One of the mantras I’ve adopted during this shelter in place period is Don’t Count the Days. Make the Days Count.
Now that my bed is made every morning, the kitchen is cleaner than its ever been before and I purged five garbage bags of items from my closets, I decided to kick off a new health and fitness regimen a few days before my birthday. There’s only so much webinar binging one can accomplish before realizing sitting hurts and how movement is the answer. With a few more weeks of shelter-in-place ahead of us, I wanted to share the fitness videos I’ve been watching on Hoopla which I have found to be fun and enjoyable.
Doonya the Bollywood Dance Workout: Beginner Breakdown
I want to start out by saying I feel awkward when I work out. I have some knee issues, I’m not in the best of shape and I’m definitely uncoordinated. I also have a hard time remembering my left from my right. But I tried Doonya the Bollywood Dance Workout because while I’m not the best dancer, I enjoy watching the occasional Bollywood film online. This is one of the first dance exercise videos I have used that makes dancing feel like fun. I had to be very careful about my knee and keeping my balance. Even though I was huffing and puffing through the class, I really found myself enjoying the experience and feeling good when the workout was completed. I wished there was more to this series, so I will keep checking hoopla for updates.
Watch in now
Gaiam: Cardio Burn Sculpt
After completing a dance class, I wanted to branch out into something that would feel like a class hosted at the Bolingbrook Park District. I chose Gaiam’s Cardio Burn Sculpt because it combines some of the moves I have learned in a few of their fitness and weight lifting lasses. All the programs I tried in this series were great, and the instructors provided a good combination of upper body, lower body and core moves with stretching. Again, I was huffing and puffing through each session, but the exercises were effective without feeling exceedingly difficult. The instructor did a great job demonstrating a lot of low impact alternatives and gives you suggestions to increase intensity. She’s entertaining and interesting to listen to while working out.
Next on my list: Gaiam: Cardio Burn Balance Ball
Watch it now
The FIRM: The 500 Calorie Workout
I loved the instructor from this workout series! Her attitude and teaching style was so engaging, and I enjoyed watching them more than once. The first few times I tried the program, I didn’t use weights. I’m very uncoordinated, so I wanted to make sure I had good form and balance before I added anything to the routine. The length of each class in this series varies, and I found I really enjoy taking 30 minute classes so I can try two different sessions in one day, like pairing a 30-minute cardio with a 20-minute yoga class.
Next on my list: The FIRM: Get Chisel’d
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Crunch Live: Dance It Off
After trying these different workout options, I began to really miss my Zumba classes. I’m not the most coordinated, or the best dancer, but I really like the Zumba format, music and fairly approachable dance moves. I saw the great reviews for Crunch Live: Dance It Off and thought it would be close enough of a class substitution that it would fill my workout goals and not harm my furniture in the process. I have to say, I loved this series—absolutely adored it! The first session focuses a lot on belly dancing, which I took a class in ages ago and never had a schedule to attend again. In the first ten minutes of the session, I was in control of my moves and wondering ‘where has this class been all my life?’ The second class in the series has a hip hop format. I enjoyed it, but with little to no sense of timing, this was more of a struggle for me. I went back to the first session a few more times because I loved it so much.
Next on my list: Crunch Live: Hardcore Cardio
Watch it now
Gaiam: Beginning Yoga with Chrissy Carte
I have love-hate relationship with yoga. It can be either intensely calming or exceptionally frustrating. There’s no in between. After a week of tight muscles and becoming aware that I really needed a deeper set of stretches, I checked out Beginning Yoga with Chrissy Carte. I skipped to the second episode “Connect” for a 20-minute class. This was the perfect length for me. Not too short to feel effective, but not too long as to damage my calm. While I’m not new to yoga, I really appreciated how much time the instructor spent on explaining each pose and leading good breathing cues. After two sessions, I moved on to some of her other videos in this series. All of them were very good. I highly recommend them to anyone with little or no yoga experience.
Watch it now
What are you doing to keep fit this month? Share your experiences with us!
Looking forward to seeing you at the library!