Musician, fitness guru and black belt Orlando To is in town this weekend promoting his newest workout video and putting on a hardcore performance of Rhythm Fit, where spectators become participants in ab sculpting, rapid pushups and total body toning. The verbose instructor gave us the low down on his latest venture.

Orlando is making sure Shanghai feels the burn this weekend with Rhythm Fit, his total. He tells City Weekend: “It’s not a workout, it’s a party!”

CW: What inspired you to start Rhythm Fit?

Orlando: I am a fitness instructor with a background in Tae Kwon Do. 53 years old and haven’t been to a gym for the last 20 years. Mom is a Chen Loo Canto-pop diva and brother Alex To and father performed with Tom Jones. Star-studded family and music passion. My parents never pressured me to do music but always took me to fitness-oriented activities like swimming. At the age of 14 got a black belt in Tae Kwon Do. Bruce Lee was my idol at the time. I’ve been teaching for about 30 years. I started teaching old school stuff in the clubs and would always mix cassette tapes and create my own mixes.

That’s the thing about Rhythm Fit – it’s a philosophy and lifestyle. I just joined a body building contest at 53 years old and came in 3rd place so I must be doing something right. Within 15 minutes I had a body builder come train with me and he was passed out on the floor.

CW: What is Rhythm Fit?

Orlando: It’s a total body workout inspired by music. It’s combining total bodywork, functional training, martial arts, music, minimal rest and total body training and core. I’m a very hyper guy so the training reflects that.

CW: What’s your favorite type of music to workout to?

Orlando: I like anything from Norah Jones, John Fogerty, disco or salsa. It depends on the workout we’re doing. If I’m gonna do serious lifting or ab burning I may even do John Denver’s “This old guitar” because it stimulates the mind. The workout we do now incorporates reggaeton, hip-hop, techno, folk.

CW: Do we need any equipment?

Orlando: There’s no equipment used in rhythm fit. You can do it. If you wanna beef up you may need a chin-up bar but in the Rhythm Fit Classic Class, which I’ll be demonstrating on the 17th. You can add bands to improve performance but it’s not necessary to get a great workout with the basics.

CW: Who should do rhythm fit?

Orlando: There are many different levels of Rhythm Fit. To maximize the benefits you have to know where you’re at and learn how to modify. For pushups, its all about form. You can start on your knees and work your way up. The older we get the more we need to train so it’s really for people of all ages and levels of fitness.

Post-workout you’ll be stretched out, energized and stimulated. I have a saxophonist and Cuban percussionist to play along with me. So it will really be an awesome performance and a truly interactive workout. We’ll be partying all day long. If you hate exercising but love the effect then this is a fun way to get a kick-butt workout with a variety of techniques every different way. While the physical results take a bit of work, the emotional effect is immediate. People keep coming back.

CW: Where can we buy the video?

Orlando: The DVD will be out early next year. Keep an eye out for it in 2012.