I suppose that most people have either seen or heard about Zumba, but for those few that haven't, let me enlighten you a little. Basically it is exercising, by dancing, to Latin American music in a fun way. There are classes springing up all over the place and usually it is a case of the more the merrier re the numbers attending at any one time. It is an opportunity to get fit, tone the body, increase your cardio vascular, have fun and help towards your weight loss, and all in a good way. I first saw an advert on the television, some while ago now, saying that you could buy the DVDs and do this at home. I instantly fell in love with the idea and wanted them right there and then. It wasn't until this month that I actually got around to buying them as I saw they were half their normal price in the January sales. They arrived last week and that is when the fun really started!
I like to think that I am fairly fit, fairly healthy and fairly competent. I discovered that I am not fairly anything after starting the Zumba DVD! I began by watching the intro and then progressed to the basic steps teaching aid. It was simple - basic step one, basic step two and then basic step three put it all together at the right speed. At this point I discovered that it isn't as easy at it looks! Now, I have always known I have no coordination (I have an automatic car simply because I could never work out how to bring the clutch up,change gear and steer - not to mention looking where I was driving - all at the same time!). But where was I?
Basic step one - they showed me how to do it and all I had to do was copy the movement. Except that on some of them, I couldn't! Am I the only one that has problems with trying to copy a mirror image? And then of course it was merely trying to follow the instructions given; "side step heel, back to centre toe". (I think I am para phrasing here as I can't remember the exact words, but it is something very similar.) All sounds very easy doesn't it? In slow motion it is very easy - almost! I was managing to keep up and then suddenly I would forget what I was meant to be doing. Chaos then ensued as I untangled my legs from going left, right and all points everywhere!
Basic step two adds a little twist; sometimes it is another step, other times you have to circle on the spot, or maybe move several steps to the side. I was impressed with myself that I was able to do this; maybe not so bad after all I thought. Circling on the spot should be easy. If that is the case, why was I always facing the wrong way by the time she had got back to centre? And have I mentioned that all this is done whilst the hips are in a continuous state of movement? Side, back, round about, up down, you name it the hips have to do it. Also "don't forget your abs"......
Basic step three - "let's put it all together at the right speed". She might well have said, "just do your own thing" because that is precisely what I ended up doing! Speed and Susan do not sit well in the same sentence. She went one way, I went the other; she was already coming back whilst I was still going forward; she said "go lower" when I was already nearly on my knees! "And don't forget to move those hips." "Wasn't that fun?"
Fun? FUN? I have had more fun eating my way through a packet of biscuits! It is not fun, it is hard work! I must have looked like a gyrating hippo; Disney's Fantasia springs to mind, but as I have never seen it I don't even know if it has hippos in it, but suffice to say I felt like a hippo! Goodness knows what the neighbours thought! Luckily for me I am on the ground floor, but they must have heard me thudding about and breathing in great gulps of air! I don't think that I have worked as hard for like...forever. Okay, that may be a slight exaggeration, but I can confidently say that I have rarely perspired that much in such a short space of time. If I didn't lose any calories by jigging about, then surely I must have through fluid loss. And all that was just the introduction to the routines; I hadn't even started on the dancing proper!
What can I say now that I have tried it? In my past life I would have just put it all away and never touched it again. I used to be of the ilk that if I couldn't do it properly, there was no point in doing it at all. Now I am a lot more forgiving of myself. Even if I haven't managed to quite get all the steps right, remember the names of the different pieces or go as fast as they are telling me, I am still exercising and thus doing some good. I no longer say, "I can't do that"; now I think to myself that although I am not as good yet, I can continue to improve and one day it will sink in and I will be able to do it all.
Having had the DVDs now for a week or more, I have remembered part of one routine - and I am so chuffed because I can actually do it correctly and in time too! If I wasn't on a strict eating/exercise regime (not dieting, but it does mean no treats for a while), I would have consumed a bar of chocolate to celebrate! Probably the one thing that I am having the most trouble with (let's forget about my arms and legs!) is the hip swivelling. I can do it but not at speed and doing it with a stable core is paramount to avoid injury. My core is not always that stable so trying to keep my abs and glutes all pulled in tight whilst moving my hips is a challenge, that is for sure. I do have a hula hoop somewhere in my flat - I do know where it is, but whether I can retrieve it from behind the bookcase is another matter entirely - and I might try doing that as an easy way to increase my core stability and have a bit of fun too. I seem to recall that I was pretty good at it when I was a child....
All in all, I would say that the money was well spent. Contrary to my earlier comment, I am enjoying (actually I am not sure that "enjoying" is the right word), I am persevering and not finding it all too terrible. When I am fully proficient at it I wouldn't mind going public, and going to a class. Until then you won't see me for dust! By that time I will probably be in my dotage and unable to do it at all, but at the moment it makes people chuckle with the stories I regale them with!
Now on another topic entirely. A couple of posts back I asked if you would like some advice with reference to my coaching business. To this end I will be putting short one or two liners at the bottom of my posts. These will hopefully give way to musings or actual change on your part. You may well have seen them too; I put a spiritual, uplifting or educational thought on my facebook page, "Life Changes And You" six days a week. Of course this will happen here only if I remember, so please forgive me if in later posts there is no post script! Because this post has been about exercise, I thought that my first one should be educational. So here goes......
By turning off your computer and television at least half an hour before bedtime, you will help promote a healthy sleep. Do not eat sugary foods before bed either; this makes you wake in the middle of the night as your sugar levels fall suddenly.
I love comments, so please feel free to make your own. I will catch up with another blog post as soon as I am inspired or something worth talking about happens.
Take care until then..... :)
What can I say now that I have tried it? In my past life I would have just put it all away and never touched it again. I used to be of the ilk that if I couldn't do it properly, there was no point in doing it at all. Now I am a lot more forgiving of myself. Even if I haven't managed to quite get all the steps right, remember the names of the different pieces or go as fast as they are telling me, I am still exercising and thus doing some good. I no longer say, "I can't do that"; now I think to myself that although I am not as good yet, I can continue to improve and one day it will sink in and I will be able to do it all.
Having had the DVDs now for a week or more, I have remembered part of one routine - and I am so chuffed because I can actually do it correctly and in time too! If I wasn't on a strict eating/exercise regime (not dieting, but it does mean no treats for a while), I would have consumed a bar of chocolate to celebrate! Probably the one thing that I am having the most trouble with (let's forget about my arms and legs!) is the hip swivelling. I can do it but not at speed and doing it with a stable core is paramount to avoid injury. My core is not always that stable so trying to keep my abs and glutes all pulled in tight whilst moving my hips is a challenge, that is for sure. I do have a hula hoop somewhere in my flat - I do know where it is, but whether I can retrieve it from behind the bookcase is another matter entirely - and I might try doing that as an easy way to increase my core stability and have a bit of fun too. I seem to recall that I was pretty good at it when I was a child....
All in all, I would say that the money was well spent. Contrary to my earlier comment, I am enjoying (actually I am not sure that "enjoying" is the right word), I am persevering and not finding it all too terrible. When I am fully proficient at it I wouldn't mind going public, and going to a class. Until then you won't see me for dust! By that time I will probably be in my dotage and unable to do it at all, but at the moment it makes people chuckle with the stories I regale them with!
Now on another topic entirely. A couple of posts back I asked if you would like some advice with reference to my coaching business. To this end I will be putting short one or two liners at the bottom of my posts. These will hopefully give way to musings or actual change on your part. You may well have seen them too; I put a spiritual, uplifting or educational thought on my facebook page, "Life Changes And You" six days a week. Of course this will happen here only if I remember, so please forgive me if in later posts there is no post script! Because this post has been about exercise, I thought that my first one should be educational. So here goes......
By turning off your computer and television at least half an hour before bedtime, you will help promote a healthy sleep. Do not eat sugary foods before bed either; this makes you wake in the middle of the night as your sugar levels fall suddenly.
I love comments, so please feel free to make your own. I will catch up with another blog post as soon as I am inspired or something worth talking about happens.
Take care until then..... :)
Oh sister dear, what hoots of laughter you have caused here! I can emphasise with you entirely because I have been trying to do the Strictly Come Dancing Fitness DVD (which I found in a charity shop) and discovered that I could not work out how to do the steps and like yourself, ended up in all sorts of positions that are definitely not on the DVD! Must be a family thing! I did find that if I turned my back to the tv and looked over my shoulder it was a little better. You have inspired me to give it another go - after the first attempt I have somehow 'not gotten around to it' since.
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