Jane: fit-less?

The ads in the paper are full of pictures of treadmills, ab rockets, and heavy bags. It must be January, the month of resolutions to get fit!

So I'll stick with my physical activity theme.

This fall, our Tae Kwon Do school went through a transition. Due to declining enrollments (and increased heating costs) we had to move out of our awesome facility. Master Hughes is continuing to teach a few kids, but just once a week, in a much smaller space, but it's not really enough for me and Robbie.

It was tough losing TKD. I love martial arts, and I had hoped I could continue for a long time. It's an awesome activity--I always felt like I was learning something new, and I made good friends at the school. Most of all, it is FUN! I really don't like to exercise unless it's fun.

So this fall, I was looking for some kind of activity to replace my twice weekly TKD classes. My job can be rather sedentary, so I seem to need exercise to combat an achy back and stiff joints. Plus I need to stay in shape for ballet! I guess I'm one of those "30 minutes of exercise most days" kind of people rather than a "7 minutes a week" kind of person.

I didn't want to increase the number of times I swim (just once a week) because I don't really like the chlorine. I had fun biking on Sundays . . . until the weather got cold. I tried out a noon exercise class at the Y, and it turned out to be "step" class, something that's antithetical to ballet (step develops bulky leg muscles, while ballet develops long muscles). It also wasn't fun.

And then I saw what I wanted to do on T.V.

Eli was home sick, and I was taking a break from writing to watch T.V. with him. We saw an ad for an exercise DVD that looked really fun: Turbo Jam!
It combines moves from dance and martial arts, the music is awesome, and the leader is encouraging but not silly. Plus, there are other people doing the exercises with her, so you feel like you're in a class.

I borrowed it from the library, along with several other DVDs and really liked it, so I ended up buying it. I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for a fun exercise video. I especially like the 20-minute workout and the Ab workout. I do those together.

Another video I discovered is called "10 minute solution. Fitness ball workouts"
What makes this one fun is that it uses one of those huge fitness balls--you bounce it, catch it, roll on it, . I mean, how fun can that be! I also like the way you can customize a workout, chosing from among 5 different 10-minute segments. I like "cardio," "abs," and "flexibility." I'm going to buy this one (I signed it out from the library, along with a couple of others that weren't as fun.)

So where I once was thinking I'd become fit-less without TKD, now I have a couple of options for home fun and exercise--options that are not time-consuming, customize-able, and FUN!