Kate Hudson is not one of those celebrities who fits in a workout when she can, but prefers to stay in with Netflix and pizza. The woman is passionate about getting her sweat on. Just check out her Instagram: In addition to the celeb-standard images—selfies with famous friends and red-carpet highlights—she has a crazy number of going-for-the-burn pics. And, oh yeah: She runs her own athleisure brand.
One of her fave ways to stay fit? PlyoJam, a dance-slash-plyometrics hybrid workout that combines classic strength training moves like squats with dance cardio staples such as the grapevine. And it's now being taught in New York Health and Racquet Club in addition to Los Angeles and online.
"She takes her shirt off and gets really into it...She's been perfecting her dabs front and center in class."
"I used to teach conventional dance classes at a country club where the ladies where mostly 35 and up, some well into their 60s," says Jason Layden, creator of the workout. "They all wanted something more challenging, so they could walk out sweating—that led me to think of how I could weave jump training into these same routines yet still make people like it."
Stacey Beaman, COO and co-founder of PlyoJam adds, "It's kind of like how parents sneak veggies into their kids' food—it's just enough so you don't notice how good it is for you."
The high-intensity hip-shaking has caught the attention of other stars, too—Reese Witherspoon has been taking PlyoJam for years, and The Late Late Show host James Corden does it with his wife. (He particularly likes dancing to Iggy Azalea's "Black Widow," according to Layden.)
As for Hudson? "She takes her shirt off and gets really into it," says Layden. "She wants to improve her hip-hop, so she's been perfecting her dabs front and center in class." Yes, that's right—Kate Hudson does the dab.
Keep reading to see how I fared when I attempted Hudson's go-to dance workout.
Overcoming my footwork phobia
First of all, I try to avoid dance workouts—my choreography skills are literally nonexistent. So when I woke up earlier than usual to try Hudson's beloved PlyoJam class, I was anticipating another #dancefail.
Once it started, however, I quickly found myself actually doing the same moves as Layden (much to my serious surprise). Side steps into hip swivels to starfish jumps? I had it down. Well, in essence I did, minus some missteps and very uncoordinated-looking footwork at certain parts. Hey, overthinking it can do that to you (let's blame it on that).
My choreography skills are literally nonexistent, so I was anticipating another #dancefail.
Forty-five minutes into it, Layden put on Hudson's absolute favorite song to move to right now: "Ain't My Fault" by Zara Larsson. The choreography to this was definitely more hip-hop-flavored than the other routines (which leaned more toward Lady Gaga-style beats). My verdict? Thumbs up (obviously Hudson and I have a lot in common).
Before I knew it, I was breaking out in dabs (hey Kate, we obviously are like the same person!) as well as this imaginary steering wheel-arm move. It sounds weird, but if you get low into a squat and use one arm to fake-drive, it looks really cool. Of course, Layden's signature plyometrics were still all over this, so I did plenty of jumps and arm raises, too—which made my legs and my bum burn.
By the end, I was drenched in sweat. The (albeit basic) dance routines broken up by plyometrics definitely brought the intensity—plus, it was easier to follow the footwork when I had breaks to, well, jump around.
Did I reach Hudson's level of dancing expertise? Definitely not—but I didn't have two left feet for once, which is a win in my eyes. Plus, now I'm able to keep up the dab when I'm trying to drop it down low (talk about #goals).
For more celeb #fitspo, here's the official Karlie Kloss workout, according to her trainer. And this is how Jessica Biel sweated it out before hitting the red carpet for the Oscars.
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