Zumba!

My last post was about a new workout dvd series, "Beach Body, Brazil Butt Lift", that I purchased at the beginning of the summer.  I have actually done some of the workouts.  The main tip I would give is basically- you need a BIG ROOM~  large bedroom? No.  A big, cleared out playroom or garage or studio!  The dance steps require quite a bit of turning, spinning, kicking!  If you are just learning the moves, well, even more space is needed!  No lamps, end of bed posts, or dressers should be in the way!  :)

This brings me to my latest discovery~ ZUMBA!  This class is now being offered at my local gym, bodyFIT!  I have taken it twice.  The first time was so much fun!  The music, the dancing!  Wow, you can ask my friends and they will tell you, it put me in a really good mood!
The second time was fun, but I was kinda in a bad mood when I got there and I just couldn't get into the music!  But, I'm going to keep at it!  Our instructor, Tamela, is awesome, awesome!  Wow, she can dance! 
Zumba is great fun if you are looking for something different to burn calories.  The music is completely varied and multicultural.  The room is kept dark ~ yay!  I have often debated whether or not to put some vodka in my water bottle... hmmmm?  I mean, the tagline IS "Ditch The Workout, Join The Party!"

the workout discovery

ballet and tap throughout grade school, followed by a brief anti-social period of teen weirdness and then onto jane fonda cassette tapes in college, i have always tried to "workout".

i dabbled back and forth with fitness.  having always been tall and relatively thin, i never worried a whole lot about it.  every once in while, I would see pictures of myself and think, "hmmmm, what's up with that crappy posture?"  or "who is that ....oh, that's me!" 

during my first pregnancy, i enrolled in a "prenatal" exercise class.  the whole, yes-i'm-pregnant-and-i'm-still-working-out thing had not yet "caught on" at the time, it was the early 90's.  but, being always on the cutting edge of what's exactly acceptable and normal, i leafed through my prenatal materials, and, upon finding the number for the downtown YMCA, enrolled my moody, bloated self into a class. the whole process was rather empowering!  at the end of the 6-8 week class, i found myself missing the group comradery , the music and the energy!  i enrolled for a second class before my daughter was born.

after the birth of my daughter, i discovered a fitness class that met in a church fellowship hall and incorporated contemporary christian music into the routine.  i loved it!  the class was called "body and soul".  it met twice a week in the evenings.  i enlisted the help of my younger siblings, who at the time were young, full of energy and not-yet-tired-parents of their own offspring.  they eagerly agreed to drive the half hour out to the boondocks, where i lived, so that i could eagerly drive my spandex-ed, post-pregnant body to the first presbyterian church for a workout!

this lasted for a little while, maybe a year or so.  soon, LIFE caught onto the fact that i was actually working out on a regular basis and put the breaks on that....

stay tuned for more of my amazing discovery of the wonderful world of fitness and how it is the main activity, aside from plastic surgery, that can totally change your appearance and overall confident attitude!!