I like to move, but I've never been one who's been drawn to formal exercise, more like one who is always tapping her foot or getting up to walk around. My job was great for that. But I don't have that job anymore, so I could greatly benefit from better aerobic and strength fitness -especially at my age. You may be as young as you feel, but your body doesn't always cooperate with your feelings. Anyway, exercise pretty much helps with everything from head to toe, and I'd like some of that help. :)
At this time of year, when it's cold outside, I spend a lot of time inside under a blanket. To counteract that, I have been trying out various exercise classes. I have been a gym member for a couple of years but only visited it every few months—never enough to get comfortable with anything. Now that I'm retired, I have more time and class options, so here are the classes I've tried recently.
Ballroom dance: This is through the rec department, and Ward and I have been going on and off for a year. It's a one-hour weekly class, and we focus on two dances per session. Now we're working on the samba and tango. This class makes me sweat, but it's not exhausting. It's also a good mental challenge as I try to learn the steps.
Line Dancing: This class meets for an hour once a week at a dance studio. It is advertised for seniors, and the dances are simple. However, it's another one that definitely makes me sweat. The instructor is playful, and the class is a lot of fun. It's just about my speed.
The classes below are at the gym.
Zumba: This is an hour of continuous dancing. I'm better than I was, but I still struggle to keep up with the moves. I find the class challenging and am ready to quit after about 20 minutes. However, I have been sticking it out to the end, but with less vigorous movements than most of the class is doing. I hope I will improve on all counts if as I keep going.
Pilates and toning: I am new to Pilates and found the class good for stretching and toning. This particular one incorporated weights. Even using the lightest ones they had, I was challenged and was sore for a couple of days afterward.
LIIT (Low-Intensity Interval Training): This class does 30 seconds of an exercise and 10 seconds of rest for 45 minutes. Different from HIIT (High-Intensity- Ward goes to this), LIIT does not do a lot of jumping. There were a fair amount of weight exercises during which I used no or light weights. I found it challenging but doable.
Strong and Balanced: This class was advertised for the over-50 crowd and focused on strength and balance. The class used weights and a chair. I especially appreciated that it concentrated on the entire body from head to toe. It was just about right for me at this point.
Tai Chi: I had never done tai chi before and was told there were many different kinds. We did a meditative type. It was 30 minutes of slow, continuous movement. In fact, the hardest part of the class was going slowly. The lights were dimmed, and gentle music played in the background. It provided good stretching with a focus on slowing down your thoughts. This is an important class that I hope to do more often.
Yoga: Ward and I did couples yoga for Valentine's Day. It was fun but not something I would want to do every day. I have to be careful not to hyper-extend my loose joints in yoga classes.
I would go back to any of these here. There is enough variety in time and activities that I should be able to reach my goal of 3 days of aerobic activity each week and at least 2 days of strength training. When the weather warms up, there will be more outdoor opportunities to be active.
Wish me luck. Follow through with regular exercise has never been my strong point, but I feel hopeful this time will be different.
Until next time...
