Let's Get Physical!
[ 2 April 2007 ]
(Like Olivia Newton-John.)
I am dying to find some kind of exercise that I really enjoy, & I thought some of you might have good suggestions…
We have a gym & a pool in our building, but going to the gym bores the pants off me, & I’ve never been much of a swimmer.
I regularly go for long walks in wildly inappropriate shoes, I am constantly dancing around my living room & I also bounce on a miniature trampoline whenever I feel I need it, but that’s about all the exercise I get.
I did a trapeze lesson a couple of months ago & I loved it, but regular classes are pretty expensive… & I’m going to a croquet club tonight! I formed a croquet team when I was at school & it was really good fun, but I wouldn’t say it’s wildly energetic. (Mostly I just like hanging out with old ladies.) I own rollerskates too, & I guess I should use them more, but I’m kind of afraid of breaking my face!
What do you do to get your heart-rate up?
Super-love & cupcakes,
Gala 
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WARNING! I am about to mention a game console! I have the Playstation eyeToy with Kinetic combat and it’s great fun shadow boxing varius types and species of opponent (less fun practicing stance transitions) and certainly gets you warm. Or take salsa classes for a light workout and samba for some outright cardio (and giggling fits when you get too hot to coordinate your feet any more!)
Hooping classes & yoga! i just started taking a series of classes & they are fantastique.
Oh my god, hooping! That is craaaazy! I used to go to ashtanga yoga classes a couple of times a week but I did it more for relaxation & to keep up my flexibility than anything. It’s a lot of fun but it doesn’t really fit into the ‘exercise’ group for me. I want to come home with weak legs & have to lie down!
Dance dance revolution for the playstation 2!! (excuse me, for also mentioning a game console.) It works wonders to get you in shape, and it definitely does not feel at all like actual exercise.
Put on your sneakers and go and explore a neighborhood you don’t know well! Or go through your own neighborhood and take the time to really observe all the little details you ignore in your daily rush. You’ll discover fun things you never realized, and you’ll get exercise to boot.
That’s so funny, I was actually going to comment and ask you this question as I have gym-lag as well. I can’t stand being there, waiting in line for machines like a cow or something haha.
I love dancing, and am taking a modern dance class at a studio. It’s only once a week, but I guess it counts for something. :)
I formed a croquet team in High School too… a few years earlier than you, so we wouldn’t have played your team. :)
It was a direct result of watching ‘Heathers’ to death, and hoping to find a naked Christian Slater on a croquet pitch some day.
They were tragic times.
:)
Hey Gala, I find running the ultimate exercise but I know it bores the crap out of some people. You get to look at stuff & listen to music and the endorphin high is good too!
Netball.. There are heaps of indoor netball places in NZ, you need a mixed team of 6, awesome work-out. Not sure about Oz.
Squash.. The best raquet sport EVER. It is super fast paced and not hard to pick up. Not for the timid though ;)
i used to go to circus classes in wellington, it is like $65 for 8 classes. and man it was so much fun, i think i nearly died laughing more that once, and it really gets you moving
more info hurr
http://www.circus.org.nz/
Dude, you live in Australia – surf!!! Or some sort of wave riding. Seriously! Best thing ever.
Ballet, like you suggested earlier.
Excellent workout which leads to strength but not bulk, and the option of wearing snazzy lycra based layered outfits. Perfect.
Seriously though, its great fun (and hard work). Look for an open beginners class and if you really like it you can move into slightly more serious classes. Will cost approx $8-$15 per class, but is normally cheaper if you pay for a whole term at once.
One of the benefits of it is that once you have learnt whatever warm-up or barre they teach you can practice at home to whatever silly music you want (i’ve been dancing for 18+ years and I still manage to freak my flat mates out occasionally when they come home to me practicing with Peaches blaring).
Pole dancing. I know, there’s all that stupid hype about how it’s the latest celebrity fitness craze and stuff, which makes it sound kinda lame, but really it’s fun. Well, I find it fun because I was one of those kids who spent all my lunchtimes spinning round on the monkeybars until I felt ill. One of my teachers has raved about http://www.poledivas.com.au/ which is in your neck of the woods.
Other than that I find Ashtanga yoga to be an excellent workout and if I don’t come home sweaty and wrecked then I know I’ve been slacking. Odd that it was cruisy for you.
not to sound hoochy or anything, but…
i LOVE carmen electra’s aerobic strip-tease workouts. like: LOVELOVELOVE them. i can’t even begin to tell you.
i admit they may seem lame or degrading or something, but there is nothing better than feeling sexy while getting a toned body.
i also love CARDIO KICKBOXIN — so much fun, so good for your body and it’s a great way to get in shape while making new friends and if you find a good dojo they can be the highlight of your week, like my class is offered so that once you pay the fee you can go as often or as little as you want… it’s offered 4 times a week and if i can go every singe one of those four days — I DO! i serisouly reccommend you give it a try.
good luck!
:D
At the moment, it’s easy dancing with fellow mums on a Thursday night, and hip-hop (aargh – my brain!) with the teenagers on a Friday night. And I run to and from dancing. (It takes 5 minutes.) Over summer I also had beach runs and West Coast surf action with my kids at Nippers.
In the school holidays I’ll do 2 gym classes a week – one yoga/Pilates and one step/pump (there’s no dancing in the hoildays).
And if I’m losing my mind and really need to do something/anything, I’ll go for a walk at night up all the hills I can find.
I’d love to be able to fit some ballet in there somehow . . .
I’ve started (over the last 3 months) buying super cheesy exercise videos from thrift stores… I’ve got all of buns of steel covered, and some kickboxing. I find them really funny, and they are a really good workout. I found a chunk of board for a step, and use little pop bottles as weights.
I also bought some 1980s one piece technicolour exercise outfits from the thrift store too (op shop, maybe, to you) which motivate me. I end up doing this maybe 3/4 mornings a week, and walk my dogs most days.
Opium — Surfing? But, SHARKS! & jellyfish! & I can’t swim! & I can’t afford a surfboard! & I don’t have a car! Trust me, I can trot out excuses until the cows come home… ;D
Kate — The ballet classes are sounding better & better…
Witnit — I have wanted to do poledancing for a while! I did some at Burning Man, haha, I spun around upside down & kicked my friend in the head with my huge platform boots! Poor guy, haha!
Carleen — Hoochy schmoochy, who cares if it works for you?! I have wanted to do it for ages actually, just like poledancing. It sounds like really good fun.
Robin — My parents used to do Buns Of Steel! Denise Austin, right?! Sooo funny! Great idea but I don’t have a VCR ;>
I danced for a number of years (ballet and toe) and that’s when I felt in my best physical shape ever. maybe an intro ballet class?
also, my gym offers spinning which I’m a little crazed about, it’s so much fun and it tones your whole body.
Belly Dancing! I find that my core strength is pretty awesome, as well as my leg strength. It also is really good for toning specific muscle groups (part of the whole idea is being able to isolate particular parts of the body).
I’d say check out Rachel Brice’s video (it has a bit of yoga on it, too), or Fat Chance Bellydance’s videos.
The best part is, once you know the basics, you don’t have to confine yourself to a particular video. Just put together some music and dance for an hour!
You don’t come home from yoga with wobbly legs? Man, my instructor always leaves us hanging in these three-minute down-dogs that just kill me!!! I always feel like jelly after yoga.
But cardio-wise, I am a spin class addict. Also known as indoor cycling. Nothing like a screamy (I mean this in the best, cutest way possible…) instructor to get you motivated and breaking a sweat. Oh, god, I want to go right nowwwww…..
It sounds stupid but… jump roping! or skipping (as we call it in New Zealand). Its easy as, all you need is a rope and you don’t need to leave your house! Just challenge yourself to do as many jumps as possible and try and beat it the next day… after jumping for a while it feels like youve been for a run! also it works out a few different parts of your body at once.. just remember to wear a good bra!
I did a beginners hip hop class a couple of months ago, everyone worked up a sweat and I couldn’t bend my legs for a few days without wincing… definately a very good workout.
I’m doing a beginners Pole Fitness/Dancing class tonight…
Details can be found at www.polefitness.co.nz
Will let you know how it was, if anyone is interested.
Ritalin, that’s where I learn and sometimes teach a little. Sharyn and Lisa are good people. Hope you enjoy it.
Definately yoga for me. Although, having said that I’ve just taken it up again after a two year hiatus and my limbs HURT.
I say get yourself a hoola hoop or make yourself one.
It’s super fun! great exercise and there’s tons of ways of going about it!
Plus it makes u feel little and happy really quick :)
Callanetics. I actually did it without realising back when I did ballet and modern but when I quit I lost muscle tone and, I’ll say it, got a little flabby. So I torrented the Callanetics in 10 Hours Challenge and was delighted to find it was easy and fun (once you know the moves basically you can put on weird music or watch tv whilst you’re doing it) and it does work quite fast whilst not putting too much strain on my back (which I put out a while back – OW)
I’ve been taking a boxing class once a week and it’s so fun!!! nothing like punching cute guys.. they never expect you to hit hard, but then they’re your new best friend once you do!! haha but it’s such a good workout. it’s not just arms because you’re ducking and stuff to so your butt hurts pretty bad the next day too.