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If you’re tired of running the streets, run some stairs! This is the best way to shake-up your routine, get in some intense cardio, and work your legs.
Do 4-5 sets of this, and you’ll have earned some pretty crazy sweat!
Sorry that I’ve been absent. It was my birthday weekend, and I damn well acted like it.
On to today’s article: Ballet Class
Before you read any more, you need to check this out. I’ll wait.
So, now that you understand Ballet is hardcore, let’s proceed.
I’m a dancer. I’ve been taking ballet and tap since I was two (my mother lied to the owner of the dance school and said I was three.) Eventually, they found out. But I was pretty good, so they didn’t care.
I continued to take as many forms of dance as I could for the rest of my childhood and young-adulthood.
I teach many forms of dance but haven’t taken a proper NYC ballet class in AGES. So, this week, my goal was to pop down to Broadway Dance Center on w. 54th and take a class.
So, it ends up that I am unfortunately sore from my first spinning class. Not in a good “I really feel my quads and glutes” way. In a “I KNEW that seat was doing damage” way.
I was running low on energy and time, so I decided to pop on my old faithful: Turbo Jam Fat Blaster.
This is Chalene and the crew from “Turbo Jam: Fat Blaster.” As you do it over the years, as I have done, you’ll get to know “Take it Easy” Mindy, Fierce Tranny in the Back, and The Gloved Latin Lover.
After a little prodding from a friend, I decided to join her in a spinning class this morning. 
I’ve been avoiding that dark room at the gym for years, worried that I’d be SO BORED on a stationary bike going nowhere.
And I was. A little.
For my birthday last year, my boyfriend bought me a black Nike Fuel Band. You would think a girl would be insulted if her boyfriend got her exercise equipment, but not me. I was so stoked because I knew it would make me feel like a robot. And it did. And it is awesome.
There are mixed but mostly positive reviews about the FuelBand. It serves mainly as a motivator to keep active during the day. It’s a very attractive design that makes you feel cool when you press the button and make colorful lights dance on an apparently dark solid band. Whenever I press it, people around always go, “Ooh! What’s that!?” And that’s sweet.
Yeah. I’ve been messing around with it. Cheatin’ on my Vinyasa Yoga with Mr. Bikram Choudhury.
Bikram Yoga: 26 postures and two breathing exercises. Most postures are repeated twice in a row. The room is heated to 105° F with 40% humidity. Personally, it is very difficult. I’m a little mad about it because I’m a hardcore, tough-ass dancer who is very bendy.
Every class takes a large amount of willpower and discipline on my part to even get myself to the yoga studio, one stop away on the subway from my apartment. Pathetic. It’s just ten blocks away, but every time I get ready to go, it feels like I’m preparing to Lewis-and-Clark it across Amurika.
Here are some things I’ve learned from personal experience:
I’ve been stuck being a bit inactive after a quad injury from teaching Zumba last Monday. It has been absolutely frustrating. I could do arms Tuesday morning, but then found myself needing to rest for the last part of the week to heal up.
Finally, after the quad fully healed, I was able to get to the gym this Sunday with my boyfriend. We both did a separate cardio warm-up for ten minutes, then I created four circuits that we went through three times. At the end, he took me through some free-weight arm and shoulder stuff that I felt totally badass doing because I was wearing my lady gym-gloves.
Here’s the workout plan:
In the Fall of 2012, I decided that instead of paying for Zumba classes, that I’d just get certified and teach them myself. I’ve taught hundreds of dance classes over the years, this would be a snap. I’d get a workout AND get paid. Totally brilliant, right?
That’s me in the green, going through some toning sumo-squats in the middle of my Zumba class. This is the point in my class where I scream, “KNEES OVER TOES, LADIES!”
Ok, let me just say that preparing 60 minutes choreography that you are executing AND teaching AT THE SAME TIME is hard. Even for me. It was really hard getting my lesson-plan memorized to the point I could cue steps before the steps came up, while doing another step. And, I’ll admit, the first two full Zumba classes I taught were good but not amazing.
Now, I feel like I’ve hit my stride. My classes have gone from being an acceptable 55 minutes of cardio to being really good fun and a great workout. I feel like I’ve got a good mix of toning and heavy cardio.
On Friday, May 17th, I was feeling a little bit unmotivated. I didn’t feel like rocking out to Turbo Jam or Zumba in my living room again, and I was depressed about feeling depressed about it.
