Hanging With The Big Kids

Breaking news for me in the health and fitness field!!!! Barring any natural disasters or unplanned, earth shattering events, I will be getting my Zumba Instructor Certification by the end of February. I cannot even begin to tell you how much this excites me. It is a dream becoming realized.

So on Tuesday, I figured it best that I take my Zumba "expertise" (I use that term incredibly loosely) away from the front of my TV and actually take a group Zumba class at my local gym. Having gotten several different moves down through the use of the Zumba Fitness Wii game, I felt up to the task, yet not knowing who the instructor was, let alone what steps he/she would decide to take us through, I was a bit nervous. At any rate, I knew I was in for a fast paced, high energy, shake my whammy fanny good time.

Those who were already on the floor when I got there would probably have never guessed that I was a bit nervous; I stepped into the group aerobics room like I owned the place. Yeah! I intentionally arrived a little early so I could warm up and stretch. But before too long, the instructor appeared - a petite lady who had some sort of Spanish influencing her ethnicity, not to mention calf muscles and deltoids to die for! The class began...

Thankfully, she started with moves I knew from the video game, which helped me get right into things, and before long we were shakin and dancing to the beat (which at certain points during rather fact paced songs made me feel like a seizure was imminent).  :)

I was blown away by someone's Grandma who was in the thick of it. Granted, she wasn't swaying her hips quite as quickly as the 20-somethings in the room, but she hung right in there (and then stayed for a second group class!!!). What a cool lady!

Now in the video game, I've mostly done 20 minute sessions. Last week, I amped it up to 45 minutes. This was a 45 minute class. By 15 minutes in, I was feeling the burn and then some! About 25 minutes in, she slowed our groove down a little bit but kept things going for another 20 minutes. She never stopped smiling. At some points, I think she was enjoying herself more than we were. But I think we were the happier ones when it finally came time to cool down.

It was a blast and a killer workout. I'm excited for next week's class. The instructor said she would be the one to lead during that time slot, so it will be neat to see how/if she changes it up. Surprisingly, I'm not as sore as I thought I was going to be. My body was very tired after the fact; it really is a full body workout.

I am so excited about getting my certification. I have wanted to involve myself in Women's Fitness for a long time, but never really had the opportunity or the proper venue to market a certification if I had one. Time has changed that, and prospects look good. This is going to be such a huge step for me in achieving my utmost desires and goals.

Hurray for ZUMBA!!!!