Lynn Taylor recently broke away from her gym routine to try Cardio Tennis, a program that blends aerobics, music and tennis. She came away quite impressed.

"I like it a lot," said Taylor, a civilian Army employee from Kane'ohe, who was one of 11 participants at a recent evening Cardio Tennis class at Central O'ahu Regional Park Tennis Complex. "I would much rather be outside than in the gym."

To the casual onlooker, Cardio Tennis resembles a playground for adults. In one drill, participants run to different areas on the court to hit tennis balls fed by a professional instructor. Other times, participants jog in place, or play catch with a small, weighted ball while high-energy music blares in the background.

"I didn't realize they were going to have music like a regular aerobics class," said Taylor, who has tried step aerobics, elliptical trainers, treadmills and pilates. "After I got here, and saw the drills, I understood better what it was all about."

Cardio Tennis is designed to capitalize on the recent fitness craze, and targets participants who seek a one-hour, high-energy workout. The nationwide program is scheduled to be unveiled at the U.S. Open, Aug. 29 to Sept. 11.

"It's big," said Mark Beede, executive director of the Hawai'i Pacific Tennis Foundation, and one of the advocates of Cardio Tennis. "It's a new form of tennis. In the past there's been singles, there's been doubles and now there's Cardio Tennis."

Beede said Cardio Tennis de-emphasizes competition, and emphasizes constant motion. The program is geared toward adults of every skill range from the beginner to the tournament player.

"Competition is a very limited part of it," Beede said. "It's not a question of winning or losing, it's a matter of moving and getting a workout. It's a much more fun alternative than the exercise bike, or the treadmill or the stair machine."

Mililani resident Marion Poirier said she enjoys variety in exercising, and Cardio Tennis offers that. Poirier, who also participates in yoga, said she usually exercises on the treadmill at the gym.

"For me, this is better, because it's more social," said Poirier, the executive director of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill-O'ahu, one of the Aloha United Way partner agencies. "It feels great. I like tennis. I've got a racquet in my hand, and I'm doing cardiovascular stuff at the same time."

Kailua resident Sun Smith called Cardio Tennis a great supplement to regular tennis lessons she began taking in February.

"This is a great workout," said Smith, an accountant, who is also taking golf lessons, and plans to come once a week to Cardio Tennis. "We do lots of running around. We checked our heart rate twice."

Kane'ohe resident Pete Platteborze, who is a distance runner, said Cardio Tennis makes for great tennis practice, and isn't as demanding as other aerobic workouts.

"I think aerobically, distance running would get my pulse rate a lot higher, but this is very good for my tennis skills that I need to basically work on — running up to the ball, running around the ball, and hitting it down the line," said Platteborze, a scientist in the Army.

As one of the keys to the program, participants must maintain an optimum heart rate to get the maximum benefits. An easy mathematical formula based on age determines the maximum and minimum "heart-rate range" for participants, who monitor their heart rate during breaks.

"Once a person gets in range, they want to stay in that range for the whole class," said professional instructor Mark Allen. "That's our challenge. We have to create enough drills and the right pace so they keep that heart rate."

At the recent class at Central O'ahu Regional Park, each participant got to hit about 120 to 130 tennis balls during the hour-long workout. Beede said Cardio Tennis is not geared toward traditional tennis instruction, but the program can improve skills because of the sheer amount of repetition.

"You're going to hit so many balls, just the frequency and the repetition of hitting so many balls is going to get people used to developing hand-eye coordination and stroking patterns," Beede said. "It can't help but improve what you do."

Beede said the program will likely be expanded to youth participants in the future.

"I know the Tennis Industry Association is looking to develop a similar program for the youths," Beede said. "Right now, this is primarily for adults — the older ones looking for workout."