Nothing inspired me to hit the gym more than the thought of my wedding dress and honeymoon bikini. Now- when I say hit the gym- I never actually stepped into a gym once- “hit the gym” just sounds cool. To get into your ideal wedding day shape- you need to know what inspires you. For me- that is dance and group exercise. You blend those two together with an eclectic mix of music and viola- you get JAZZERCISE. I cannot go on enough about this form of working out. Even if you didn’t dance 20 out of 24 years of your life- you will probably love it. For one, you know you are burning calories and fat because 15 minutes in you are already dying, but you don’t care because you’re shaking your booty to The Veronicas, Fall Out Boy, Michael Bubble, Beyonce, and some random techno songs that are perfect for getting you hyped up. Each class is about 40 minutes of cardio and 20 minutes of strength training. In every class you will work every muscle; some more than others but ALWAYS your abs and outer thighs. And the arm work- ohhhhhh the arm work. I die for these 40 plus year old instructor’s arms. My goal is to become an instructor in the next 3 years.
http://www.jazzercise.com/
In addition to jazzing it up about 3 times a week, I have been practicing Iyengar Yoga for 2 years. This isn’t your purely relaxing, stretch, and pretend to find inner peace yoga. This is work your booty off, use every muscle in your body while properly stretching and strengthening, and find inner peace through hard work and tuning into your heart instead of your head, yoga. I love the discipline of Iyengar yoga because I grew up learning a very strict form of ballet- Cecchetti (we took yearly exams in front of professional dancers and had to use French terms). I think that is why I have stuck with it and will continue to. It’s a challenge but I also feel like I am discovering a tranquil place outside of mind (where I spend the majority of my life planning, organizing, working etc.)
http://www.bksiyengar.com/
The mix of both of these forms of exercise prepared me for my wedding day and feeling confident beside my hubby on the beach in the Dominican. I am continuing with both even though the inspiration of the approaching day is no longer there. Not going to lie though, it’s definitely harder to get my butt there after working a nine hour day. But I want to be active when I am 70 and starting now is the only way I can get there.
I hear Zumba is amazing and would love to try it out sometime. If you like kickboxing, Turbo- Kick is INSANE! Pole-dancing class will kill you. It’s not just for the sake of just being sexy, it’s for boosting your confidence and getting possibly the best workout around. Not kidding. Just ask my bridesmaids.
Tell me about classes you have tried and what you think.
I am not the most graceful person and the jazzercise esq classes usually scare me. But what I do love our spinning classes. I know this sounds crazy just sitting on a bike for 45 mins, but with the right instructor its awesome. My instructor kicked our butts twice a week and played awesome tunes. And she made "mountains" and "tracks" Everyone should try just one and the cardio is insane. You can burn 1400 in one class!!!
ReplyDeleteThe post makes me really want to start jazzercising. I think I may look into a class in NY!!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Ryan. I love me some spinning classes. It huuuurts, but I LOVE how hard the workout is. And yeah, with the right instructor and playlist, the time can fly by.
ReplyDeleteI just started pilates this week and am loving it. It's sort of similar to yoga in that it's very much about muscle control and connecting the mind to the body.
And Amy, same here. I want to look into it!
Spinning is a great form of group exercise. Studies show that you burn more calories when exercising in a group. Something about the excitement in the room subconsciously makes you push harder.
ReplyDeleteAmy & Casey- that makes me smile! find a class for sure, NYC has a ton I bet!