If you are anything like me, you
don’t enjoy going to the gym and embarrassing yourself in front of those who
actually know what they are doing. To remedy this, I go to fitness classes! If
you have never been to one, you are seriously missing out! They are a dream
come true for people like me who are both insecure and very easily distracted.
Fitness classes are a place for both beginners and more advanced gym patrons to
get their workout on in a relaxed setting. Today I’m not going to tell you
exactly what happens in each class, but I’ll give you more of an overview instead.
This way, you know what you are getting into without being overly prepared.
It’s better to not overthink it and just dive in headfirst.
. Yoga
Not gonna lie, I was pretty
skeptical going to yoga for the first time. I had never done yoga other than
Wii Fit and I really wasn’t looking forward to falling on my ass out of a tree
pose in front of a whole class of people, but I pushed myself to go. It was a
great experience! To this day, I can’t say that I ever clear my mind or focus
entirely on the stretched muscles like you’re suppose to, but if you can fully
immerse yourself in it it will be a whole new experience. I have seen people
come to yoga from all age groups and no one is ever perfect at it. If you can’t
stand in a pose for too long or something hurts, there’s always an alternative.
The instructors are easy going and not going to push you into things that you
aren’t comfortable doing. It’s more relaxation than working out.
Spin
Class
I had heard how great spin classes
were from my roommate freshman year and I was pumped to go, but I wasn’t able
to fit it into my schedule until last year, my Junior year. I would love to
tell you that it is the best class ever, but it is not…it is not a good time.
Your backside will hurt for days and sweat will come pouring out of you like
there is no tomorrow, but it is worth it. If you get a good teacher, like I
did, he or she will push you and make you want to come back no matter how bad
you just want to lay on the ground and die instead. It’s a great cardio workout
and your legs will thank you. The class is very high intensity with very few
breaks, but you control how much you get out of it. If you push yourself and
try your hardest, you will see results, but if you just glide along and do the
very minimum then you might as well just take a seat on a bike on the main
floor instead. Typically, I don’t see many older men or woman in the class, but
all are welcome.
Zumba
I could talk about zumba all day,
literally. It is my favorite class ever. If you couldn’t tell from the previous
sections, I get distracted very easily and lack motivation. I can’t use an
elliptical for more than 5minutes before loosing my mind. I either get bored or
don’t push myself because no one is there to tell me that I can go faster or up
the intensity. Zumba fixes that issue. It is dancing, which is not repetitive
like a treadmill or elliptical, but gives you just as much cardio. I can’t
dance for shiitake, but if I could dance everyday, all day I would. You don’t
have to be a good dancer, you don’t have to have rhythm, and you really don’t
really even have to be able to do the moves as long as you keep your feet
moving. You could literally do an intense version of “the sprinkler” every
other move and still get a workout. The three types that I have gone to have
varying degrees of difficulty…
1.
Zumba Toning
2.
Aqua Zumba
3. Zumba
Zumba Toning and Aqua zumba will
give you generally the same type of workout. They are less cardio and more
toning. You won’t sweat as much but your arms will hurt like a swift kick to
the shins for the rest of the day. These two classes have the most diversity in
attendees because they put very little stress on your joints. Especially Aqua
zumba, which takes place in the water so there is less weight on your legs and
knees. You don’t even need to know how to swim because you are only deep enough
into the water to reach your shoulders and that’s it. Think “water aerobics”.
Regular zumba is my personal
choice. Depending on the teacher, it will have varying degrees of difficulty
but you generally sweat the same. I had a couple instructors who taught mostly
pop song/dance while another stayed with Latin flare. Typically, Zumba is
mostly Latin dance, but I prefer a good mix of both. In other words, I can’t
move my hips or feet fast enough for Latin, so I prefer to twerk it in a good
pop medley. No one is going to judge you either way.
Another good thing about zumba, is
that it is easy to do at home. The “Just Dance” video game gives you a similar
workout especially in the “Just Sweat” section. There are even games
specifically for zumba out there and plenty of YouTube videos. You can find a
few of my favorite Youtube routines on my Pinterest.
Hopefully this motivated you to
get up and get moving. There are plenty more classes that I did not mention
that may appeal to your specific interests even more, so go out and find them!
I am not expert in any way, I am not all that coordinated, and I’m definitely
out of shape so if I can do it, you can to. All the classes I have ever gone to
have a very welcoming atmosphere. Some of the coolest people and the people I
relate to the most I have met through these classes, because we all share a
similar workout mentality. If you do end up going to a class I would love to
hear about it! I truly hope that your experience is as rewarding as mine have
been. I’ll miss you, but I’ll talk to you again soon! <3
Sarah is a student at Bradley University and is interested in studying many things. With biology being one of her subjects, she would have to say that her favorite class is art. She loves her two pups named Pebbles and BamBam, all of the other pets she has at home, One Direction, food the requires little effort such as applesauce pouches, and oh..peacocks with glittery Iphone cases that are sold at an exclusive peacock bed and breakfast. She enjoys crafts, baking, sleeping for more hours than recommended, hanging out with friends, participating in events such as The Color Run, going to concerts, and watching Netflix.
Where to find me:
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