It\u2019s evening rush hour in central Bangkok, the roads are clogged with traffic and the air is heavy from the heat. But in a corner of the capital\u2019s biggest park, the crowds are already gathering to dance.<\/p>\n
As the music starts, an aerobics leader glides across a small stage. A sea of arms move from side to side, then touch the sky. Knees pop up and down. Ankles tap.<\/p>\n
The after-work aerobics classes in Lumphini Park once drew a modest crowd of mostly older people, organisers say. Now, they\u2019re a gen Z hit. Students and young adults are flocking to the sessions to join in the fun, and clips are going viral on TikTok and Instagram.<\/p>\n
Attendance numbers, now in the hundreds, have grown so much that authorities have put up a projector screen to help the crowds follow the routine and installed extra sets of speakers to blare music across the park\u2019s walkway.<\/p>\n
Aether Li, 22, who works nearby as a paralegal, joined the sessions after seeing videos on social media. \u201cSeeing it on TikTok, it\u2019s really fun \u2013 there\u2019s just this energy that makes you want to join in,\u201d she said. \u201cI graduated high school during Covid. I just crave human connection, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n
She came alone to her first session but has already made a group of friends. \u201cEspecially gen Z right now, I\u2019m born in 2003, we just started our first jobs. It\u2019s nice to just go out and have some connection and learn that there\u2019s more to life than just work,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n
Clockwise from top left: Jumjim Pumpuang, 60, a retiree; engineer Nawatakorn Suwanprapa (left), 24, and engineering student Panisa Taratcho, 20; Issaree \u2018Mink\u2019 Jitpattarin, 40, a business owner in the construction hardware industry; Manissara Siriboon, 30, an electrical engineer<\/p>\n
In the past, Li says, outdoor group exercise was something she would associate with older generations \u201cdoing steps\u201d or tai chi. \u201cBut the music here is quite different, I guess that\u2019s also what attracted so many younger people.\u201d<\/p>\n
Playlists range from remixes of luk thung, Thai country music, to US hip-hop and Korean pop. Participants link arms and spin to Squid Game\u2019s Round and Round and stretch to Golden, one of the hits from KPop Demon Hunters.<\/p>\n
Rattana Songpanich, 57, who is dancing close to the stage, has been coming to the sessions for three years. \u201cBack then, there were fewer people, less than 100,\u201d she says. Now, with \u201cthe music, the vibe, the atmosphere,\u201d it has changed a lot. \u201cI like it more \u2013 anyhow, it\u2019s just different,\u201d she says, bouncing back into her dance.<\/p>\n
Beside her are young students who move with the flair of K-pop stars in baggy trousers, as well as older people who flex in sports gear.<\/p>\n
Deeper into the crowd, Khemika Chaisanit, 20, and Sarocha Wongsuwan, 21, both students, are keeping up with the routine. \u201cFor me, I study a lot, I read a lot. I think doing some kind of exercise is good for me,\u201d says Sarocha, who normally comes to the park to run.<\/p>\n
Khemika Chaisanit, 20, a film student, dances with her friends<\/p>\n
They\u2019re dancing besides Chutimol Phongchokdeelert, 58, who works nearby. \u201cI\u2019m getting older \u2013 next year is going to be my 60th birthday \u2013 so I just decided I should do more exercise,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
Chutimol walks through the park every day on her way home from work and decided to join in. Many passersby do the same. Runners stop their laps to try out the moves; commuters pause for selfies; passing tourists video the crowds on their phones.<\/p>\n
In February, the popular South Korean rapper and singer Taeyong filmed himself attempting the workout as he went running in the park, fuelling even more interest online. \u201cThe steps are hard,\u201d he told his online followers afterwards.<\/p>\n
Not everyone can keep up. Some take it easy, others collapse into laughter with their friends.<\/p>\n
Nawaporn Noppakun, 69, in pink, dances with friends during the evening session<\/p>\n
Nawatakorn Suwanprapa, 24, an engineer, thought he was meeting his girlfriend in the park for a run. \u201cWe ended up here,\u201d he says midway through the session, adding that it doesn\u2019t matter if you can\u2019t go fast. \u201cIt\u2019s not competitive,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n
Anong Benjakhunprasit, 53, a volunteer who leads the second half of the session, says she hasn\u2019t adjusted the routines in response to the new participants. \u201cI\u2019ve been told people are coming more and more, and in a large group, because they want to challenge themselves,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n
After the two-hour session ends at 8pm, some groups stay to practise, filming their moves on their phones. Others queue up to chat to their dance leader.<\/p>\n
Anong says it\u2019s exciting to see such a sudden burst of interest online, but adds that her main hope is that people will discover a love for exercise.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe the viral trend will fade after a while, but there must be some people here who will take this as their starting point and keep going,\u201d she says. And her advice to those who struggle with the steps? Practise more. \u201cYou\u2019ll get better,\u201d she says. \u201cPeople shouldn\u2019t be shy.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s evening rush hour in central Bangkok, the roads are clogged with traffic and the air is heavy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":512028,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[46],"tags":[6647,102,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-512027","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-fitness","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512027","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=512027"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/512027\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/512028"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=512027"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=512027"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=512027"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}