All The Right Moves

Talk about a workout.

One-armed push-ups. Sit-ups with weights. Step aerobics that confused the feet.

And that was just the warm-up.

Those exercises were part of an all-day workshop Saturday attended by 120-plus women and a handful of men who filled the gym at the Spokane Valley’s Sta-Fit Athletic Club.

The fitness fanatics each paid $79, some driving from as far away as Missoula, to exercise with Gin Miller, the self-proclaimed inventor of step training.

“Are you feeling OK?” Miller asked through her headset as she jumped up and down on stage. “Getting a little warm now?”

The exercise disciples simply smiled to themselves as they sweated and mirrored Miller’s moves. With weights at their sides and a plastic step at their feet, they windmilled their arms and learned Miller’s intricate choreography.

A former gymnast and bodybuilder, Miller is considered a guru in the exercise world, leading seminars and peddling fitness videos and gear.

“She’s a big name in fitness,” said Becky Jones, who teaches body conditioning and aerobics at Sta-Fit. Saturday’s workshop was like a dance class, with Miller barking instructions for “basic left,” “slide” and “grapevine.”

While most were fitness instructors, some came just to sweat with a legend. For them, the experience was an aerobic workout and a lesson in coordination all in one.

“Spokane’s a very health-oriented community,” said Laura Leier, the promoter for FiTour, which brought Miller to Sta-Fit.

FiTour’s workshops in Spokane are so popular, Leier said, they usually draw one of the 10 largest audiences in the country.

Debra D’Aquisto, a fitness instructor and professor at Central Washington University, said she came to learn new ideas and techniques.

Julie Griffith of Seattle attended to complete her certification as an aerobics teacher.

“It was intense,” said Cathy Crane of Missoula. “It’s harder than it looks.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: 2 Color Photos