Dancing for fun and fitness

Summer is in full swing, gotta take advantage of every second of it since we get very short summers here in Winnipeg. That is one of the reasons why I haven’t spent much time cooking lately. I’ve also been spending a lot of time dancing. I was dancing 4 hours in a row twice a week! I was practicing for a dance performance and really wanted it to be perfect. The costumes that the girls chose for this performance where so much more revealing than anything I’ve ever worn in public. Talk about a motivator for exercising and eating well! I learned about the performance in early April when I joined the ladies dance group and 2 weeks later I found out about the costumes so, I did what any one would do and kicked my healthy routine up a notch. The first performance was two weeks ago and, even though I haven’t been as diligent in my routine lately I still was able to break through my plateau! I wanted to share some of my tools with everyone, just in case you were looking to kick things up a notch…

First thing’s first… Journal it! You may have heard this a million times over but I tell you, it really works! Whenever I want to try to lose a few pounds I keep a food journal, it’s a way to keep and stay accountable. You want to make it even better? Have a friend (if you have a friend in the fitness industry it would be a plus!) review your journal once in a while. I know that most personal trainers will make you keep a food journal for weight loss. Now, after getting an iPhone recently I found an app that helps you keep a journal on your phone. I have tried several but I found that Lose It! is one of the better apps out there. It has everything you could think of for a food journal, from calorie counter to an exercise tracker. I tell ya, it’s an excellent tool!

Ok, you’ve started a food journal, now what? Well, there’s no other way around it, you gotta exercise. It’s the only way to keep a healthy heart and healthy weight (unless you’re one of those lucky they-don’t-know-how-good-they’ve-got-it types that can eat anything and not gain an ounce) but the healthy heart part is good no matter how thin you look. Anyway, the way to kick start your metabolism or even to stay healthy is with exercise. Now, to some people it is a dreaded chore, for others, like me, it is something I enjoy but sometimes life gets in the way of my exercise so I have found dancing helps me. For those of you who haven’t found anything that keeps you, or even makes you attempt to try to stay motivated I want to ask, have you tried Zumba or Turbo Jam?

Zumba: I discovered this gem in 2003 after reading an article in “Latina” magazine. It took me a couple of years but I finally broke down and purchased the DVD’s in 2006 and I haven’t looked back since. If you love dance then this is definitely the workout for you! Their slogan says it all: “Ditch the workout, join the party!”. Zumba is a freestyle dance based class, it’s almost like you’re learning a short and easy choreography routine for each of the songs that the instructor plays. What I love most about the class is not just the 80% latin music but that each class is as different as the instructor teaching it! There’s no cookie cutter class where all the instuctors have to have the same choreography and music. The instructors are encouraged to come up with their own choreography if they want to. If you go to one of these classes there’s no way you’ll be bored, there’s a reason why there is a very loyal following to these things.

Turbo Jam: This is the program that got me started on my weightloss journey. The creator, Chalene Johnson, is so a great motivator that you can’t help but fall in love with her programs. Turbo Jam is like a cardio kickbox class with a little pizzaz! The music and the workout sucks you in to the point that when you’re done you can’t believe that you’ve just finished a 45 minute class. This program has a little something for everyone and if you speak to anyone who has tried it they will tell you to try it as well. It’s a great way to stay motivated. And, do I have to ask, what better way to exercise than to the beat of great music?

So there you have it. These three tools are what helped me get the confidence I needed to stay on a healthy lifestyle track and I’m still going strong. I then started going to dance classes and events which helped get me even more in shape and in love with movement. I recently performed with an amateur dance group and have found kindred spirits that have the same love of dance that I do. It’s such a great community! The only regret is that I waited so long to join them. I was so hesitant to go to these things on my own that I missed out. I finally bit the bullet and went by myself (my friends were all busy doing their own thing and not so interested in taking salsa classes with me) but I don’t regret it. I’ve meet a wonderful group of people and some very good friends. So let me tell you to Carpe Diem and get out there, this latina finally found her place in the world, and it’s definitely on the dance floor!