Holy Sweat Glands, Batman!

I said that I’d try new things this year and I’ve been slacking.  So, I finally got out of my boot camp mentality and tried something completely new to me.  I Googled yoga places in my area and found Bikram Hot Yoga.  Sounded interesting ~ what the heck!

It was a very different atmosphere.  At most traditional gyms the room is filled with chatter of daily life while waiting for the instructor to arrive.  At the yoga gym, the opposite is true.  You take your shoes off at the door and then find your spot in the room (shhh ~ very quietly) and place your mat, two towels and two water bottles nearby.  There were a handful of people already lying on their backs relaxing.

Next, I went to the bathroom to put my personal belongings into a locker.  Uh-oh…they only had cubbies.  I asked a lady what she does with her purse during the workout and she responded in a hushed Zenlike voice, “I put it in the cubby.  We are very trusting here.”  These words were obviously not soothing to me, because in the middle of class while I was supposed to be centered, all I could think was, “Someone better not be stealing my credit card!”  

I was completely surprised by how demanding this form of exercise was.  I’m not exactly sure what my expectations were, but I’m now a fan.  I will incorporate this into my workout regime once a week now.  90 minutes of Bikram Hot Yoga followed by 30 minutes of a spearmint Epsom salt bath ~ ahhh!

Make Room for Zumba!

OK ~ I have to admit.  I was dragging my feet to the Zumba class…I even made my mom come with me.  Spinning and Boot Camp are my exercise classes of choice.  Why should I waste my time on a silly little dancing class?  So, eating my words from my last post, I decided to step out of my comfort zone and try something new.

Zumba, with its Latin beats and moves, from Salsa to Meringue, was a blast.  I couldn’t think of the last muscle mix class where I was smiling, laughing and shakin’ my ass!  Also because we are on the heels of Halloween, she threw in a couple of spooky songs adding to the ridiculously silly hour of sweat.

By the end of the class, a lady in her sixties let everyone know that her calorie-counter thing showed that she had burned 1013 calories.  Really!!?  Sure, you have to take height, weight and age into consideration; however, damn ~ even though I outweighed her by about twenty pounds, I made up for it in my moves.  Although I just turned forty, I can still break it down (just ask me!!) ~ LOL!

By the end of the class, my entire head was soaked, and my calves and quads were killing me.  I had an incredible cardio workout, there was a smile on my face and I didn’t even have to do a push-up!  I would give Zumba two zesty onions up.  Will I do it again?  You bet!