Prancercise is a

holistic Holism is the interdisciplinary idea that systems possess properties as wholes apart from the properties of their component parts. Julian Tudor Hart (2010''The Political Economy of Health Care''pp.106, 258 The aphorism "The whole is greater than t ...

fitness method based on "a springy, rhythmic way of moving forward" created by Joanna Rohrback. It has been compared to the low-impact aerobics popularized by 1980s workout videos. Many parodies, which have accumulated hundreds of thousands of views, were created in reaction to a Prancercise video Rohrback uploaded to

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History

Joanna Rohrback graduated from

Florida Atlantic University Florida Atlantic University (Florida Atlantic or FAU) is a Public university, public research university with its main campus in Boca Raton, Florida, United States. The university is a member of the State University System of Florida and has s ...

with a bachelor's degree in Health Services in 1978. Around 1989 she became a "committed exercise devotee", regularly working out on the Boardwalk in Hollywood Beach, Florida. One morning, Rohrback began "nearly dancing" while

power walking Power walking or speed walking is the act of walking with a speed at the upper end of the natural range for the walking gait, typically 7 to 9 km/h (4.3 to 5.5 mph). To qualify as power walking as opposed to jogging or running, at least ...

, which she cites as the inspiration for prancercise. Later that year, she created the first video to feature the routine entitled “Funky Punky’s Prancercise Program.” She coined the term to elicit the “strength and beauty of a

horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 mi ...

.” In 1994, Rohrback wrote a book about prancercise but couldn't find a publisher. Then, Rohrback became her mother's live-in

caregiver A caregiver, carer or support worker is a paid or unpaid person who helps an individual with activities of daily living. Caregivers who are members of a care recipient's family or social network, who may have specific professional training, are o ...

. In 2004, after her mother died, Joanna also began to suffer from severe health complications. She was unable to Prancercise for almost nine years. By her 60th birthday, Joanna Rohrback was able to prancercise once again. On Thanksgiving Day 2012, Rohrback successfully completed a 5k entirely in Prancercise. In December of that year she

self-published Self-publishing is an author-driven publication of any media without the involvement of a third-party publisher. Since the advent of the internet, self-published usually depends upon digital platforms and print-on-demand technology, ranging fr ...

her

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titled, “Prancercise: The Art of Physical and Spiritual Excellence.”

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A liturgical feast central to Christianity, Chri ...

of the same year, she uploaded
YouTube video
featuring her fitness routine. The video went

viral The word ''Viral'' means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). It may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spre ...

with over 10 million views and has attracted international attention.

In popular culture

Prancercise has also been the subject of negative attention, much of it mocking the regimen. In May 2013, Joanna Rohrback demonstrated Prancercise to

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and Natalie Morales on

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. In July 2013, she starred in the official music video for John Mayer's hit single

Paper Doll Paper dolls are figures cut out of paper or thin card, with separate clothes, also made of paper, that are usually held onto the dolls by paper folding tabs. They may be a figure of a person, animal or inanimate object. Paper dolls have been use ...

. In September 2013, she appeared in a promotional video for Wonderful Pistachios and

e-cigarette An electronic cigarette (e-cigarette), or vape, is a device that simulates smoking. It consists of an atomizer, a power source such as a battery, and a container such as a cartridge or tank. Instead of smoke, the user inhales vapor. As such ...

brand Bull Smoke. She also appeared on the

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show

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with

Daniel Tosh Daniel Dwight Tosh (born May 29, 1975) is an American comedian, writer, and producer. After graduating from the University of Central Florida with a degree in marketing, Tosh moved to Los Angeles to pursue a career in comedy. His career accelera ...

and

The Steve Harvey Show ''The Steve Harvey Show'' is an American television sitcom created by Winifred Hervey and directed by Stan Lathan that aired on The WB from August 25, 1996 to February 17, 2002, with a total of 122 half-hour episodes spanning six seasons. Syn ...

. In October 2013, she appeared on The Dr. Oz show. In November 2013, she appeared on

South Beach Tow ''South Beach Tow'' is an American television series that portrayed dramatized reenactments of the day-to-day business of Tremont Towing, a family-run towing business in Miami Beach, and South Beach Towing, a towing company in Gladeview create ...

. In December 2013, she was named the Surprise Star of the Year by the

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and appeared in YouTube's 2013 Rewind Mashup video, which has garnered over 15 million views in less than 48 hours. In 2013 Joanna Rohrback and prancercise appeared on

where Joanna's car was repossessed and she taught prancercising to Tremont Towing dispatcher Dave Kosgrove who used it to help repossess a car. In March 2014 Joanna Rohrback appeared in the popular TV show

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as one of the judges at Nationals. In November 2017, the YouTube channel

Jontron Jonathan Aryan Jafari () (born March 24, 1990), better known online as JonTron, is an American YouTuber. He created the eponymous YouTube web series ''JonTron'', where he reviews and parodies video games, films and other media. Jafari is t ...

made an

ironic Irony, in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what, on the surface, appears to be the case with what is actually or expected to be the case. Originally a rhetorical device and literary technique, in modernity, modern times irony has a ...

review of the workout video.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine

External links

Official site

References

{{reflist, 30em Aerobic exercise Holism Physical exercise Exercise-related trademarks Viral videos 2012 YouTube videos