Five instructors, 150 dancers, costumes, a Beyoncé video wall, a life-size cutout of Beyoncé and a playlist packed with the Queen B’s greatest hits. The 4th annual Bey Day presented by THE JAM: CLT at Sugar Creek Brewing Company was pretty much the fitness version of a Beyoncé convention.
Bey Day gets bigger and better every year and that’s in no small part to Beyoncé herself. Sure, she’s known for singing and dancing, but the working mom of three has taught us a lot about getting in shape. We promise these five tips learned from Beyoncé will make your workout 100x more effective. Okay, we can’t promise that but we’re sure channeling Bey will make any exercise more fun and that’s really what matters.
1) Be committed. Have you ever seen pictures of Beyoncé’s face mid-dance during a concert? It ain’t cute. You know why? Because she doesn’t give a *&$!. Whether you’re tapping into your inner Bey or doing any workout, you can’t care about how you look. Just do it. Beyonce will tell you It’s a lot more fun that way. And if you look like your face just ran into a brick wall, so be it.
2) Surprise! Fitness teachers, every once in a while, you can wow your class like you’re Beyonce dropping an album with Jay-Z on a Saturday with no notice. Our Bey Day surprises included a Beychella solo from the talented Simone Lindsay (workshop coming!*) and a vogue performance from the Charlotte’s own Moss Girls. They burst into the class, duck-walked*, death dropped and snatched EVERYBODY’s edges. People threw their wigs in appreciation. It was glorious.
3) Front Row is Better. There’s a good reason floor seats at Beyoncé concerts are double your car payment. You can really feel the energy and actually see what’s going on. The same goes for your group fitness classes. It may seem intimidating, but try venturing up to the front every once in a while. It’s a whole different party up there.
4) Squad Goals: So we didn’t have an entire marching band like Beyoncé at Coachella (we honestly did try) but we did have five fabulous teachers on stage. It was like having all of the past members of Destiny’s Child together, except they all like each other. As a general rule, it helps to have friends at class, someone to laugh with or encourage you, or witness the fact that you just twerked on a Thursday with 150 other people. If you’re riding solo, come to class and make a friend.
5) Put your Freakum Dress On (or your Freakum Tank.): We were proud of the number of you wearing no pants at Bey Day. Brava. THE JAM instructors were wearing pink Beychella-inspired berets, of course. If you’ve got a chance to wear a costume to a work out, DO IT. Wear something completely ridiculous, dance, feel sexy, strong and unapologetic. It’s a powerful thing.
If you missed Bey Day, never fear, THE JAM: CLT offers a ton of of opportunities for you to tap into your inner diva. Along with our regular classes, we throw the kind of events that will give you serious fitness FOMO. There’s Dirty South, Divas Live, Love and Hip Hop, GAYCHELLA (August 16 during Charlotte Pride. Mark your calendars). There was Jamilton, the first ever dance fitness musical dance-along, complete with lip syncing actors. You can burn calories, destress, and have the most fun you’ll have working out. We think B. would approve.
*Follow @thejamclt so you don’t miss the next big thing.
*Go watch Paris is Burning.
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