Halloween Thriller!
This year has been a great one for new things, and bucket list items that I have completed. This Halloween I was able to cross off two items from my bucket list. One, to learn to dance Michael Jackson’s Thriller and two, to take part in a flash mob. So when the opportunity came up to join a Thriller flash mob, guess who was front and centre? Read more
My Life as a Fitness Instructor
Wow! Who would’ve thought I would one day be an honest-to-goodness fitness instructor. Certified, Licensed and Professionally employed! Certainly not growing up,! I was the “chubby” sister always getting a little bit of, well, no other way to put it but, grief from my parents (especially my mom) about my junk food addiction and lack of exercise. I always tried to go to the gym but I either went in spurts or just gave up all together. I know I’ve mentioned before how I got inspired by my good friend, Julie, and the creators of the formats that I now teach, Chalene Johnson for Turbo Kick® and Beto Perez for Zumba®, as well as a certain Taiwanese celebrity that I admire but now that my life revolves around fitness I am looking at more ways to improve myself and my classes. I’ve finally found my passion! And it turns out that it’s not a bad one at all! Read more
My Visit to Vancover Salsa Festival
Well, I must say that this latina is very much impressed with the Vancouver International Salsa Festival (a.k.a VIS), with 4 nights of dance parties and 2 full days of workshops I was very tired but happy. Nothing better than a chance to get dolled up and go dancing in a non-threatening environment, knowing that, no matter who you are or what your dance ability is, you can dance with everyone. Yes, it’s the first Salsa Congress that I’ve attended and I have nothing to compare it with but I still think that it was a great time and a great festival. If you have the chance to go to the festival I think it’s a great opportunity to learn new dances and/or improve on your own dancing. It really is a great time!
Zumbadora
I can finally proudly say that I am now a licensed Zumba instructor! I was looking forward to this training for so long and it was over in just one day. Almost sad actually. 
But I’m so glad that I was finally able to take it, I’ve researched so much about this instructor training that I knew from the get go that this was something that I could do, but needed the training to be able to call myself a Zumba instructor. Well… now I am! The day was full of energy and fun and, even though by the end of it we were all exhausted, we were all very happy to be there!
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Taking a mandatory break…
I recently got “injured” while I was working out. I say “injured” because I honestly don’t know how it happened. According to my athletic therapist I misaligned my pelvis at one point during the workout (I think it happened when I rolled my ankle doing a cardio kickboxing class) and since it didn’t hurt I just kept going, I did a Zumba class later on that afternoon and then jogged for 30 minutes the day after. I guess that’s when my body said “Ok, missy! That’s it!” and conked out on me. It started with a pain and then progressed to something so big, a pain so excruciating, that I had to take time off work (and working out!) to heal, I’m on day 10 and counting. With a combination of athletic therapy and massage and prescription painkillers and anti-inflammatories I have been able to function but still not well enough to be able to sit or stand for long periods of time. I’ve started to go out for short walks but just because it’s driving me nuts to not be able get moving. Needless to say, I’ve had a lot of time to think…
I know the theory, the facts and the recommendations but it wasn’t until my body “made me” take a brake that I took this seriously. Do not over train! Rest is just as important as your workout to stay fit and healthy! I wanted to do it all very fast and, although some people are able to do that, no matter how you think you can push your body to the limits, if you are not an athlete and have never been one, start slowly. Better to take more time to get to your goal than to have to stop altogether. I guess it’s another lesson learned. So, get your 7-8 hours of sleep, cool-down and stretch after every workout, take your rest days and eat healthy, your body will thank you for it!
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…
Healthy Lifestyle
I debated for a while whether or not to start blogging about fitness and health. Then I realized that good food and fitness, at least for me, have to go hand in hand. I am not blessed with a lightning fast metabolism and basically whatever I put in my mouth will end up on my thighs unless I do something about it. So here is the first entry on my healthy lifestyle… Read more
