Zumba, P90, PHH Stretch AND swimming!

[Guest guest]

I got up at 7:30 this morning to make sure DD and I were ready to attend a Zumba (Latin dancing) class with her Brownie troop at 9:00. I didn't know what to expect, except that I'd probably trip at least once. I thought about putting on my HRM but figured I was working out with a bunch of 6 and 7 year olds so we wouldn't get much of a workout for our 55 minutes. I should have put on the HRM anyway!! The instructor was awesome. She's a former elementary school teacher and worked beautifully with our girls but still made it very challenging for the moms. There was, of course, a lot of instructional time but when we were moving, we were MOVING. She included some plyometric moves that really got the heart rate soaring and it all moved fast too. I did not, for the record, trip. I also did not follow along super well all the time but did reasonably well for my 2 left feet. The kids just kept going as best as they could, usually doing their own very cute variations on the actual steps. I really enjoyed it and might go back for an adult class just to see if I could hang in at all (because of the dance moves more so than the cardio though I'm sure that won't be easy either). I thought she was going to teach something on the bosu too and the mom that coordinated it mentioned it to her so after the class was over she volunteered to show those of us who were interested (which was me and one other mom). We got to stand on it and do squats and then turned them over to the flat side up and just tried to balance and then did some more squats. Then she had us do pushups against it too. It was probably 5 minutes worth of time with it but it was really interesting. I'd love to take a class that uses it so I can really experience its versatility. I was very interested in the studio (it is a "core" studio, not a gym) so the instructor, who didn't have another class for a little while toured me around. They have a really cool pilates studio they call "Torture Chamber #1" with all kinds of pilates machines. She's a pilates instructor and had me try the springboard wall thing which was a lot harder than I had thought it would be. They teach a lot of different classes there (inc. weights, cardio & weights, kickboxing, zumba, various pilates, yoga and other things) and the price is pretty reasonable, plus they gave me a free 1 week pass so I'm going to look at the schedule and see which classes I can take on which days. You don't have to join to take the classes but you get a discount on special programs and personal training if you do. Oooh, a very cool thing happened too. I was wearing a tank top to work out in and one of my friend's said, "Wow, you've got some arms!" Or something complimentary like that. She followed it up with something about wishing she looked like that but that it would help if she got some weights first! I don't usually work out with mirrors and there was one right in front of us so I had also noticed that my arms and shoulders are looking pretty nicely sculpted these days, it is so cool!! :-) I actually felt really confident about how I looked. I used to take group exercise classes with shorts or sweat pants and very loose fitting t-shirts. Today I was in a long exercise bra/tank top and yoga pants that while not tight, they are close fitting. I've come a LONG way in terms of my confidence and it feels great!

Anyway, that was my morning workout. For the afternoon I did P90 Sculpt 3-4 and, since I'd noticed during the Zumba class that my flexibility was lousy I added on Power Half Hour Stretch. For Zumba, we had to put a leg up and touch your opposite hand to your opposite ankle and switch legs/hands quickly, I think jumping into the air as we did it too, before P90 I'm sure I could have done this with more ease than I did today. I've loved P90 but it doesn't have much stretching after the workouts and with a 6 day schedule it has been hard to add flexibility workouts. In my time off from a "structured" routine (like P90 or P90 Masters) I'm going to make sure to do a lot more stretching and will try to work it in to P90 Masters even if it means it takes me longer to finish the program. I haven't done PHH Stretch in a long time but definitely enjoyed it. Tony is himself but not horribly annoying. He's joined by a female who is a dancer and gymnast and he tells you that over and over so you don't judge yourself watching what she can do and noticing what you can't. There's also a guy (Tony 2) who is much less flexible. Tony leads a 10 minute starter stretch that you can use at the beginning of the day or whatever and then 20 minutes of more intense stretching. The woman shows advanced options for the poses and the Tony modifier shows beginner options. Tony (Horton) does something in the middle and walks around commenting on and correcting form. He holds the poses for a fairly decent amount of time (a lot longer than the 5 seconds he usually holds them in P90) and emphasizes breathing through them.

Then, at 4:30, we had a Cub Scout pool party! A nearby high school has a competition pool with a "fun" pool (complete with a fast water slide into the 12' deep end and 0" - 24" little kid section with sprinklers and little slide and a wonderful hot tub) and we went to an open swim time there with pizza afterwards. I have to admit, I spent a lot of time in the hot tub relaxing and talking with friends but I also did follow my little girl around quite a bit (she doesn't swim well yet and was fine in the little kid section but wanted to be in the deeper water too) so I did a lot of walking in the water. I also challenged myself, despite the colder water temperature, to try and do some laps since no one was in the swimming lanes. It has been several years since I've tried swimming laps and last time I was working on it, I could barely finish one length of a competition pool without stopping and that was after I'd built up from gasping for breath after only a few strokes. (For contrast, when I was in college I'd do 36 lengths 5 mornings a week, without stopping to rest during any of them at my peak. I only stopped at 36 because I was bored too.) Tonight, I got in there and do two lengths of freestyle without pausing at all. Then I rest a minute or so and did two lengths of breast stroke. I could have kept going but wanted to spend more time with my family and not just swim laps. That felt so good, knowing I can, once again, swim laps!! I can't do 36 without stopping but I can do some!!

It was a very fun, very exercise-filled day. I think I'll sleep pretty well tonight!