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

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, and have accumulated hundreds of thousands of views.

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, and satellite campuses in Dania Beach, Florida, Dania Beach, Davie, Florida, Davie, Fort Lauderd ...

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 Hollywood is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States, located between Fort Lauderdale and Miami. As of July 1, 2019, Hollywood had a population of 154,817. Founded in 1925, the city grew rapidly in the 1950s and 1960s, and is now ...

. One morning, Rohrback began "nearly dancing" while power walking, 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 million y ...

.” 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 or carer is a paid or unpaid member of a person's social network who helps them with activities of daily living. Since they have no specific professional training, they are often described as informal caregivers. Caregivers most commo ...

. 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 her

manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...

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

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 feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

, she uploaded a YouTube video featuring her fitness routine. The video went

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with over 10 million views and has attracted national and 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 Al Roker and Natalie Morales on The Today Show. In July 2013, she starred in the official music video for John Mayer's hit single Paper Doll. In September 2013, she appeared in a promotional video for Wonderful Pistachios and

e-cigarette An electronic cigarette is an electronic device that simulates tobacco 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 and The Steve Harvey Show. In October 2013, she appeared on

The Dr. Oz show ''The Dr. Oz Show'' (or simply ''Oz'') is an American syndicated daytime television talk show, hosted by Mehmet Oz, that aired between September 14, 2009, and January 14, 2022. Each episode features segments on health, wellness, and medical infor ...

. 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

CNBC CNBC (formerly Consumer News and Business Channel) is an American basic cable business news channel. It provides business news programming on weekdays from 5:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Eastern Time, while broadcasting talk sho ...

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 ( /ˈɛəriən/) (born March 24, 1990), better known by his Internet pseudonym JonTron, is an American YouTuber, comedian, reviewer, and Internet personality. He is best known for his eponymous YouTube web series ''JonTr ...

made an

ironic Irony (), in its broadest sense, is the juxtaposition of what on the surface appears to be the case and what is actually the case or to be expected; it is an important rhetorical device and literary technique. Irony can be categorized into ...

review of the workout video.Archived a
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Wayback Machine

External links

Official site

References

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