Virginia Urias, left, Thomas Lapp and Lulu Rice work out at a TaikoFit class at Mo-Sun Dojo. The class is a mix of taiko, the Japanese art form, and aerobics.

photos by Jeffry Scott / Arizona Daily Star

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Aerobics instructors constantly reinvent routines to keep people interested.

There's step aerobics. Striptease aerobics. Now taiko drumming aerobics.

At Mo-Sun Dojo on South Fourth Avenue, they're teaching a class called TaikoFit, in which aerobicizers dance and step around a small drum on a stand and bang on it with Japanese drumsticks, called bachi.

On a recent weekday evening, Ofelia Lichtenheld led the class through a series of sidesteps intermixed with banging on the drum.

Most of the women in the class were beginning exercisers and found the class engaging and even a little difficult.

Lulu Rice, 58, broke a sweat.

"It's doable at my weight and my age," she said. "It's fun."

While the class raises heart rates for the very beginners, more regular exercisers should try more traditional taiko drumming for a more intense workout and a more educational experience.

Rome Hamner, a taiko drummer with local performance group Odaiko Sonora, demonstrated some moves on a traditional taiko drum the next day.

First, they warm up (called taiso) with upper- and lower-body stretches, crunches and push-ups.

The pose (kamae) they take in front of a drum is a deep, low squat with a strong, engaged core and straight spine. This in itself is a strengthening exercise, and you can feel the intensity after just one minute.

Sometimes the drum is positioned low to the ground and drummers squat and swing their arms across their body to beat the drum. Other times, the drum is set at an angle and drummers wrap their legs around it and lean back, engaging their cores and inner thighs to hold the position.

Most positions engage the whole body, and it's easy to imagine how just a half-hour of performing can be an intense workout.

And it's easy to tell just by looking at them — they're buff.

When Karen Falkenstrom and Hamner demonstrate a traditional song, Hamner breathes a bit heavily and Falkenstrom's muscles flex when she strikes with the bachi.

The room fills with intense energy, and the sound and choreographed movements mesmerize. Depending upon the music, drummers may do leaps, turns and dance around the drums.

Any way you play it, taiko is a great workout — especially for a workout that's more about the music than the muscles.

"Taiko is such a great all-body activity. There is an amazing fitness benefit . . . and there are fantastic physical benefits regardless of what classes you're participating in," Hamner said.