I’ve been moaning and groaning that my Y doesn’t have classes at 5. Well, one class, but they changed it to zumba, which so far doesn’t fit into the fung shui of my workouts.
But I’ve got a little boot camp back! How? Kids joined basketball, and their practice is right at bootcamp time! I’m more excited to sweat than I care to admit.
I’ve been having a big problem with exercise classes at my local Y. My favorite class moved from 5 to 5:30, and so I couldn’t do it (need to pick up the kids by 6:30). The one class that was at 5:00 is now changing to a zumba class, and so far I’m not feeling the love for zumba.
So if after work won’t work, how about before work? The Y has classes at 5:30 and 6:00 am, which would give me time to exercise and get to work by 8.
I thought I’d give it a try this morning. I was totally ready! I had my gym clothes out, my bag packed with my clothes, towel, and shower gear. I set my alarm. I was doing it!
My alarm went off this morning at 5:30. And… I went back to sleep. Doing a bootcamp at 6 am was just more than I could imagine. The idea of doing burpees and mountain climbers before even a cup of coffee…
So you early exercisers, HOW DO YOU DO IT?
As I mentioned in some old posts, I’m not too crazy about Zumba. Too dancy, too jingly. I’m old school when it comes to exercise. I want yelling. I want direction!
I used to get my yelling at my twice-weekly bootcamp class at the local Y, but that was moved to a different time that, due to strict laws against child abandonment, I can’t attend. So I’ve been going to a cardio toning class that has been underenrolled, to say the least.
So the instructor says she’s going to change it from cardio toning to–you guessed it!–zumba.
At this rate, I’m going to give up on the Y. Anyone have favorite exercise DVDs I should check out?
Lucky me! I had a day off from work. Did I do something useful? Clean the house? Heck no! Instead I went to the gym to check out a zumba class.
I had no idea what zumba was, but many twitter pals thought it was fantastic. So I didn’t go in completely unprepared, I checked out some Youtube videos. I was not encouraged. There seemed to be much neon spandex.
But I persevered! I went to the class, and it was chock full, despite being at 9 am (don’t these people have work or something?). I was encouraged! Lots of people, even men, at a time most people are working (including me).
But then I noticed people were wearing jingly scarfs, like belly dancers wear. Yikes.
The music started, a latin beat that was great fun. But the instructor didn’t bark out instructions like most exercise instructors; indeed, she said little but had a big grin. No, she simply danced and we were supposed to try to follow along.
I am not terribly coordinated. I gave up on step classes because they required way too much coordination. Unlike step, it didn’t look like if I took a misstep I would break my ankle. But knocking into someone else was a real risk, because they didn’t know what they were doing either (though it was hard for me to know; my eyes were riveted on the instructor as I tried to figure out what she was doing).
Then everyone was encouraged to join in a big conga line. I tried to get into the “this is fun!” spirit, but I can’t have fun if I don’t know what I’m doing.
Then someone offered me a jingly scarf to tie to my hips. Now, even if I knew exactly what I was doing, there would be no way in hell I would be putting a jingly scarf on my hips. I’m just not a jingler. My hips jiggle enough without having jingling added in.
I’m sure if I knew what I was doing, it would have been a great workout; certainly, the instructor was sweating up a storm. Not me. I probably should have focused more on just dancing than exercising, but I was there to exercise, dammit! Exercise is supposed to be intense! It’s supposed to HURT! You’re certainly not supposed to smile or wear jingly scarves or be part of a conga line.
At the end, everyone whooped. I thanked the instructor, who astutely figured out that it was my first time zumbaing. She asked if I’d be back. Even if I didn’t normally have to work, I don’t think I’m a zumbaer.
Instead, I came back at eleven to do the kickboxing. As I kicked and punched imaginary enemies, I realized maybe I just don’t have the zumba spirit. Maybe I just need to pummel something!
But if I have another day off, should I check it out again? What should I be doing?
Did you know that exercise is not only good for your body, but for your brain, too? In Tara Parker-Pope’s Well blog, she outlines the research on both animals and people that shows that aerobic exercise improves cognitive function.
It makes intuitive sense: the brain is an organ, and increased blood flow to it will help it work. But how many of us “knowledge workers” spend our days on our tushies, getting the bulk of our exercise walking from the parking garage to the office elevator.
Kids intuitively know that they need to move their bodies, and get squirmy when asked to sit for too long. My kids (twins in 1st grade) get THREE recesses in school.
As we get older, we lose sight of our real physical need to move our bodies, thinking of it as a nice-to-have or something we do when we have time (which is never) as we sit and sit and sit in front of our computers (yes, I’m talking to you!).
Yes, my job is important, and I’ll do it even better if I take a few 10 minute walking breaks. My exercise classes aren’t only an investment in my appearance (which frankly I gave up on so long ago it’s hard to consider it again) but in my ability to be smart and work smart.
So how about you? Have you taken a recess today?
