I love everyone I sweat with!

Since my husband's workplace is very male-dominant and my work as a bellydance instructor is pretty much all female, we have often talked about how we would be perfect match-makers... he knows lots of single guys, I know lots of single gals.  Most of you probably know how much I love to sweat and make other people sweat (I've made a whole business of it!), I also strongly feel that sweating with someone instantly brings you closer and breaks down lots of barriers and walls that are often up in other circumstances. Me and my hubby both love working out and have toyed with the idea of having a singles workout for quite sometime - workout with other singles, sweat, laugh, and hopefully meet some great like-minded people.  Well, last night in class I was telling my students how I totally fall in love with anyone I sweat with a lot (yup, I'm in love with all my students!) There's probably some scientific reason... something to do with pheromones and endorphins, but when the walls come down and people are all undone, panting, and sweaty, an instant bond is defintely formed and you speed up the getting-to-know-you phase!  Sooooooo, we have finally decided to jump on this idea and try out a SWEATY SINGLE MINGLE workout at the end of April!  We will be ensuring we have equal numbers of men and women and exercises with be challenging yet fun with many being partner and group-centred to really get to know others with the added benefit of getting a great workout in too!  After the workout, a light healthy snack will be served and you'll have time to mingle!  Sign up now to get in on this exciting opportunity! CLICK HERE to check out more info and sign up!

My First Zumba Experience!

This month is all about trying out new workouts!  One reason is because I am in super-training mode getting ready to do a fitness competition in May and I need to be doing all sorts of cardio a day so I might as well make it enjoyable, challenging, and fun rather than just pedaling away on my stationary bike in the basement (which also happened to break at the start of the month - I took it as a sign to get out and do some other forms of exercise!) Another reason I want to try out all this new stuff is I am a fitness professional myself and feel I need to put more effort into knowing what's out there, getting re-inspired, and keeping my stuff fresh so I can help my students and clients as much as I possibly can!  So far I've gotten back into outdoor running, done P90X and Insanity DVDs at home, tried Skyrobics (trampoline workout), gonna check out Crossfit again, went to Zumba tonight, and who knows what else! 

I've always kind of laughed about Zumba and didn't think it was really hardcore enough for me.  I've also watched some ridiculous videos of their bellydance routines and as a professional bellydancer was mildly offended at what they were doing as bellydance.  It seems really cult-like and is EVERYWHERE - that scare me a bit too... My good friend was saying she wanted to do Zumba last week and I was mocking and making fun, but then when I saw there was a Zumba class at my community centre gym on a day I don't teach my own classes, I called her up and asked if she wanted to go.  She asked if I was joking or if I was going to laugh at her and the class the whole time... ha ha ha - maybe, but maybe this would be a fresh new fun way to get an hours-worth of cardio in at a time I usually wouldn't.

We arrived at the packed aerobic studio of the community centre (you need to arrive early to get a pass to get in and by 10 minutes before class it was almost all full up!) and were greeted by a perky instructor. Everyone was taking their places in the room, me and my friend decided it would be best to hide in the back corner for our first class.  It has been a very long time since I did a group exercise class like this - totally brought back great memories of my teenage years at the YMCA!  The music comes on and we start to Zumba!!!  There was no annoying stretch or slow warm-up at the start which I liked.  Lots of high energy Merengue, Cumbia, Salsa, Lambada, Samba, Axe, and maybe even a few bellydance arms in there all smooshed together.  It was a fun time and I got pretty sweaty within the first few songs, so that was good!  Every now and then there would be a slower piece (which I guess is so people can catch their breath) which I could've done without, but all in all it was a pretty good 45 minutes of good cardio within the hour class.  I learned some fun new moves that I would never have done myself but that I might pull out at a club one of these days - I loved the Black Eyed Peas Boom Boom Pow dance!  I was taking classes, and later teaching classes just like this back in the 90's, we just called it salsaerobics, so it wasn't something crazy new to me. The thing that really registered with me the most was how totally awesome it is that this workout is making tons of regular people from all different walks of life who never dance, get out there and shake their booties full force, have fun doing it, and get a great workout at the same time!  That's beautiful to me!  I'll be back next class!

my rant for today: don't be so picky people!

 

Saw this image on someone's Facebook wall (originally from http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=10151305807845088&set=a.10150772520780088.727054.777280087&type=1#!/pages/The-Social-Deviants/244088568967537) and it reminded me of a blog post I've been meaning to write for a little while now...

 I find it's usually unfit and/or overweight people who have the most pickinesses with what they eat...  They're vegan, gluten-free, only eat organic produce, worry about preservatives and sodium, etc.  These are all valid concerns and I have no issues with being aware of all these issues.  The problem is, I can't take these people too seriously when I know as they are trying to avoid a little extra sodium that might be in a light salad dressing I recommend, they are going and binging on twinkies and chips (they don't seem to worry about the bad stuff in those products!)  I find it very weird that a very overweight person can tell me with a straight face that they try not to eat whole eggs because they have too much fat and cholesterol!

If you are very unfit you should start your healthy eating by just generally being more healthy - adding lots of lean protein, vegetables, healthy fats, and some healthy carbs and keeping proportions in check.  As you get more and more healthy and deep into a fitness lifestyle, you can for sure delve deeper and deeper into all the little intricacies of nutrition and exercise.  But if you are a beginner, make sure to get a good grounding before you start confusing your mind with all these little details and before you arbitrarily start cutting whole food groups out of your diet, becoming a vegan, or 'hating' oatmeal or cottage cheese.  Oh, the last statememnt reminds me of another point - when I do food plans for clients I always ask which foods they do and do not want on their food plan.  Oatmeal and cottage cheese (two wonder foods in my mind) are often the most 'hated'... and I will often ask them about it further as these are staples in my diet usually and they have barely even given them a chance and usually are not all that open to trying them.  So, another point I'd like to make is to stay open to new ideas - don't assume you hate something (especially if you've never tried it!)  Try oatmeal with different combinations of stuff in it for example - I don't love instant oatmeal, but have found steel cut oats to be an awesome way to start my day!  I certainly don't like them on their own - I have had to experiment to find what makes me like them... for me, it's a few raisins, tons of cinnamon, and a spoonful of either flax seeds, hemp hearts, or all-bran!  You could try yogurt, honey, no sugar syrup, applesauce, nut butter, fruit, etc. Cottage cheese can be blended in a blender with herbs and spices to make a tasty protein dipping sauce for veggies, or you can add fruit to it for a nice protein-packed dessert! Get creative and try different things to see what you like, before you jump to the conclusion that you hate a food! And remember, if you say or feel you hate a food, you will hate a food - so keep a positive mindset!

Anyways back to all the picky unfit peeps - try to keep it simple at the start - eat clean foods every 3 - 4 hours, keep watch on portion sizes, and get lots of exercise.  It will work! You will lose weight and get fit if you're consistent and stay with it... don't think that you aren't losing weight because you are eating beef or not taking a million supplements - it's usually because you aren't totally following the plan properly and having cheats all over the place!  If you're super-worried about hormones, preservatives, etc.  Be super-super-worried about eating those Cheetos and Coca-Colas!