>i was wondering if there is a fitness rationale for all the
>twisting around moves (like the pivot in mambo--pegleg
>pivot--mambo)
>
>these moves kind of bug my knees, but if they are doing
>something for me besides adding variety to the routine, ill
>keep em in--if not, is there any reason to keep them?
>
Hi, Dana!
I also hate torquey moves and pivots, and so do my knees, so I usually substitute for them. Here are some of my substitutions:
When there is a pivot, you can always substitute a plain mambo.
For the "walk around the step" moves with a twist in them, instead, walk forward around the step with not pivot. There are some similar moves like this walking from the front of the step to the side with a backward move, then a turn into forward. I just walk backwards about 4 steps, then forwards 4 steps.
For the ricochet move (one I REALLY hate because it combines torque and speed to make it all the more tricky for the knees), I do a "side up onto the step, outside foot taps the floor while other foot stays on step, back over to the original starting point, jack". You end up in the same place with the same ending move.
For "flying angels," I remove the turn and just stay forward doing an alternate side leg raise with power.
