Isn't Round a Shape?

I’ve always been a dancer… until a few months ago. Sure, I’ll still take classes for fun when I can, but it can no longer be my single source of exercise (plus it’s EXPENSIVE).

I’ve tried running, but that never really worked for me… it was always too easy to think it’s hot out, maybe tomorrow will be cooler or I’m tired, maybe I’ll have more energy tomorrow. I have the same issues with the gym, too. It’s too easy to just say “Eh, I’m not feeling it,” and sit at home with some ice cream and TLC.

So I know exactly what I need from a workout- it needs to be FUN and it needs to have a SCHEDULE that I can’t change. I’ve tried setting up “workout dates” with friends, either jogs or gym trips, but it’s not fair to force my friends into forcing me to go. They don’t need to deal with my whingey crap!

Jazzercise. That was a perfect solution for me this summer. I found out about classes in my area online, noted that I could make it to classes on four days, and saw that they were offering a free trial. So I went… and it was FUN and kicked my ASS. I loved it, from the bouncy cardio (with some dance steps thrown in, some kickboxing, some demonic never-stand-up-from-your-squat routines) to the arm weight routines to the ab workouts. Each routine tends to have three segments composed of a couple of moves, and you mix up the three segments through the entire song (good music, too!) to keep it interesting. It is as high-intensity as you want it to be, so if you’re legitimately overtired you can just put the energy you have into the workout, or if you’re really hyper you can bounce extra high and squat extra low.

I had printed off a coupon in case I decided I really wanted to go to classes regularly- a student deal for June, July and August. $75, unlimited classes for the three months. PERFECT.

Now I go on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and then one of either Saturday or Sunday (I HAVE to go Sunday if I don’t go Saturday); if I’m home for the weekend, there’s a Jazzercise location that has a Saturday morning class I can drag myself to (bright and early, 8:30 am and a half hour away from home). I schedule hanging out with friends around my workout times, so that life doesn’t get in the way of me working towards living comfortably.

As of right now, I use the elliptical or try to go for a little jog on some of the off days, but Monday night I downloaded the C25K application for my iPod Touch and uploaded a bunch of music.

C25K is a program that takes you from the couch to running a 5K, and can be repeated to improve your times. It’s a 9 week thing, with 3 half hour to forty minute runs (with some walk intervals at first) each week. This will work in perfectly with my Jazzercise schedule- Jazzercise three times a week, C25K three times a week, and a rest day. (I’ll also probably try to throw the Zumba and Bollywood Burn DVDs in every once in a while.)

To keep myself doing the C25K (again, what’s stopping me from just putting it off?), my sister and I are going to register to run a 5K in late September/early October, so I have a little bit of wiggle room in case I need to repeat a week of training or want to improve my time a bit before the race.

And to keep myself running even further than THAT… let’s just say, Disney World has some GREAT offerings, and someday, I would not be opposed to being crowned an honorary Disney Princess for finishing the Disney Princess Half Marathon.