We tried Derwent’s ‘Clubbercise’ classes

For many students, the idea of doing exercise is about as appealing as a 9am in Wentworth. But while most people spend their Tuesday evenings prepping for Kuda with a pitcher or three at Dbar, others are getting hot and sweaty in a dark room on the other side of Derwent.

Aesthetics

Clubbercise is described as “aerobics that you might do at a club”, which brings to mind a group of girls dancing around to Justin Bieber in gym gear, waving glow sticks around while a woman clad in Nike shouts over the music.

Which is spot on actually.

Exercise is always easier when listening to music, so it seemed like the perfect scenario. As no stranger to the beats of Kuda and Salvo, the prospect of gaining abs like Jessica Ennis at the same time was a bonus.

both my body and mind were ready

Dressed in ill-fitted leggings and a trusty Tab tee, I’m ready to go. You walk in and are immediately handed two glow sticks, taking you back to that time when you were five years old and “accidentally” snapped one open to see what was inside.

The lights go out and you feel like you’re at your Year 6 school dance, only feeling slightly more awkward standing around in a slightly better outfit. You sip on bottled water rather than WKDs, and dance to 90s classics un-ironically.

Soon it starts to feel like you’re on a night out in Dry January rather than an exercise class, with the woman at the front mimicking rugby lads as she shouts “Let’s get mental” at the crowd, which simply adds to the experience.

Even though you’re partying away, it’s actually a pretty good workout. If you think about how sweaty you get in Phats on a Friday, but take away the sugary mixers, you burn a ton of calories.

The cheerleaders who I would expect were significantly fitter than myself were panting away by the half way point, so it’s safe to say it’s HIIT.

All in all, it was such a positive experience I’ve become a regular. It’s a lot of fun and obviously you don’t have to worry about the hangover the following day. An obvious perk is that no one can see the sweat on your back and chest, so you are more inclined to go for it.

The only rubbish thing is there are no cheesy chips at the end.