Zumba kicked my BFA!

Okay... so there are some things that one just simply should NOT mix with Zumba... including: getting to the gym ahead of time and doing weight training with arms and legs, riding a stationary bike for 25 minutes before class, and fiber one bars.... I will explain two out of three of those... the third...I will just say: UGH!

I got to my new gym tonight about an hour before the Zumba class was supposed to start... I was worried that I would not get a ticket to the class if I arrived later than that, so I got my ticket and figured that I had some time to kill so I would check out the machines at this new gym... so I warmed up on the recumbent bike for 10 minutes and then decided I should do some weight training with my arms... I have been slacking in that area of my workouts... and after I finished that I still had a little time so I tried out a couple of the leg machines... that work my quad muscle and another that worked my inner thigh... it felt good so I did a few sets... no big deal right?

Well... the class starts and there are a lot of us... maybe 23 people or so, in a fairly small room, so we were fairly close to each other... and the instructor is a woman who meant business... you could totally tell. She wasn't there just to teach us how to Zumba, she was there to work out too... so... she asked if there was anyone new tom Zumba... I look around, confidently... thinking.. I am not new.. I've done 2 whole classes... I can handle this... (overconfidence is another thing that does not mix with Zumba!) And the instructor said, "Ok then!" Suddenly she is moving her hips in all kinds of directions and I am finding myself unfamiliar with many of her Zumba moves. I admit... I felt a little like a fish out of water... flopping around on the floor with no coordination, but... I stuck with it, and found myself very envious of the way the instructor can gyrate those hips... If I stick with Zumba maybe I will be able to do that one day... I was trying though... things were shaking like crazy I am sure... but I was there to work out and work out I did. About 30 minutes into it my legs felt very heavy and had they not been so heavy I would have kicked myself for doing the weight training beforehand... So I totally felt lost, but am totally going back... I want to learn those moves and be able to add some of my own style to it... ok ok... what style I may add to it is not the point... nor is how graceful or hip I may look doing it... I was by far the tallest person there... which normally is the case, and normally I am not acutely aware of it... however... there were two very petite ladies there... and where did they choose to be... in the back with me... but I will say I had more rhythm than they did... ha! I think the more I go, the more fun it will be. When I first arrived I met two women in the locker room. They are originally from Somalia or Sudan... I can't remember... and they were both going to take the class...they were both in awe of my height and asked me how tall I was... and told me it was beautiful. It was a nice thing to hear... lots of people comment about my height, but not so many associate it with beautiful, so, I'll take it. During class they kept looking over to check on me... and we exchanged many many smiles. They totally did their own thing for most of the class... they did some of the moves, but totally just kept moving. I love that. Love that they were there to move their bodies, with other people, and they did.... and they were smiling, so it's all good. I am going back...Thursday... even though I fully expect to be sore. Oh well. Tomorrow I am not going to exercise... just taking it easy.

Besides Zumba, another exciting thing happened today. I went bike shopping with my friend Debbie! I am so proud of her. She got on a bike tonight for the first time in 10-15 years.... and she did it! So after the test drive at one bike shop we went to two other places... then returned to the first place and she bought a bike! I am soooooooo excited for her. She has changed her lifestyle so much since January. She's not trying to change her lifestyle, she has changed it. Exercise is a part of her daily life, eating well, making choices and taking care of herself... she has done so so so so so so well. She has helped keep me motivated and I was so happy to go with her tonight. It was fun! I can't wait to go with her on a bike ride.

I have my MRI tomorrow... I am hoping I get through it without pain... I remember how much the MRI's hurt before surgery... because staying in one position for an extended amount of time was unbearable... I cried at the MRIs I had before surgery...and the MRI people didn't seem to understand that pain.... last year's MRI was pain-free... and I am hoping the same is true tomorrow. Heck... after Zumba I hope I can walk tomorrow! Ha!