Fun and life-changing
Left, right, walk, turn, swivel, heel-toe, kick. The instructions seem simple, but they come fast, called by dance instructor Bob Crossman. Dressed in shorts and T-shirts, the 20 women in the class move to upbeat music, some with dramatic flourish, adding their own personality to the moves, others more stiffly. Sometimes they bump into each other or run out of room on the dance floor, but it’s all done with a smile and a laugh.
This is Linercise — a copyrighted exercise program developed out of line dancing steps by Crossman of the Kootenai County Kickers and held at The Crossroads, the Post Falls dance club he owns with his wife, Pat.
“When we find line dance steps that work both sides of the body, we try to work it into the class,” Bob said.
Some tidbits about the class:
• There are no breaks in this hour-long, twice-weekly class, but participants can stop anytime to take break.
• The class isn’t specifically for women, but all the participants in the class currently are women.
• Linercise is meant for exercise, but participants say it’s so much fun that that they don’t realize they’re exercising.
• The class is fun, but for some it’s turned into a life-changing experience.
A neighbor told “Linerciser” Peggy Lloyd of Spirit Lake about the class. “I weighed 300 pounds,” Lloyd said. “I called Bob and I said, ‘I can’t hop, skip or jump.’ He said, ‘Just come and do what you can do.’ I’ve lost 74 pounds. I used to have bad circulation in my legs. Now I don’t.”
Going to the first class was scary, she said. But the class turned out to be enjoyable. “I always loved to dance. Pretty soon I was just dropping off weight… . It’s so much fun. You put your own personal character into it.”
Jennifer Root of Post Fall is another who lost a lot of weight after she started Linercise. “I could barely do a whole section (at first). Now I can do the whole hour.”
“When I first started, it was a little intimidating, but Bob and Pat are good about going over and over it. They help you until you get it. Once you get it, it’s imprinted,” she said.
Jackie Woods of Hayden lost 140 pounds through Weight Watchers, water aerobics and Linercise.
“The whole environment is so friendly, so comforting, so loving. It’s done so much for me,” Woods said. She now bikes, hikes, runs and tried cross country skiing and horseback riding for the first time.
The Crossmans “made a difference in my life. How do you thank someone for that?”
Linercise brought A.J. Clark of Coeur d’Alene out of her shell. Bob said when she first started, she was extremely shy, but now she’s become outgoing and energetic.
“As you’re dancing, you’re actively participating with other people,” Clark explained. “You’re dancing the same dance and you’re able to keep up. It builds self-confidence.”
Pat said that many first-timers arrive shy, “and they’ve blossomed. Learning to dance gives them confidence, gives them what they need.”
The steps learned in the Linercise class help participants learn other country western and line dances like the Two-Step, East Coast Swing, West Coast Swing and the Nightclub Two Step. They also learn to laugh at mistakes.
“Line dancing teach people to laugh at themselves. If you can laugh at yourself, you can learn any dance,” Pat said.
The Crossmans have been teaching dance for about a dozen years, Linercise for three. Some of their students have been with them for 10 years. “We get three or four calls a week from gals wanting partners to dance with,” Bob added. One of the benefits of line dancing is that you don’t need a partner. But line dancing is a good way to meet people, and some people have found permanent dance partners.
“How many marriages have we had?” Bob asked.
“Six,” Pat said.
“How about 12?” Bob amended. “At least 10.”
With line dancing and Linercise, the emphasis is on fun, as much as the exercise. “It’s not like riding a stationary bike or a treadmill,” Paid said.
Mary Gunn of Hayden has been taking the Linercise class for about a year. She started for the exercise and then discovered “it was a ton of fun. I found out I ended up with a smile on my face for a whole hour of my life … once you learn it, it’s a free, sort of flying feeling.”