Owner: If Not Now URL:http://kimmyslittlespot.blogspot.com Join Date: Fri, 09 Feb 2007 14:18:06 -0600 Rating:0 Site Description: A Zumba blog! Come find out how I went from fat and lazy couch potato to Zumba instructor. Warning: read this blog for too long and you'll want to Zumba nonstop too! Site statistics:Click here
The eating. It has to stop.
My Zumba certificatio... 2007-07-24 14:45:00 The eating
. It has to stop.My Zumba certification class is Saturday (Saturday!!!) and in some seemingly backwards anticipation of it all, I've been eating nonstop for two or three days. The other day? I had FOUR ice cream cones. Seriously. I had one before work, one at break, and TWO on the way home.I don't know what the hell is wrong with me but it is stopping NOW.NOWWWWW.So help me, if I have to start wearing my old fat clothes. I'm kicking my own butt.
this is zumba 2007-08-01 22:38:00 After you watch this, you're going to go to zumba
.com and find your nearest class. It's that good. Just trust me, watch:
zumba shoes 2007-07-31 14:07:00 So...I just checked out my tracking for the site and I noticed that a lot of you are here looking for Zumba shoes
.You came to the right place! I love shoes!! :)Let me show you what I wear and what other shoes are really good.These are from Target. I don't know if they still have them but they'll have something similar for dirt cheap. Payless ShoeSource will too. I've been beating these things up four times a week since October and they're still in good shape. Not bad for seven bucks! They have fabric-y, felt-y stuff on the bottom for easy swivelling.I just ordered these from ebay, but if I hadn't found them there I would have got them from zappos.com. They just look fun. I'm a little nervous they won't hold up. They're from Rocket Dog. Rocket Dog shoes make me drool a little, but for the money they start to look shabby pretty quick.These are PUMA Lena Wn's, and Rocket Dog Juliet that I found on zappos.And leave it to VictoriasSecret.com to have more shoes I must have. And whil Read more:zumba
i did it! 2007-07-31 13:51:00 I got certified to teach Zumba on Saturday! Uh huh, oh yeah, that's right, I'm hot, you're hot, she's hot...But oh, what a day. The woman teaching it--her name was Ann--was totally somethin else. She could MOVE and what made it great (for me, at least) is that she's not this tiny little thing either but she's so comfortable in her body that she made everyone want to move! She rocked the place. Cuz, remember, I was so nervous about being the biggest person there, no one wanting a "fat Zumba instructor", blah blah blah? Well, I'm not nervous about that anymore.The class totally pushed me to the edge. It was great to work with an instructor who has been doing it for so long and who has made her class really hers. She also teaches cardio strip so we did an...interesting...cool down. :) By the end of the class I felt like I was at the very end of my endurance, and I don't ever push myself that much. If my legs and arms and abs and lungs didn't tell me how hard I'd worked, my apeti
Yay! 2007-08-10 10:40:00 Guess who just got offered a class at the Y?!!No, guess!!Me! Me! I'm going to teach Zumba!!!I still have to get with my "other job" to get Thursday nights off but it shouldn't be a problem. I'm so excited!!YAYYYYNow I have to go practice. I hope my new music comes soon so I can start my new class off with some new stuff no one's seen yet.So freakin excited.Go me, go me go me go mee!
getting a jawb 2007-08-08 23:23:00 Well, this doesn't have so much to do with weight-loss but it has to do with Zumba so oh well. See, I'm trying to get a job teaching Zumba--trying to be proactive in my job hunt like my marketing materials tell me to be--and some of the places I've checked out want a resume, as opposed to a job application.Now, normally, this isn't a big deal. I have a resume I keep on file that I can update every now and then in case a really juicy deal comes along. Not that I'm expecting it to--I'm too comfy with the whole home-with-the-kids-all-day thing--but y'know. Just in case. Because someone might bust down my door wanting to thrust a writing-acting-graphic design-making lattes job at me as long as I have my resume immediately available.Where was I?Oh yeah. So the thing is, I have zero experience in the fitness industry. And now, all of a sudden, I want--I need--to teach Zumba. Is that so crazy? I love my Zumba like (trying very very hard not to use low-blow analogies like "like Whitney
the hump factor 2007-08-17 16:28:00 The humps. You know I hate 'em.Most women, and certainly any mom trying to lose weight, knows what I'm talking about. The big hip-humps that make wearing low-rise jeans a thing of the past. They also make it extremely difficult to track a girl's weight loss progress by measuring tape.So, I've been trying to track my weight loss. The scale doesn't help because I'm losing fat and gaining muscle and the numbers on the scale stay in just about the same spot. Very discouraging so now I just stay off the scale altogether. I'm keeping an eye out for a decent price on a good fat analysis scale though--that would be nice.And measuring doesn't seem to work either because apparently I suck at trying to measure in the same spot each time. Like I need tattoos around the various parts of my body so I look like the body-measurement diagram in clothing catalogs. Y'know, the things that help you determine your size but don't really help because you order what should be your size and you get i Read more:factor
studying 2007-08-23 09:43:00 Studying for my Group Exercise Certification sucks.And I'm pretty sure I'm just going to forget everything after I take the test anyway.That is all. Read more:studying
2007-08-21 19:31:00 Just got back from zumba class and my instructor friend Tina let me lead one of the brand-new songs with her. It was SO fun--I love the new stuff. It's rockin. Complicated, but awesome. Tina and I practiced on Saturday and I've been playing the CD nonstop, causing my kids to say things like, "Mom! Is this Zumba again?!!"I was so excited cuz Tina told the class I'd be teaching on Thursdays and after class several women asked what time my class would be. So it's good to know that there are some people who won't mind taking my class. ;)So mostly I'm feeling pretty good about my upcoming teaching job. I'm even calling some local gyms to see if I can pick up some more classes (but not too many because I don't want to kill myself). I did have one moment tonight where I thought it's a good thing God gave me red hair because then when people talk about my Y's Zumba instructor, maybe people will refer to me as "the redheaded one" instead of "the short fat one", but other than that I'
ow 2007-08-30 14:03:00 So I just got home from teaching my very first class all by myself.Lemme tell ya. Teaching? Is a lot different from just going.I am going to be so sore tomorrow.Scratch that. I'm sore now.There were only three people in the class, which is pretty much the norm for summer afternoons at the Y. I was hoping for five or six, but whatever. We did ten or eleven songs. Halfway through the hour-long class I was already clock-watching, which never happens when I'm in someone else's class. With other instructors, it's always like, "Oh no! It's over already!" But it's way different when I know exactly what the moves are going to be so I can give them everything I've got. And when I'm worrying about what songs to play and trying to get the CD player to work (you can't press the buttons too nicely or too hard...you have to massage them or it won't play) and flipping through CDs to get to the songs I want because when I tried to make a mix CD last night it wouldn't work and let's not for
on the schedule 2007-08-29 11:23:00 I just got a copy of the new fall schedule at the Y and there's my name! In print! WooHoo!I can't believe it. Not that long ago I was telling myself that I would never teach Zumba, or any other fitness class. That was for fitness nuts. And I wasn't one of them.Then I took Zumba, and loved it, but I told myself I could never teach it unless I lost fifty pounds. "No one will take a class with a fat instructor," I told myself.Then I got certified, but I told myself no one would want to hire me because I'm forty pounds overweight and I have no background in this sort of thing.Then I got hired and here I am, anxiously awaiting my first class! Can't freakin believe it! ;)I want to say thank you to everyone who has been so nice and encouraging, like the girls in class who told me I was good, and asked if I was a dancer or an instructor before the thought of teaching ever crossed my mind, and the other instructors who have been so helpful and nice and complimentary and who've given me so
junk-food fast: day two 2007-09-19 22:38:00 Still tired and cranky. It's weird--the times when I might otherwise reach for some kind of junk food are now spent walking into the kitchen, pausing, saying, "Oh yeah..." and then going back to whatever I was doing. Makes me realize just how often I was shoving some kind of crap into my mouth.I have Zumba class tomorrow night (yay!) so I really need to go to bed and then spend tomorrow drinking glass after glass of water so I can not die the next day. Seriously, the morning after a Zumba class can feel just like a hangover! Sore, headachey, nauseous... but I don't want to go to bed yet because I want to go over my music and adjust my playlist.I guess it will have to wait though...I'm starting to see two of everything. A sure sign (yawn!!) that it's time fo---zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
junk-food fast: day one 2007-09-18 22:07:00 Wow, today totally sucked!!OK, well, it wasn't really that bad. I had no energy, took a nap--almost missing getting the girls off the bus in the process--and got absolutely none of my overwhelming to-do list done, but I had a nice enough day. Went to bible study this morning. Ate fruit and pita and hummus because the bible study ladies are doing a "Daniel" fast as it happens. Dropped Devy at the bus. Took Bek Halloween costume shopping. Napped. Had to drink a Diet Rockstar if I wanted any chance of making dinner and getting through work. Did both, barely and with the help of my handy dandy mp3 player.Really wanted junk food though.
2007-09-17 22:28:00 You know how, whatever your profession, if you care about what you do, there is someone who does what you do, better than you do it, because they're more experienced/more talented/whatever, and that person is an inspiration for you in how you do your thing?This is Tanya B. She is my very favoritest zumbadora:I don't know what it is that makes her that ideal mentor-type--something about her style, and every time I watch her I am struck by how body-aware she is. The thought that always comes to mind is, "...she always knows where her hands are,"--y'know, in relation to her body. She's not just flailing around, I guess. Plus, she can mueve la colita like nobody's business! ;)Anyway, she is coming to NY state. Not super-duper close to me, but close enough considering I thought I'd have to go to Florida to take a class with her. But yeah, she's coming to NY this fall to lead a certification and I have to be there! I would so love to be able to learn from her. I've been trying to tak
thursday night zumba 2007-09-07 22:26:00 So my first class of my very own was last night.It. Was. Awesome!!Everyone seemed to have a great time, there were a lot of familiar faces from other classes, and therre was a lot of energy going on.There was a really great song that I'd been practicing nonstop for three days in an effort to bring something special to my class and I totally rocked it! That made my night; after that there was no stopping me. :) And my instructor friend Tina stayed even after having just taught cycling for an hour. Girl's gonna waste away to nothing one day, I tell ya. :)People kept stopping by the class to peek in on their way to the Nautilus room, and one woman came in after stopping to peek. Zumba, man, I tell ya. It sells itself!I felt really good; I bought an outfit I looked good in, the lighting in the room and the sound system in the room I'm in now are superior to the other (bigger, darn) room, and there were like 10 or 15 people there.SO much fun.I really need to gett insurance though. So I c Read more:zumba
people like me shouldn't blog 2007-09-05 23:38:00 Why do some people
just have to try to bring other people down? Are they SO miserable?That's it. I'm way too sensitive for this internet crap.I was on YouTube browsing through videos looking for choreography videos for Zumba class. There was this one chick who make a whole series of videos on how much Zumba sucks/is stupid/should tell people they look bad in tank tops before letting them up on stage. She was so mean! I couldn't help wondering what she was doing there if all she was going to do was make fun of people.Oh. You mean, like, maybe that is why she was there? Do people really suck that hard? Part of me really, really, wanted to comment and point out that she's no prize-winner herself. The better part of me argued that that would just make me like her. So I totally started a flame-war on her butt.OK, kidding. I kept my mouth shut.And then I commented on this other video to tell the girl how great a dancer she was and I would love to try some of her moves in my class. Someon
my class starts in two days!!! 2007-09-04 20:47:00 OK so I subbed for another instructor's class
last Thursday and today (today's went sooo much better, by the way...I didn't say "oops" once!), but these have been practice. My very own class is on Thursday night.That's two days away!!I've spend every possible free moment on my first class, making up a playlist, learning new songs and choreography (like the song I just took a break to practice because it just came up in the playlist I'm listening to as I type--I just did the whole thing all the way through without looking for the first time and only messed up once!!), and practicing practicing practicing.I have become a car dancer. Hey, I've gotta squeeze it in where I can!I want to prepare a class that's my own, rather than a carbon copy of anyone else's Zumba class, which is a bit of a danger for me, having attended the same classes for the last year. I want my class to be as nonstop as possible, rather than have lots of breaks in between to explain choreography to the class.
workout clothes 2007-08-31 23:54:00 Let's talk workout clothes. Specifically, what you wear to work out when you're not a size 4. Even more specifically, what you wear to work out when you're an instructor and you're not (yet? hehe) a size 4.When I first started Zumbando a year ago I wore big baggy pants and big baggy t-shirts. Then I realized I felt a little better about myself if I wore closer-fitting clothes, so as I got a little smaller I started wearing loose-fitting workout pants and a close-fitting tank top. Usually all-black, to better conceal the rolls. :) I wasn't crazy about people being able to see my arms, but it was the compromise I made--either swim (and sweat!) in a huge tee or be cool(er) in a tank. Then as I got a little smaller I went for even closer-fitting clothes and was feeling pretty good about myself. I mean, I sure don't go out in public in my workout clothes but they were cute enough for the gym. And I ventured out of the world of all-black and into color. I think that stemmed from my inc
junk-food fast: day whatever 2007-09-28 22:31:00 OK, so what's it been now? Eleven days? To tell the truth, I'm not missing the junk food too much. But what is killing me is just the feeling that I can't have it. Like, "Hm, I could go for a little something sweet. Maybe a Hersey Hug--Oh! Wait! Noooo."Grr.But! The good news is I lost a few pounds, from bloatiness and whatever
. I'm still super-sleepy, though, so I'm thinkin I have to pick up an iron supplement. Iron supplement. Bah. Nothing makes me feel old like needing to take some kind of pill, I tell ya. At least my vitamin and my calcium come in yummy chewy chocolate and caramel varieties.Not that I ever remember to take them.So freakin tired.I had my fourth Zumba class last night. I'm just lovin it SO stinkin much. I had a great, energetic class last night, which was good because I'd had a bad day and I told the class they'd better be ready to move because I was gonna just pump up tha jamz, yo. :)So I brought it and they took it. Felt good. Felt goooooood.Then when it was
shut down orkut 2007-09-25 23:01:00 Hey y'all:There is this website called Orkut. I won't go into what it is but read up on what's going on with it here: click here and click hereAnd then click here to sign an online petition to get rid of it: petitionIt's about protecting our children, so please check it out.Thanks. Read more:shut down
that? that's just the sound of my legs crying 2007-09-25 14:22:00 I had a great, very active weekend. I went to a retreat up in NH. They fed us well--lots of salad and grains and fruit and stuff, I had NO problem sticking with my junk food fast--and I got lots of exercise. Not only is the campground extremely hilly (UP down UP down UP down--my thighs are killing me) but there was a rock wall (I rocked it, haha) archery and rifle ranges, volleyball until 1 am, and oh yeah, Zumba!!OK, I know I'm supposed to leave work home on things like this, but c'mon, we're talking Zumba here!I wore my instructor jacket all weekend and finally my bunkmates asked what it was so I told them. They asked if I would show them so I got out the CD player and music that I just happened to have in my car and we had an impromptu mini Zumba class in our cabin. They loved it! So that night, after evening festivities were over, we played volleyball and then Zumba'd some more! They liked it so much that I think we might even have a new instructor or two on our hands!Then yest Read more:crying
junk-food fast: day frikkin 12 or something 2007-10-02 00:25:00 It's almost 1:30 am, and I'm still wide awake.Diet Rockstar. You drink that stuff, you can go 3, maybe 4 days straight. Freakin crazy.Anyway...I am getting very frustrated.We have a very strict budget here in the If Not Now household. We're paying off debt, saving for a house, all that good stuff, so it's all for a good cause. But it makes grocery shopping a royal PIA. Seriously! You try buying for a husband who refuses to eat any kind of health food, three kids who eat like kids and need school snacks, juice boxes, and the occasional treat, and yourself, especially when you're trying to lose weight, and you do it on a budget, and I swear your sanity will start to ebb.I don't really know what else to say about that. (Hey, gimme a break, it's way past bedtime here.) How do you save on groceries? And don't give me the grocery game crap--I have no time or patience for any of that. You know what I mean--those people who clip coupons and pour over the sales fliers so they can match Read more:something
sorry, can't talk now... 2007-10-15 12:18:00 ...I'm practicing the new zumba choreography I just got in the mail. But! You have to click here and check out the coverage of Zumba on the Today show!!! with Beto, Tanya, and Gina--who all look fantastic by the way. And I want those boots. ;)Just follow the link and scroll through the featured videos until you come to the Zumba one. Enjoy! But oh, you might want to stay away from the Zumba website today. Apparently everyone went straight from the Today show to their computers, and the website is slow as all getout. But, yay!! Read more:sorry
"So...what IS Zumba, exactly?" 2007-10-05 22:43:00 I get asked this question a lot.Here's the boxed-up answer: "ZUMBA is a fusion of Latin and International music - dance themes that create a dynamic, exciting, effective fitness system!" But that doesn't really begin to explain it.Zumba is...a PARTY! It's rockin music, thumpin rhythms, dancing, jumping, sweating, and totally forgetting you're getting exercise. Doing Zumba, you'll reshape your whole body without even realizing it!I'm not just talking the talk here--I'm walking the walk, people. A year ago I was a total couch potato. At 5-foot-2 and 185 pounds, I was obese. And how that word scared me! I was tired all the time, depressed, and never had energy to play with my kids or get together with friends, or do anything else that wasn't sitting on the couch in front of the TV eating junk food. I would go to the gym for a couple of weeks here and there but it never stuck.Then in the fall of 2006 my YMCA introduced a Zumba class once a week. My sister had raved about Zumba to m
interesting article 2007-10-05 21:59:00 I got this from the Gold's Gym website:Exercising in Segments Helps Burn Fat Study finds benefit in 20-minute rest between half-hour workouts 08.31.2007 Sitting for 20 minutes between 30-minute workout sessions burns fat faster than exercising without a break, Japanese researchers are reporting. The researchers tested the blood of seven men -- average age 25 -- during and after exercise on a stationary cycle. The men participated in three different activities: one hour of exercise and one hour of rest afterward; 30 minutes of exercise followed by a 20-minute rest and then a second 30-minute workout followed by an hour of rest; and an hour of rest without exercise. The men sat in a chair during the rest period. The workout that was broken into two half-hour segments resulted in more fat breakdown than the other two activities, the researchers report in the June issue of the Journal of Applied Physiology. The second half-hour workout also showed a greater boost o Read more:interesting
drink more water! 2007-10-05 12:07:00 Ugh...I have a Zumba hangover today.You'd think by my fifth class (fifth? I think so...) I'd remember to drink water
all day.Uuuuuhhhh.So now I have that stiff-neck, vise-grip-around-the-temples hangover headache.But hey! Class was superfun! :)And I have great news, thanks to my pal and fellow zumba instructor Lee--she pointed out that, according to our messageboard, my favoritest Zumbadora, Tanya B. (she of the video I posted a while back) choreographed our next ZIN (Zumba Instructors Network) DVD.So that means it's totally gonna rock! I'm so excited! But yet, still so hungover! So, I'm excited on the inside, while remaining as still as possible on the outside.uuhhhhh...What was I saying? Yeah, so class was fun. A really good workout. You know, all you people out there looking for a workout? Especially you--you who do not like to work out but know you should? I dare you to try Zumba. Go to the Zumba website and use the Geolocator to find an insructor near you. And if there aren'
mmmmm, sugar... 2007-10-17 14:15:00 Er...I have a confession to make. I broke my 40-day junk food fast right around day 23, and I've been eating "whatever" for the last week or so. Which kind of sucks because if I'd kept at it, I'd be at day 30 now. Whatever.Good news is, I've realized that I feel and look much better when I'm not eating junk food all the time. (Revelation!! And there was a light shining from the heavens with much angels rejoicing...) Hey I never said I was bright. ;) So I'm making a deal with my family: I am not buying junk food from the grocery store anymore. No cookies for school snack. No fruit roll-ups. No juice. No after-dinner ice cream. And in exchange, I will take the family out once a week for a treat of some sort.I don't really want to have to do this. I'd much rather be able to have the junk in the house for a sometime-treat. But when it's here, it's the easiest thing to grab. And it's being grabbed way too often, and not just by me.I expect something of a rebellion. My dear, sweet
2007-11-02 09:57:00 Whee!I just got back from my interview and audition at one of the other local Ys. It went really well; since I already teach at a Y affiliated with that Y, all I had to do was show that I could move and cue, and fill out a few papers. And the woman asked me to bring a couple of songs to do, but I got, like, five seconds into the first one when she said something I didn't hear and went to stop the song. I thought maybe she just wanted to move along to the next song but then she took the CD out and said I did great and that was her favorite Zumba song anyway. Hee, yay!I'm so excited--I wish I could start today! Unfortunately though, I won't get on the schedule until January, when they start their new schedule for the winter. I do get to sub when they need me, though. Yay!I got a couple of really big compliments last night at class. One of my students, who has actually been taking Zumba with Tina as long as I have, remarked on how much weight I've lost. And a couple of teenaged girls
new pictures 2007-11-01 11:42:00 Sigh...it's been so long, and I have such a long way to go. Anyway, these are me at 170 and a size 14. Check out me at 180 and a size 18 here.
2007-11-06 11:23:00 I went to the "other" Y today to take the class taught by my new boss:I was late. Big surprise there! The class was at 9, and I can never get to my own Y for the 9 o'clock Zumba class without being 15 minutes late. I don't know what I was thinking would be any different here.Bek was totally fascinated by the people working out in the cardio/nautilus room. I couldn't get her to move! She just wanted to sit there, watching the people on the elliptical machines and stuff, all stinkin morning. I had to drag her to childwatch.Finally got to class. The instructor, aka my boss, seems like such a sweetie! But her class is a lot different than I am used to. It's still good. It's just very reminiscent of other aerobic classes you've been too. When I'm working out, I want to forget I am working out. I don't want to be reminded by anything that would be at home in a step class or something. Turn up the music, and let me dance. And oh! She was off the music, which bugs meeeeee. But that's
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