Like many of you, I don’t have any experience with Maculelê aka Brazilian Warrior Workout. Lucky for all of us, we can be curious and try it out in the comfort of our own home with our online dance workout and maestra Jessica. Sticks out– let’s explore the world of Brazilian Warrior Workout!

Choose Your Dance Weapon

First stop, we need our own set of grimas or sticks. I originally thought of using two wooden kitchen utensils, but I remembered that I have drum sticks somewhere in the house. If you don’t have drum sticks at home use wooden kitchen utensils or large rulers or chopsticks or pencils. If you have other ideas for grimas share them on the comments below! I tried out level 1 and you don’t need a whole lot of space for the workout. You’re mostly moving right to left and left to right. But make sure you have enough space for you and your sticks without hitting anything. I didn’t move the table behind me so I kept hitting it and dropping my sticks in the process. Honestly, it became part of the fun and made me more aware of my surroundings. The grimas made it more than just a dance, it gave it a mental aspect as well. brazilian-warrior-workout-grimas

Keeping The Rhythm

One of the mentally exhausting part of Brazilian Warrior Workout is getting the rhythmic timing right. If you’re a rhythm perfectionist, like me, you’ll want to hit your sticks at the exact same time that Jessica and her crew hits theres. Don’t fret, you will get there after a few tries. The live drummer aka Sean, helps a lot because you get use to the beat and you get it in your head. brazilian-warrior-workout-drum

Brazilian Warrior Workout

I’m not going to lie, this workout is intense even for an experienced dancer. It’s non-stop movement, but I love that there’s a fall back move throughout the whole class– the Maculele Step. So even if you get lost during the workout, if you keep your Maculele Step in time with the drum then it’ll be easy to get back to it. It’s also great to challenge yourself with new styles of dance because not only will it awaken new muscles, you can also brag that you do Maculele 😉

My Favorite Move

Out of the two sets of combinations that you learn in level one, my favorite move is the Crossover Dab. What I love about this move is the athleticism needed to be able to cross one foot over the other while moving plus balancing your weight at the same time. It’s definitely exhausting when combined with the other seven moves all together.

Video Bonus

Here’s a time lapse of me working out to the first half of Brazilian Warrior Workout. Watch me drop my grimas a few time too– when that happens, just keep dancing!

5 Pairs Of Drum Sticks For Brazilian Warrior Workout

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You get a killer workout starting from level 1 and I definitely give you props if you go all the way to level 3. Your glutes and legs and core will thank you. Come try out Brazilian Warrior Workout with Jessica and Hip Shake Fitness!