Cardio drumming class in St. George offers unique form of exercise

ST. GEORGE — When 62-year-old Crystal McElyea heads to her exercise class, she packs the essentials: a water bottle and a set of drumsticks.

McElyea has been attending her local cardio drumming class, Babes with Drums, owned by St. George local Karrie Hennigar, for five years. She said she has always been an avid exerciser, but cardio drumming is unlike any workout she’s ever done.

“The workout isn’t grueling, and you can go at your own pace, but it makes me feel stronger,” she said. “I feel stronger in my arms, legs, shoulders — everything. You don’t even know you’re working out. You’re just playing!”

Cardio drumming is an exercise that uses a large, inflatable fitness ball that is placed in a bucket. Participants follow an instructor who leads them in a choreographed routine to upbeat music, integrating squats, lunges and a wide variety of moves — all while drumming on a ball with drumsticks.

“When I tell people I’m going to my drumming class, they think that I’m using snare drums, bass drums and a drum kit,” McElyea said. “I will often invite my friends to come with me, and we all have a good time. … I’m not a dancer, but I can do this.”

Cardio drumming isn’t anything new. In fact, it’s been around for decades, according to various online sources. Finding a fitness class that offers it, however, is a little more difficult.

Hennigar started the Babes with Drums after she was consistently substituting for the class she had signed up for elsewhere.

“Cardio drumming is mostly on the East Coast, and we don’t have a bunch here in Utah,” Hennigar said. “I started (cardio) drumming after I had my baby in 2020, when my twin sister asked me to join her at a local fitness center that offered it. I fell in love with it, but the instructor was a college student and was getting too busy to teach classes, so we were subbing a lot.

“My sister and I decided to open our own studio in my garage, just so that we could keep drumming with friends. I now run my business out of Studio Invert here in St. George.”

Around the time Babes with Drums started, McElyea said she saw a video of people doing cardio drumming, and it intrigued her.

“I first saw a video (of cardio drumming) online,” McElyea recalled. “A couple of days later, I went to get my hair done, and I told the hairdresser, ‘You wouldn’t believe what I saw online.'”

Locals participate in cardio drumming at Babes with Drums, taught by Karrie Hennigar, of St. George. (Babes with Drums)

Her hairdresser just so happened to be Hennigar’s twin sister, Kassie Jessop, who, at the time, was teaching classes.

“(My hairdresser) told me to come and try a class,” McElyea said. “I went over the very next week, and I’ve never quit.”

Both Hennigar and McElyea said that having a group of people to “play” with is what makes cardio drumming such an enjoyable experience.

“I look forward to going, and I invite my friends. I’ve even brought my 10-year-old granddaughter with me,” McElyea said. “The oldest who comes is in her mid-70s, and I’m one of the oldest. It makes me feel like I’m in good shape for my age. … It’s a commitment to me, and it’s fun for others to go. The more noise we make, the funner it is.”

Although Hennigar’s drumming brand may suggest it is just for females, she said many men also come.

“We have men who will come with their spouse, and when they’re done, they’re often surprised at the workout that they end up getting,” Hennigar said.

Five years in, McElyea said she’s just getting started, adding that you “get what you put into it.” And these days, she brings her own heavier drumsticks to amplify her experience.