Garner, N.C. — At the Rex Wellness Center in Garner, there's a lot of pounding going on. Instructor Lori Kelly has assembled a very large percussion section for the center's latest aerobic craze: drum class.

"I wanted a class that everyone could feel successful, that we could have fun," Kelly said.

Each class member has their own story about why the class is exactly what they're looking for. Polly Murphy, 68, had knee replacement surgery seven months ago.

"Just plain moving your knee, keep it moving, making it exercise," Murphy said. "There is something for everybody. If you can't do everything that they do, you can do something."

Marilyn Solomon, 61, is recovering from a fight with cancer. 

"My body is healing, and I'm able to do stuff better than I did when I first started," she said. 

The wellness center already has the exercise balls for drums, and they made their own drum sticks out of small dowels.

"We cut them and sanded them and made them ourselves," Kelly said.

Solomon keeps a set of drum sticks at home.

"When I get home, I just start tapping around the house because it's something you can do all over the place," she said.

But nothing replaces the pulsing energy of the group experience, drum class members say.

"There's accountability, plus it's fun," Kelly said. "A lot of people are in different stages of life and we need each other."

"I'm so excited with what I'm doing," Murphy said. "It's unbelievable."