Christina Hensel and Jordan Mueller taught students how to take a step toward physical fitness at the Step ‘n’ Strength fitness class Monday.

The Step ‘n’ Strength class is offered at the Campus Recreation Center on Mondays and Fridays from 4:45 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Activity Room 1.

Hensel, a senior public health and biology major, said she’s been teaching the class since last semester. She likes to use different combinations in the step routines to increase coordination and to keep participants from getting bored, Hensel said.

“The muscle groups that are mainly worked are the legs, the hamstrings and quads, but we lift weights for 20 minutes before the step [routine],” she said. “I try to touch on every major muscle group as well as doing about 10 minutes of abs at the end, along with some stretching.”

Some of the benefits of Step ‘n Strength, which combines step aerobics with strength training, include gaining better cardiovascular health and stronger muscles and bones, Hensel said.

The basic moves of the step exercises include a simple right basic (stepping down, up and down from the bench) and a V-step, which can also be done on the bench, said Mueller, a junior elementary education major and instructor. Other exercises in the activity include squats, lunges and grape vines.

To strengthen the arm and abdominal muscles, weights and a body bar are used on and off the bench.

Stephanie Sposito, a second-year graduate student, art history major and yoga instructor at the Rec, said she learned some cool new moves and had fun at the activity.

“It was challenging, but the choreography wasn’t too difficult to get the hang of,” Sposito said.

She has been attending the class for a couple semesters and likes the strength training the best, Sposito said.

Graduate accountancy student Melissa Harper and junior accountancy major Sara Hoff also said their favorite part of the class was the strength training.

“I liked the arm work that we did in the beginning the best because I definitely need to work on my arms,” Harper said.

The class definitely made her work up a sweat when the exercises became more challenging as the workout progressed, Hoff said.

For more information on Step ‘n’ Strength, call Recreation Services at 753-0231 or visit its Web site at www.stuaff.niu.edu/rs.