Shut up & Dance

Zumba...for me, the uncoordinated one, it's not the best exercise.

I'm the one hiding in the back leaning the opposite way as everyone else.

You'd think this means I don't dance.

Well, I don't dance well but I love to dance....and spent several hours dancing Sunday in two very different settings.  Quite frankly, I can't decide which I prefer better.

Saturday night views

Saturday night I went dancing with friends; I can honestly say I spent the first two hours of Sunday morning exercising. Like better than Zumba, totally sweaty,  need some water exercise.  

And I totally skipped the gravy fries afterwards!  Honest!

Let's just say that my feet were sore when I woke up.  Now THAT is a workout.

Of course, the King tells me since I had a beer, there's no net caloric loss.  Sigh.

Sunday we hosted our daughter's boyfriend's parents for dinner, so that meant cleaning my kitchen with my left hand.  

One cannot sweep one handed, just FYI.

Nor is cleaning as much fun as dancing.

Anyhow-the food was amazing (grilled steaks, fresh buttered green beans, roasted brussel spouts, elote, cucumber salad & parfaits) and the conversation delightful.   You see, my health coach Jim is dad to my daughter's boyfriend, so it's not like we didn't already know each other.

My daughter, Jim's son.  #smalltown

After, I headed to One Night of Worship.

That's the county courthouse behind the platform.

The music was fantastic...and I'm dancing again.  

I love to express my joy!

While I couldn't quite rock it out like I had just a mere 18 hours earlier across the street, I threw my hands in the air and danced.

In this gorgeous setting:). Love Prescott.

No, I'm not coordinated.  No, I'm not the best dancer.  But I can think of no better way to express joy.

And burn some calories, too.

http://youtu.be/6JCLY0Rlx6Q

Exercising while Injured: Fusion of Movement

When I first broke my hand and had to cancel my line up of gyms, people frequently told me, "Why don't you just do Zumba?"

Zumba is dance/exercise.  While I protest I'm uncoordinated, people who love it insist I'll get better over time-and what better time than now?  It's no pressure on the hand at all.

The last fitness center I'm revisiting is Fusion of Movement, and their Zumba/Core/Weights fusion class.  I took it the first week of March, and owners Ben & Sasha agreed it would be easy to modify.

The beautiful Sasha.

I was rather worried about breathlessness today, and fretted about it last night.  Turns out my fears were misplaced; my hand should have been the bigger concern.

Think of a whip.

Oh, Indy!

Where is the energy when you snap it?

The tip.

Where is the energy when you throw up your hands?

Trust me-it's in the middle metacarpal.

More than a little sore tonight.

Three weeks!  Can you believe it?

So Zumba with a still very sore broken hand is not a good match.  Add to it accidentally smacking your hand on your thigh...yeah.  Well, it was worth a go.

Weights-I simply did the movements without them to (had I used only one that would have meant I wasn't square and risked injury.). It did give my shoulder and arm a nice workout since its been pretty inactive for three weeks.  Core-loved it.  I now have one, and it rocked.  I even let rip a yow like Sasha does.

Overall, it was a success.  I sweated, I moved and my hand survived.  I only drank 1/3rd of my water, and the air monster was a no show.

The Admiral was correct.

My very first goal was to defeat the air monster.  

Done.

The class was not easy, but my breathing was.  I even did low planks with hip taps!

13 1/2 weeks.  Three months.

Doesn't matter how long it took-I made it.  The air monster?

He's gone.

http://youtu.be/hM6Z-eOWXZQ

13: No Gold Bikini...yet

This morning I finished my fifth and final class at Fusion of Movement, a Zumba/Core/Weights workout.  I loved having it at 9am, and can safely say a morning workout fits better into my lifestyle.  As for Zumba; I liked it, not loved it.  It's fun, but as a gal with no rhythm, it was...interesting.  Score one for the fitness quest - I now know I prefer an early workout instead of a late one.  At least that's some visible progress.

Goals might be a good idea, don't you think?

SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic & Timely.  I realize that in having a Fitness Quest, my journey hasn't been geared towards a goal (SMART or not) as I am open to the discovery process.  Indeed, I did not weigh myself at the beginning of the process, and only took pictures to track my progress.  Initially, my limitations have been so overwhelming I don't believe setting goals would have been wise (I may have become too easily discouraged) but now I can clearly see my first two goals where defined early in my quest:  1)  To defeat the air monster and 2) To hike Thumb Butte without a breathless attack.

Seriously, right?  I found this in yahoo images.  So exciting!

I cannot say the air monster has been defeated, but I know I am making strides.  The breathlessness is not as prevalent.  My endurance is still no more than 3 miles (over the mountainous terrain of Arizona, mind you) when combined with the other 1 hr workouts I am doing, and this is all quite disturbing to me.  I truly felt I'd feel much better by now.

I should look like this, right?

While the first two goals remain the same, I am adding a third goal:  to do a proper pushup at anytime, any place.  I pulled off my first knee pushup today, and was amazed that I could do something that was completely unattainable as most recently as Tuesday.  Other things I have noticed - my posture is much better naturally, and the lower back pain is completely in remission.  Things are improving, even while I see other things unchanging (my hiking pants still do not fit.  This makes utterly NO sense at all.)

Well, it is the culprit when the leg length disappears, so...

I am learning I have to rest, which seems unnatural in the quest.  Today, for example, I have on my hiking gear, ready to throw on my boots and enjoy the beautiful sunshine and 68 degree weather.

It's not going to happen.

Warning brought to you by the King of Athletics of the Central Highlands.

I've been told I'm "frumpy" today.  It's true; I'm not happy.  The house is too messy, I'm too tired and my triceps and external obliques are sore.

Two weeks ago I didn't even know I HAD obliques.

So what to do?  Quit?  Press on?  Eat Sour Cream & Cheddar Ruffles chips with a bag of Chocolate covered Hostess Donettes on the side?

This is my downfall.

And I can eat both bags in one sitting.

I think the the point most people quit is right now.  Either they see some results and think its enough, or they don't see the results they want, and they give up.  I admit, this has become tiresome.  Why do I want to be fit?  Why do I want to continue this quest?  Why am I torturing my self daily?

Parry, Abbie & Charlton

Because when I am 65, and my children have children, I want to take them to the Grand Canyon and hike every inch of it with them.  It's a goal that requires action now for the long term - even though the reward is far away.  My mother did not make good health choices, and depended on vitamin pills to save her from poor health.  At 65 she cannot enjoy an active lifestyle.  I know I have to change my life now to make a good life for myself later.  The quest will help me determine what changes to make to accomplish that (given my lifelong hatred of exercise.)

So, no hike today.  Perhaps none tomorrow.  Time to straighten up the house and take some rest.