I'm
a little late for today's Step Circuit and
sprint into the studio half expecting to find
the class in full stomp. Instead, I burst into
a huge grey, very empty hall. Mirror and mats
aside, it feels more like a giant nuclear bunker
than a gym.
Five minutes later another
woman comes in. "I thought Ella and Sarah
were coming!" she exclaims and bustles
off to get some weights. After another five
minutes I'm starting to wish that Ella and
Sarah had got off their backsides.
Kate, our rather stern instructor,
has arrived and it looks like a rather intimate
class is in store. Luckily, halfway through
our first set of knee lifts the door bangs
open and an elderly woman joins our little
throng.
"Nice to see you Brenda," shouts
Kate. I cross my fingers, there's still time
for the Ella/Sarah contingent. It's not that
I want to slack off but safety really does
come in
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Finsbury Leisure Centre, Norman
Street, London EC1
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numbers.
One wrong conspicuous kick and you're the class dunce.
Kate's workout is simple, a series
of ten-minute step routines interspersed with weights-based
toning exercises and she's inventive with the space
(giant squats across the room) but I still feel a bit
like a zebra on an open plain. As the newcomer, she
scrutinises my every step and it's making me nervous.
Luckily, I'm saved by Brenda, who
does a spectacularly mis-timed jumping jack in our
second step segment. Kate frowns, shifting her step
so that she can see the offender more clearly and,
for the rest of the class, I'm out of the spotlight. 
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