somewhere around the end of the 70s, but there are still plenty of retro-themed discos for you to wheel yourself into fitness, such as the fortnightly Birmingham Roller Disco at the Custard Factory (£5).
custardfactory.co.uk
5. Jive
Originating from Lindy Hop, jive invokes images of dashing young soldiers swinging girls with victory-rolled hair. Colin Tenn and Janneke Saebo have been dancing 1940s and 50s jive together for 15 years, teaching all levels across Sussex to the R&B and rock’n’roll sounds of the era. Classes at all levels in Brighton and Worthing (prices vary).
brighton-jive.co.uk
6. Voguing
Given a new lease of life by Madonna’s Vogue video, the dance, named after the monthly fashion tome, adopted the poses of models. Its high-energy, angular dance moves make for a testing workout. Try the weekly class at Sunshine Studios Manchester (£5).
sunshine-studios.co.uk
7. Disco Health Club
Taking inspiration from the 80s fitness glamour of Olivia Newton-John, Disco Health Club’s “why just exercise, when you can party!” strapline says it all. With live DJs, it’s a double-bill aerobics class that turns into a club night afterwards. Various locations across London, see website for the next session.
discohealthclub.com
8. Rebounding
There was a point sometime in the mid-80s when a mini-trampoline, or rebounder, was the fitness accessory du jour. Now making a comeback as a low-impact alternative to running in leisure centres and gyms all over the country.
rebound-uk.com
9. The Retro Gym
With a back-to-basics approach to training, the Retro Gym at London’s new Third Space club in Marlyebone (opening on 15 April) will offer old-style rings, climbing ropes and beams. Think school gym lessons, but classier.
thethirdspace.com
10. Chap Olympiad
OK, less workout, more annual extravaganza of good old-fashioned gentlemanly pursuits. Based loosely on Victorian and Edwardian sporting events, an immaculately suited crowd try their hands at a variety of summer japes, including the egg and spoon race and a cucumber sandwich-throwing contest. This year’s Chap Olympiad will take place on 16th July 2011 in Bedford Square, London (tickets £20).
thechapolympiad.com
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