Step It Out (1980s) | Dawn Brown’s Early Step Aerobics Workout

Dawn Brown developed and taught step-based aerobic workouts before the method was commercialized. As step aerobics grew into a global fitness trend, credit for the innovation was taken elsewhere, and her role in its early development was never formally acknowledged.

Step It Out is an early step-based aerobics workout created and led by Dawn Brown during the rise of modern aerobics in the 1980s.

This program features 55 step training exercises designed to work the entire body, using elevated step movements to build cardiovascular endurance, coordination, and lower-body strength. Marketed as “the hottest new way to workout,” Step It Out reflects an early and fully developed step-based fitness method—taught and practiced before step aerobics became widely commercialized under mainstream branding.

As step aerobics later entered the global fitness market, credit for the concept was attributed elsewhere, and Dawn Brown’s early role in developing and teaching step-based workouts was never formally acknowledged. This video is shared to help document and preserve her contribution to the evolution of step aerobics and modern fitness training.

👩‍🏫 About Dawn Brown

Dawn Brown taught exercise for over 17 years and owned and operated the Women’s Gym and Pool Club in Absecon Highlands, New Jersey, beginning in 1978. She was known for creating innovative, accessible workout programs focused on effective, full-body conditioning during the early home-fitness era.

📼 Original Format: VHS
📅 Era: 1980s
🏋️ Style: Step Aerobics / Aerobic Conditioning

This video is presented for historical and educational purposes, preserving original fitness material from the VHS era.