The trials and tribulations of aerobics DVDs

When I was a kid, maybe from the time I was about 6 until about 14, I took dance classes. I can't recall exactly how old I was when I did what style, but the last several years were tap and jazz (I know I never took ballet - but I think I started tap much earlier than jazz).

Now the tap class was fun in that you make alot of noise. I had a hard time learning to do the steps, and it never really felt like dancing so much as stomping around just to make noise.

After that came the jazz. Actually I think I remember asking my mom to let me take jazz, because it's what all the cool kids in my tap class took (they were back-to-back classes once a week). It was an hour long class, but it sure kicked my butt, even back then. This 1 day of 2 hours of dance class per week was all the real exercise I got (other than my 2 hours of PE once a week at school, which I hardly call exercise) for years, and with it (along with other factors such as still growing, being pretty young and thus most likely blessed with a high metabolism) I could eat anything I liked and never gain a pound. Of course I didn't realize this until I stopped taking dance and packed on the weight.

Anyhow, back to the jazz class. We had an annual recital, so we basically spent about 1/2 the class doing warmups (think stretching, crunches, leg lefts, etc) and general dance moves (picture a pool sectioned off for swimmers - we sectioned the room that way and trotted along from 1 side to the other doing pirouettes, leg kicks, etc. We also did non-line things like jazz squares and other things I can't recall). The other 1/2 of the class was spent working on the routine we would be performing at the recital.

Apparently I have alot of dance terms living somewhere deep, deep inside my mind that were used in those classes from way back when. Honestly I can't even remember learning them (I'm sure they were moves we did regularly during that first 1/2 hour of jazz class), and I sure can't spell them, which is ironic as most of them sport French names, and I do speak French. Let's see: pas-de-bourré sound familiar to anyone? Say it paw-duh-boo-ray. Now is it familiar? I certainly know the sound, can't picture the dance move, and don't have a clue if I'm writing it properly - but if I am, it means "no drunks". I sure hope I'm writing it correctly! What a great name for a dance move, huh? Actually I think the move is kinda going in a circle, so maybe that's suppose to be the walk of a drunk?

Oh yeah, right. This post was about aerobics DVDs. I'm getting to that. So I got a new Denise Austin (I keep wanting to say either Jane Austen or Denise Powers for some reason) aerobics DVD earlier this week - Cardio Dance and Sculpt. Now, I'm not sure what I was expecting. Maybe I thought Denise would teach me how to shake it at a club. Maybe I thought I would love dancing in social settings after learning the moves in this DVD. Whatever it was that I thought I was getting, this wasn't it. What it IS though, is a trip down nostalgia lane! I get to do the grapevine, the mambo, the cha cha, pivots, chassée (that one I know I got right!), and many other moves that are ever-so-familiar to me thanks to my old dance classes. This video is honestly almost just like my dance class - only free! Only problem is, I'm not 6-14 anymore, and I have a ways to go before I will be in shape.

I did this video twice. It has a 5 minute warmup, a 19 min cardio video, a 19 min strength training video (I have not done this one at all as I don't have any dumbbells at home yet), and a 5 min cooldown. The first time I did it, I got chest pains after getting about 8 minutes into the cardio video. Not like screaming mad I-had-better-stop pains, but pain all the same. My heart raced. I was completely out of breath, and honestly the moves don't look like they require you to move that much - oh but they do. I honestly considered stopping the video halfway through. But I pushed through and I came out victorious. I even did the cooldown, even though the only cooldown I wanted to do right then was lie on the couch in front of the fan.

Tough does not begin to describe those 29 minutes of exercise. Whoever thinks aerobics DVDs are a lame alternative to the gym - I defy you to do one like this (assuming you give it all you've got) and not get a good workout. I tell you I got 10x the workout with this than I get on the elliptical at the gym. Granted, I felt just awful by the end, so have to keep that in mind.

Well, I did this video again 2 nights ago. This time, I did the stretches that I had learned in Denise Austin's walking DVD for about 15 minutes before I started. I could kick higher during the cardio video, and when it came time for the cooldown stretching, I could stretch a LOT further than usual. I didn't get any chest pain, though I was significantly out of breath as well as sweating up a storm, despite doing this at night with 2 fans pointed directly on me. But you know what? I didn't even think about stopping halfway through that time. It was just the right amount of difficult. I look forward to the third time I will do the video, most likely tomorrow, to see how I improve then vs the 2nd time. I will make sure to stretch first, I think that helped alot.

For tonight, I'm aiming to go to the gym. For some reason, I'm itching to give running another shot, on the treadmill. Perhaps it's because of all the running success I'm reading about on Get Fit Slowly. I'll try to remember to keep a slow pace, even if I think I can go faster, and see if that helps with the side pain I suffer from when running.