Okay, so, I haven't updated my blog about my weight loss every Tuesday night like I planned. But I am proud to report that not only have I continued to go to the gym at least thrice a week, I even convinced N to join it with me!
The exercise thing is going a lot better. Today I even looked at myself in the mirror while I was zumba-ing! I don't think that I will ever be the kind of person who loves, loves, loves going to the gym, it does feel kind of good, kind of virtuous to get all sweaty and be able to tweet, "I am at the gym doing zumba!"
For those of you who don't know, Zumba is the new fitness craze. I guess if you were to totally simplify things you would call it a type of aerobic class, but it is really so non-aerobic-y. There is not a lot of pumping, or jumping. It is 100% dancing. A little bit of salsa, a little bit of hip-hop, and tonight, even a little bit of ballet. It gets the heart rate waaaay up, and I always end up drenched in sweat, and best of all, it makes you feel sexy. There is something inherently feminine about shaking your hips, even if you totally suck at it and have no rhythm. That is the brilliant thing about Latin dancing. If you can't quite do the moves, or don't quite have the rhythm, just shake, shake, shake, as fast as you can! This is one of the few exercises where you don't have to do the moves perfectly to get something out of it. Of course, doing the moves perfectly allows you get the maximum out of it. But somehow I can't convince my left side of that. And my hands and feet have trouble moving at the same time. But I am getting there.
For those of you who are still mystified, getting curious, or just like watching videos, here is a small sample of what a Zumba class may be like. Also, I got the Zumba game for the xbox kinect. I haven't used it much yet, but there will be full review when I have more to say.
There are a lot of issues concerning the rights of women and children being debated both locally and nationally right now. I find myself very strongly on one side of that argument, but that is not what I am here to discuss. At least, not specifically. In order to complete my master's degree in English, I am taking a class in Victorian literature. For the last few weeks in that class, we have been studying Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and my world has been completely changed. In most classes, when you study EBB, you study her Sonnets to the Portuguese, or, as I think of them, "How much I love my husband". They are very romantic and extremely well-written, but reading her other, less universally acknowledged works has been an eye-opening experience for me. I have just read Aurora Leigh . For those of you who are completely unfamiliar with this work, let me give a brief overview. Aurora Leigh is a young woman recently returned to England after the death of her father. I say r
I could never get my feet and arms to move together like the instructor was doing! It was embarrassing, but totally fun. I'm glad you're enjoying it!
ReplyDeleteThere's a Zumba game for the Kinect?! Ooohh, I might have to have that...
ReplyDeleteThere's no way I could do Zumba in front of people. Or in front of myself. The End. Also, is it pronounced like Z-oom-ba or Z-um-ba?
ReplyDeletepronounced Z-oom-ba. and you totally could do it! anyone can do it. that is the beautiful thing.
ReplyDeleteI feel the same way about running as you do about Zumba. Don't like beginning but love having done it.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I would be completely awful and an embarrassment to look at, but I think it'd be fun to try. Too bad I'm too cheap to pay for a gym membership.