Janelle Patterson
jp004@marietta.edu
One might be surprised to hear the beat of loud drumming and the music of Travis Barker blasting out the doors of the Norwood United Methodist Church in Marietta on a Wednesday night. Down the steps, there’s a group of 21 women pounding away to Busta Rhymes. The room looks like a 1980s dance set with a sea of neon-colored yoga mats and bright athletic gear.
This spectacle, with hooting and hollering and sharp unanimous tapping, involves women ranging in age from early twenties to seventy. But all participants seem into the pop culture music as they laugh and furrow their brows for deep lunges, leg raises, and squats. The heavy beats are joined by the drumming Ripstix, quarter-pound athletic drumsticks, and this group seems to focus on the rhythm to avoid thinking about the intensity of their workout.
The class, called Pound, is an up and coming trend in group fitness that has gained nationwide coverage from publications like The New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. In addition, the class has been featured on The Today Show and in ELLE Magazine. According to The New York Times, in a 50-minute class, participants smash a mat on the floor with the Ripstix an average of 15,000 times.
Editorial Director of Healthy Living at the Huffington Post Meredith Melnick said of the class, “ I loved the focus on squats and lunges, and that we were able to break up the monotony with playing along to the beat on our drumsticks. I also really enjoyed watching everyone in the class really let loose and shake their inhibitions.”
Inhibitions have been left at the door of the church in Marietta as women shimmy between squat sets and succumb to the rhythm. The class is taught by Marietta College alumna Shauna Cornwell.
Cornwell discovered Pound this summer while attending the sports festival known as the Arnold Classic. She, along with friends and fellow instructors Hannah Erb and Antonia Swisher, attended the convention together this past summer and were introduced to the part-pilates, part-dance workout. According to all three, it was love at first beat.
“It was exactly my thing because not only did it incorporate my love for dance and rhythm, but it was challenging and new,” said Cornwell.
But what makes Pound different from Pilates or Zumba? Zumba is a dance-based cardio workout that focuses on calorie burning rhythms masked as dance routines while Pilates uses either a mat or some other tool to supplement core-strengthening workouts. Pound is the cross between the two. Materials needed for Pound are simple, a mat and pair of Ripstix, and the workout is predominantly stationary like Pilates.
However, when I decided to take the class for myself a week later, I realized the true intensity of the workout. The burning fire in my thighs and core by the end of just one class left me climbing the stairs to my room a little slower.
In Pound, core-strengthening is focused and controlled through squats, knee fold tucks, and Russian twists. But the blurred lines happen when the Ripstix come into play. The drumming keeps the heart pumping at aerobic levels and focuses the mind on the motion of the arms instead of the tension of the core. Like Zumba, Pound uses high-intensity music to distract participants from the “work” of their workout.
Cornwell, who is also a certified Zumba instructor, was drawn to the Pound workout because it something that she knew the people in her classes would love. “It was great to be able to bring something to them that we knew they would get excited about and that would be challenging and different.”
Since graduating in 2009, Cornwell made it her mission to stay committed to fitness not only for herself, but for others, too. After completing her degree in organizational communication and public relations she accepted a position in marketing at Washington County Community College. At the same time, she earned her certification as a Zumba instructor and began teaching classes in the Marietta community.
Cornwell also worked for the Betsey Mills Club coordinating community events, haunted houses, and fitness classes for four years. Senior Lacey Caparanis worked closely with her in the Fall of 2011 for a Make A Difference Day project.
“Shauna was really supportive of our project and helped out with the haunted house any way she could. I also appreciated her professionalism whenever we ran into snags the day of the event. You could tell she was passionate about her work and she was one of the best community partners out of the group,” Caparanis said.
Cornwell has since moved on in her nonprofit career and is now working for the United Way part-time while tending to her toddler, Cameron. In addition, she teaches several variations of Zumba along with Pound fitness classes. Her motivation is living as an example to her son and becoming a part of the larger family created by group fitness.
“It’s fantastic because it’s the best job in the world,” Cornwall said. “What keeps me motivated is the people that come.” Her face lit up as she talked about the women that inspire her to keep teaching.
“They could be anywhere in the world, but they choose to spend that hour with me.”
Cornwell draws strength from the personal stories of the women that come every week to her classes. She said some of her students were depressed before attending and now their attitudes have changed.
“That to me just makes me want to better myself as an instructor and bring them back as many new things as I can to keep them motivated.”
Her students draw their strength from Cornwell’s encouragement. Antonia Swisher, fellow Pound and Zumba instructor, said that the group holds each other accountable for their commitment and also celebrates the wins. Of those successes, inspiration and motivation are key.
“One girl lost over a hundred pounds and another is now off of her diabetes medication,” Swisher said.
This selflessness is a trait Cornwell was known for even while a student at Marietta College. Advertising and Public Relations professor Lori Smith remembers Cornwell as a student that always cared about the welfare of others. Smith said that she remembers Cornwell having had a great internship with United Way and then making it her mission to help other students have similarly great experiences.
Service has always played a major role in Cornwell’s life. She was involved in the McDonough Leadership Program as a community advisor. Whether it’s service to the community or to the students in her fitness classes Cornwell is a diehard advocate for human welfare.
“I love just helping people,” she said as she gave fellow instructors Hannah Erb and Antonia Swisher sweaty hugs.
The primary goal of all three instructors is to help people achieve any fitness level while committing to their own health.
“It doesn’t matter the age of those that come, or even fitness level,” Swisher said. “The truth is just finding something that motivates you and keeps you moving.”
So, what’s next for Cornwell in her path of service, motivation, and fitness?
“I would love to do something at the college, because I know that the college age group would really get into this,” Cornwell said.
Hannah Erb, also an alumna of Marietta College, said that the Dyson Baudo Recreation Center would be the perfect venue for the class. With the multi-purpose room or even the four courts of the indoor track, the three instructors could bring their love of fitness to the college population.
As of now, Cornwell’s schedule is packed with work at the United Way, time with her son, four different variations of Zumba, Pound, and a few philanthropic fitness events. What little time she has to herself, she spends working on her certification to become a personal trainer.
“I’m just in love with fitness and it’s what keeps me and my team going,” she said.
