Any other Zumba fans?

[Anita Latte]

I will pass along good wishes and questions to Mom.

 

Glad to hear that it was a fun day of Zumba...it'll be interesting to see how many people come back. Classes really are more fun with more people.

 

I drink a LOT of water. I have a bottle that I fill for class. It holds 1000 mL and I will drink the whole thing by the end of class. Keep in mind that Kelly takes breaks, even if they are small between songs so I really have a chance to drink a lot during class. It was much more difficult for me last night to keep up with the water (especially with my water having to be so far away from me)...but last night I brought one of those drink coolers?...the kind of cooler that is made to drink from...it holds about a gallon?...and I easily drank that and more last night. Rule of thumb is supposed to be 8 oz (just under 250 mL) per 20 minutes of activity...so I'm drinking a bit more than that...but then I sweat BIG TIME...I'm one of THOSE people in class... :D LOL.

[Tess111]

Hey Tess!

 

I've thought about doing Zumba in the Circuit (ZIC)...well, teaching it...one session is 30 minutes right? I'm not sure how the music varies for ZIC...when you say "Hip Hop", I wonder if you mean a Reggaeton? Is the "Hip Hop" in Spanish? According to Zumba fitness rules, 70% of the music is supposed to have a Latin/World music feel to it. Not sure if ZIC has a different rule or not. My understanding is that the class is right there in the midst of all the machines? And on carpet? Please be careful on the carpet...there is a product out there that can really make Zumba on carpet safer:

 

http://www.slipondancers.com

 

I have a friend that broke her foot doing Zumba on carpet. I know that the instructors usually modify moves to make it safer, but I would still get this product if I were doing Zumba on carpet. My friend had it at our instructor training (which happened to be on carpet)...she was the one that broke her foot, so she is prepared for anything now!

 

Please report back about the toning class. Variety in physical activity is always good if you are trying to be in a weight loss mode...varitety is what keeps exercise effective as time passes...Zumba, when an instructor mixes up the routines and moves, naturally has variety...but finding an instructor that really mixes it up the way you need may be difficult I am learning...my Mom has an advantage with her gym membership...I hear her talk about Evelyn, Melanie, Teddy, Young, and another instructor who name escapes me right now...

 

Amanda uses Korean Hip Hop, for the international part of the regulations.

The Curves here have laminate floors, so not so dangerous for doing Zumba. The only thing is that I have Zumba shoes, and they are OK on most of the machines except the one where one kick your leg back. But I can manage. I haven't been going to Curves because ZIC is done on Mondays and Wednesdays, and Monday is the Zumba Toning class and Wednesday I do regular Zumba in the high school gym. And I still do Zumba on Sat and Yoga on Sun, Tues, and Wed at lunch. And Zumba on Thurs. Robyn does a lot of Latin songs, and she does ZIC. I have heard that there might be a Zumba Aquafit class starting. What fun that would be!! The Zumba Toning class is fun, and even though it is only 1.5 lb Zumba shakers, I can feel it a bit the next day.

[Anita Latte]

I haven't done any of the specialty Zumba classes...glad to hear the toning class is fun...I love taking Pilates with Kelly so I haven't even tried to find one of those classes...teh Aqua Zumba classes are an interesting thought though...and something that would probably be pretty popular here in Texas where most subdivisions have a pool and people swim a lot.

 

Barbara...I totally forget to mention it, but I heard that Zumba is going to officially release something to the effect of "Zumba in a Chair" this summer...I don't know what this means. It was an announcement at the Zumbathon that I went to. Could be a DVD? Could be a new specialty training course? Or both?

 

When I heard the announcement, I was excited to tell you...with the two instructors that I know of that are wheel-chair bound (and there could be more), I know that one seems to be pretty well ingrained in the Zumba system, so perhaps this has been something that she has been a part of? IDK. It makes me wonder...Zumba is really great about figuring out different levels of intensity for movements...I've mentioned before the idea of legwork, then adding armwork, then adding "flavor" (engaged core/hip movement)...so perhaps they have figured out a way to do the same with a chair? I wonder if they will have a differentiation between people who simply need to exercise in a chair (might walk with a walker or other assistance) v. people who are skilled in wheeled-chair and might be able to actually MOVE around the floor in a chair. Does that make sense? Regardless...it'll be so interesting to see what the deal is this summer! I'll be on the lookout for more information for you and share what I know!

 

It was just me and the one lady again today in class. She is having fun though. We talked and I understand that she is enjoying the class so much and is just hoping that I don't get discouraged and cancel the class. She has patience to let the class grow and I do too, so we are all good. We had a good time again.

 

In Kelly's class last night, there were two ladies that came into the room about half way through to watch...it was right before we were about to the song "Shots" which is our kick-boxing song? Totally not a typical Zumba song, but acceptible...but again, not the best first impression to make...Kelly decided to skip over it...which I thought was a good call...we did it at the end....the one lady had left and the other had jumped in to participate.

 

I have been in serious avoidance of necessary housework...and I should definitely get to it. Hope everyone is having a lovely day!

[kasi1979]

Hi ladies,

 

hope you are doing well.

I´m counting the days til we are back onbaord and I´m down to a one-digit number, it´s 9 day to go :D

Yesterday I went swimming in the public outdoor pool, I was a little late so I just managed to swim 18 laps before they closed down for the night. Anyways, one lap equals 50 m, so I was doing pretty well. I managed 4 laps more than last week.

Unfortunately my caribbic bodystyle class was canceled due to no other participants but me :(

 

I´ll be off to a training in northern Germany, in the beautiful city of Hamburg from Monday to Friday next week. That´s why I have to put together everything I´ll need for our cruise by this Sunday, as I will have just one night at home between my training and our cruise.

I´m still looking into sport activities that will be available in Hamburg next week, as I´ve come so far, that I find it hard to imagine a week with absolutely no sports :eek:

 

Tonight is gonna be my yoga night, and tomorrow Zumba as usual. Afterwards we are heading out to my BIL, it´s his girlfriends birthday tomorrow and there´s double reason to celebrate, as BIL finally got a job. He graduated from university last year and spent nearly 12 month looking for a job, so this is absolutely great.

I booked cinema tickets for saturday, pirates of the caribbean 4 opens this week. Sunday will be a day of rest with just n hour of Zumba inbetween.

 

So what are your plans for the weekend?

[Anita Latte]

*Single Digit Dance* *Single Digit Dance* How exciting Kasi!

 

About the week you are in Hamburg...I looked up Hamburg on the zumba.com website and there are many classes offered in the evening. I have no clue about locations within the city and how far away some of them are...so check it out and see if there is anything close that will work with your training schedule. What a pain to have to deal with work travel right before your vacation...ugh...I'll be thinking good thoughts toward you this week to get your cruise prep done!

 

My weekend plans...Well...tomorrow I have a makeup class scheduled in the morning. Next Tuesday is a volunteer tea at DS's school...I'd like to attend so I rescheduled the class for tomorrow. Sunday, I have CPR/AED training for most of the day. I'd like to see the new Pirates of the Carribean movie this weekend too! I LOVE those movies. But we haven't purchased tickets yet...they sell them in advance so we'll have to see about whether or not we can get some.

 

Meanwhile...we have the most interesting health insurance through DH's work...everyone has this huge deductible, but then there are things that you can do to put money into a spending account that can be used toward the deductible...this includes doing a personal health assessment...certifying that you are not a smoker...and yesterday, I got a call from a health coach...if I commit to doing four 5-10 minute phone sessions with a health coach, we can get another $150 in the account...so, OF COURSE, I enrolled in that.

 

We ended up doing the first session right then and there...she had asked if I had anything to note for the coach when they called...put on the spot like that...I decided to talk ask about sports nutrition...I mentioned all the practice I have been doing and the teaching of classes...and what could I do that would be supplying the nutrition I needed and still help me lose weight? We jumped right into the answer to that...I'll share what she said to me...

 

About 20-60 prior to a workout, I should eat something that was lowfat, moderate carb, moderate protein...she had two suggestions...

 

1. A Nature Valley Granola Bar...the crunchy kind that come two in a pounch...if it is closer to 60 minutes...I could eat two...if it is closer to 20 minutes...eat one or half of one.

 

2. A piece of fruit and 1/2 serving of cheese...like an apple and cheese that wouldn't go above 3.5 g of fat...she didn't recommend peanut butter because of the higher fat content and sugar...I wonder about comparing natural peanut butter (what I eat, which has no sugar, only peanuts and salt) to cheese to see if that made a difference.

 

After a workout...she said that you have to eat protein within 20-60 minutes of the workout...this is when the muscles will do the most repair work from your workout and will need the protein...she recommended

 

1. A serving of chicken breast or tuna

2. 1 cup of something green

3. A serving of greek yogurt

 

Then we had to set a goal for me to work until she called me again in 4 to 6 weeks. I chose to be diligent in tracking my calories. I know that this has been the issue with my slow weight loss...I'm not paying attention to what I eat at all...it's fortunte that I am continuing to maintain or lose a bit considering what I have been eating...please note that I have not been reporting on my diet lately...because it has been HORRIBLE...SO...I figured this coaching business was a good thing...

 

So this is my own personal goal right now... I recommend the nutrimirror site to everyone...I have become lazy myself though...not using the site...not tracking my calories...and I know that if I am going to be serious about getting back on track...this will be the key...when I track my calories, I make better choices...I lay off the beer and wine...so this weekend, I will be setting aside some time to do the following:

 

1. Design a food inventory...I need to go through my freezer and pantry...and find a way to track what food is in the house to minimize waste and cost.

 

2. Make a meal plan...I know that what is in the freezer has been there for a bit...I need to clean it out...so I need to make a plan to use what's in it.

 

What is everyone else doing this weekend?

[Anita Latte]

Re: Kasi question re:Voyager

 

"Let's see. Table tennis, mini golf, basketball, volleyball and hot shots tournaments. Body sculpt bootcamp (4 sessions for a fee), stretch, shuffleboard tournament, adult soccer tournament. Pilates ($12). Ice skating (long pants and socks required). Various pool games and dance steps classes. Indoor cycling ($12). Fab abs class. Yoga ($12).

 

 

The weather has been amazing. We haven't had a bit of rain and warm temps. I'm afraid that my neon green shirt is this trip's version of last trip's beige jacket. It's the lightest coverup that I have with me. There may be way too many pictures with green shirt.

 

 

Wonderful day yesterday with Fabrizio. We were touring with a very reserved Asian couple. She had such a great day that she hugged me at the end! Great people.

 

 

Well tomorrow is a sea day. Catching up on sleep and packing. Tonight is another formal night and the 70's street dance party. Fun.

 

Sent from my iPod"

[kasi1979]

Thanks Anita for posting Pam´s info.

Sounds like they are offering a bit of everything aboard Voyager :)

Just reading it makes mit tingle all over and I want to get moving.

 

So you know the movie "Madagaska" ? Well, I like to move it move it...

 

DH is a bit stressed, so we had an argument upon returning hme, but I think he´s calmer now. So, it was nothing a pizza and sweets couldn´t cure ;)

 

Yoga was a really small group today and I managed it fairly well. But I have to get back on track with some pilates to strengthen my core. And when I return from my vacation I´ll finally go to a doc to get a checkup. There has to be a reason that I´m loosing null, none, absolutely nothing...

[Anita Latte]

I LOVE that song from Madagascar...LOVE it...I've heard that Zumbatonic (Zumba for kids under 12) will use that song...I was looking to see if I could get that song, but they only have the version from the second movie available for purchase on iTunes...

 

So I went to class this morning. Haven't been on a Sunday morning in a very long time. I'm not counting the time I subbed for Kelly. WOW...she put together one sweat producing routine! Holy Cow! My HRM said 788 calories...so definitely a harder workout than what we have been doing lately. I did notice on Monday night that the breaks in between the songs were definitely shorter or none...I was wishing that I had worn my monitor that night. Oh well.

 

But I felt like I could handle going today too because I have canceled Tuesday's class. There is a volunteer function at DS's school. Did I mention that already? ANYWAY...this week will look like Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, Thursday.

 

I'm in the process of trying to put together my own warm up song. I still use Kelly's. But I'm wanting my own. I've decided to use "On the Floor" by Jennifer Lopez featuring Pitbull. It's a little more clublike in feel than I prefer BUT...I really like the song. It's harder than I would imagine to put together a warm up...it's such a key thing to do actually...and if you dont' do it right...you can set yourself up for injury...so this is my current project.

 

Also...I found what I thought would be a really great song for a Flamenco or Tango...I've started checking out random CD's from the Latin section at the library...and this song is a random find from doing that...I've never even been trained or learned anything about Zumba style Flamenco or Tango...that's in the second training course...so I posted the song on the Zumba forum...a couple others loved it too...and one shared the choreography that she came up with...I'm pretty excited about that! here's the song, fyi...remember the Flamenco and Tango rhythms are all about ATTITUDE...the recommendation is to use these rhythms toward the end of class...maybe even as a pre-cool down kind of song to start to bring heart rates down...so stick with it...it's not a fast song:

 

 

Anyone else do Tango or Flamenco songs in their classes? I don't know how to describe Tango in Zumba terms...this is like part of the choreo that the instructor shared:

 

 

And Flamenco has a lot of stomping and hand claps...and also fancy arms and kind of slow lunging combined with graceful arm/hand kind of motions...ring a bell? I asked Kelly today if she has ever choreographed something like that...she said that she has been working on a song for 2 years!

 

Mom and Dad are off the ship and in Venice as I type. Probably won't hear from them again until they are back in the states on Tuesday. It's hard to find free Wifi in Venice. Mom describes their vacation as "fabulous"...I'm reallly looking forward to hearing all about it!

 

Hope everyone has had a great weekend!

[Anita Latte]

If you are reading this...you should have a nice glass of ice water in your hand...if you do NOT...then go get one.

 

Water...It's what's good for you. I'm getting myself some right now...

 

Zumba love!

[kasi1979]

Hi Anita,

 

actually this is my 4th glass of water. Day´s still young, I´m sitting in my training session, however I already did some sports this morning. I went swimming for half an hour and after a short breakfast walked over to the training academy, which is located in Hamburg´s old warehouse district called "Speicherstadt". That was about 1.2 km.

I´m planninh on hitting the pool again tomorrow morning.

The Zumba classes im Hamburg unfortunately are not in the city, so I just make do with swimming.

 

Tonight either my cousin comes to town or I´m heading to a musical performance, let´s see, what will take place. Yesterday I spent the evening doing some shopping and window shopping. Was really relaxing. It´s kind of already being on vacation, but on full pay ;)

 

Hope all of you are well.

I´m already thinking about what to pack in my suticase for our cruise.

[office fan]

Well, it's taken me a few days, but I've read through this entire thread! I doubt I'll be a regular participant, but I'll probably drop in occasionally.:o

 

I'll give a little background. I started doing Zumba in October of '09. My gym has it Tues/Thurs at 10AM, and I try to make it to both. Other days I do cardio on the elliptical or treadmill (I read or listen to my iPod), do strength training and take a couple pilates and/or yoga classes. I'm unemployed right now, so I'm taking advantage of the time to work on my fitness.

 

My biggest success was on our most recent cruise. My SO and I made a deal with each other that we had to be committed to working out on the cruise, and we stuck to it. We spent most of the morning in the fitness center doing cardio (Zumba for me...see Anita's other thread), weight training and stretching. We always took the stairs. The Epic is a big ship, and we were on deck 9, the fitness center was on 14 and the buffet was on 15. We made mostly healthy choices when eating, but also didn't deprive ourselves if we saw something we wanted. In fact, I'm pretty sure I had the fruit crumble with ice cream just about every day. Get this...neither of us gained any weight on an 11 day cruise!:D

 

Okay, so how's everyone doing? I've enjoyed reading about everyone's progress. I's nice to have some support, even if it is from across the globe, isn't it?

 

Goin' to get some water! ;)

[Member123]

I have to post quickly so that I can say Bon Voyage to Kasi before she leaves!

 

Bon Voyage, Kasi!

 

You will love Voyager; I'm absolutely positive about that! Your routine for the day sounds way better than your friend's "turn and burn" routine! The only problem with the cruise was just the same as other cruises... there is always a conflict of schedules... like they have the dance steps classes at the same time that they have some other function that sounds like fun.

 

OK. So... <drumroll>... I promised and I will post. I was actually kind of concerned about what the scale would show when I returned from a 13-nite cruise, land drop, 6-nite cruise, 3 days in Venice... fabulous food... limited opportunity to do structured Zumba classes...

 

I learned a few things. The most important thing that I learned is that I want to stop relying on the instructor to lead me through the choreography. I need to remember the steps more so that I can actually do a routine myself if I wanted to... because I ended up really wanting to. I had Anita send me some choreography steps to 2 different songs and I ended up doing them on my balcony. Which was something just short of brilliant because it was very funny (for me) to be doing Zumba on a balcony of a ship! And, also, the people were sitting next door on their balcony... having a bit of wine and a bit of a talk.. and I couldn't help but think that they were wondering what in the world I was doing as I was making the dance noise on my balcony... since I had my IPod on earphones and there wasn't any music for them to listen to.. just my bouncing feet :D .. plus, it does get boring to keep doing 2 songs over and over again. I burned about 300 calories before I stopped... anyway...

 

Also, as Anita mentioned, there were lovely ladies on board who loved to dance. I'm pretty sure they were either from Brazil or Spain.. but they were older ladies who were vacationing as a girls' time... so they were dancing without male partners.. and this was so perfect for me because my DH doesn't love to dance. So I would pop up and dance with them and I had such joy in dancing salsa, merengue, cumbia type dance steps with them! I think this activity helped me with my increase of calorie intake...

 

Also, there was a lady on board who loved to do 50's dances and there were so many venues on the ship that were dance venues for 50's, 60's, 70's music... so much, much dancing during the afternoon and night...

 

And I mentioned to Anita something that has happened to me as a result of doing Zumba! Which is.. that I have found that I really love to move... have body movement... sweat. Which is a new thing for me because I absolutely hate to do cardio machines in the gym... and I've never been a runner or a jogger. So I never really understood the "runners' high" that is talked about in the fitness books. Now I think I have a version of "Zumba high" because I love the way my body feels after it's been worked out really well with the Zumba classes.

 

So, I'm having wicked jet lag today. But I think I'll be ok tomorrow and plan to get back to the Zumba routines.

 

So, back to my original thought. I stepped on the scale this morning... had a terrible travel day yesterday. Left Venice at 11:35am on a flight to Philadelphia which was 9 hrs 30 mins. Had 2 hr 30 min layover in Philadelphia and every bit of it was used going through customs, baggage retrieval, rechecking baggage, security... lines were horrible. Left Philadephia at 6:00pm ET and arrived home at 8:35pm AZ time, which is 9 hrs behind Italy... which meant that it felt like 5:35am on a body clock... I had an 18 hour travel day!... really tiring... and of course I ate terribly during the day and I'm completely dehydrated...

 

So I looked at my weight before I left and it was 143.4 lbs and 20.6% body fat.

 

Today.... 145.4 lbs and 20.1% bodyfat.

 

I'm thinking that's pretty darn good.

[Joby]

Welcome home, Pam :)

 

Kim

[dmm30]

Kasi, have a fantastic time!! Pam, well done you - that is an amazing achievement (and glad you had a great time!!).

 

Anita, hope you're doing OK?

 

Welcome to all the new posters.

 

Will post more tonight - off to the gym just now then work :)

[kasi1979]

Hi Pam,

welcome home and congratulation on keeping your weight in line. Good job.

 

I´m still at the training in Hamburg. Today Queen Mary 2 is in Hamburg and as the cruiseterminal is right in front of the training center, it´s hard not to daydream... I´m taking a small boattrip tonight when Queen Mary 2 goes on her next sailing and take part in the Farewell-parade and watch the fireworks afterwards.

Tomorrow I´m heading home to re-pack my luggage, spent an evening with DH.

 

This week is sportwise a challenge. I´m walking quite a lot, as the citycenter of Hamburg is pretty compact and doable. I´ve been swimming two mornings out of three and plan to go tomorrow morning, too. Apart from that it´s too much food.

 

I hope starting saturday I can hit the pool daily. Hopefully it will be not too crowded, or I´ll have to wait til most people head off for an early dinner...

 

Pam, do you remember if any aqua-classes were offered onboard?

 

Take care, all of you,

 

kasi

[Member123]

Kasi, I don't recall any aqua sports, but I wasn't specifically looking for that. Keep in mind that the sailing I was on was a repositioning cruise from Barcelona to Venice and there was a change of Cruise Directors. Mercedes became the new cruise director; she's from Brazil. So she may have programs that are different. IDK.

 

I did want to tell you about the area in the Windjammer that has a made-to-order grill. It's really small and easily missed as there's just one person standing there. On embarkation day, they had the best stir fry option and most other days they had a pasta option where they had red or white sauce and you could add additional fresh ingredients like onions, peppers, mushrooms, etc. They usually had some type of shaped pasta. Really good. It's the area that is to the right of the soup station, between the two lines of similar buffet choices, across from the desserts area, at the back in the main section of the Windjammer.

 

Venice was really, really warm.. in the mid-80's! Take some mosquito repellent. They weren't really awful, but there were areas where there was a problem, mostly inside restaurants. We had such a fabulous meal at both Do Forni and Antico Pignolo (if you go make a reservation for the garden). They're are on the same street and are beautiful restaurants. OMG. Great pasta (of course, right?). Anyway, I didn't have problems with the mosquitos in the garden because of the insect repellent because they were definitely there (the little buggers... :(). Are you staying in Venice before boarding the ship or going out on the same day as arrival?

 

I know two people who are going to be on your ship.. Bob and Vivian Piu. Do you have all your shore excursions planned or do you need help in getting something together? They are just great people and lots of fun, if you think you'd like to do something on any port day with someone else. You could call their stateroom and tell them that you know me from these message boards and find out if there's something that Vivian has planned that you could go on as well. Vivian usually goes on private shore excursions... just an fyi.... Tell them Pam from the Tivoli shore excursion recommended that you call... if you want to...

[Anita Latte]

I just had the most fabulous evening!!! I'm on cloud 9...a Zumba HIGH! Whatever you want to call it...it was a GREAT evening...

 

Yesterday, sitting at home, minding my own business...a strange phone number appears on my cell phone...thankfully I answered it...and it turns out to be the owner of a Curves location...Kelly had given me the name of the lady in the past, but I never called her...it never felt right to call...the deal is that the owner is looking for someone to teach a half-hour Zumba class on Thursday night...idk...the distance to the location...it seemed like a lot of effort for a half hour class...

 

Fast forward to this phone call...

 

Kelly now had given my number to the owner...and so the Curves owner is calling me...would I be interested in teaching that class?...she is having all kinds of issues trying to get someone to teach this class...

 

So I commited to teach it tonight...but didn't commit for the future...

 

Since the call I have been on the edge of freaking out about this class...

 

As I am sure everyone could surmise by know...I care...I care a LOT...and I want things to be good...so I have to agonize over things a bit...I am becoming better though about working with where I am and what I've got...I am embracing Tim Gunn's "Make it work" moments...so today, in the midst of teaching my morning class, going to another end of the year event at school, I finally chilled out enough to put together a playlist for a half hour class.

 

And I hit the nail on the head...I am so thankful...

 

Who could imagine that here in Texas at our local grocery store that I would stumble on a display of coin hip scarves (belly dancing skirts)...LAST NIGHT...and I stocked up on those to have for people to use in my class...I am so GLAD that I did...

 

None of the other instructors had brought them to the evening class...Kelly always brings hers...so when the owner saw that I had some...and enough for everyone...she was thrilled...and the party atmosphere was established...

 

And for the following 40 minutes...we had a Zumba party...

 

There were about 12 ladies...at the end of every song...they clapped...and were excited...at the end of the class...they CHEERED!!!! It was so INCREDIBLE...the owner let them know that I wasn't commited beyond that night and every lady made a point of saying how much fun they had...would I please come back...in FACT...would I teach on another night as well? The owner pays for the two classes a week...Kelly's daytime one...and my evening...these ladies are willing to pay out of pocket for me to come on Tuesday nights...and the owner said that however many ladies come...I'll get to keep the collection...$3 a head...she said they have had as many as 22 people in their evening classes.

 

VERY EXCITING!!!

 

And THEY were so excited...the owner was excited...she explained to me that there were two knee replacements and one hip replacement in the room...I saw several wrapped ankles...the owner was 62 years of age and she said that she considers herself the gauge for how well the ladies can do...and they were all able to do...even if they were doing two to my four...they were doing...

 

I said that's the point...

 

And that IS the point...just to do it...at whatever level and ability you are able to do it at...again...the motto for me given by my husband...

 

Git 'er DONE!

 

My one 73-year old classmate for my morning classes at the rec ctr will be gone for the next two weeks...I'm going to do what I can to try to get the word out before the next session begins in two weeks...especially after tonight...I really hope to get more people into the class...it really is so much more fun with more people.

 

Sounds like everyone is doing well...Donna, good to hear from you, tell us how things are going!...Kasi, I hope all goes well with getting ready for your cruise!!!...Barbara, how's things?...I'm so glad Mom is back!!! It was wonderful to hear her voice again after not having heard it for so long! I'm still all excited!!!!

 

Office fan...welcome!!!:D Zumba love to everyone!

[Anita Latte]

Well, it's taken me a few days, but I've read through this entire thread! I doubt I'll be a regular participant, but I'll probably drop in occasionally.:o

 

I'm sure it would take a few days to get through all these posts! There is a lot of good information here...and I believe we are a positive, motivating group of ladies. :)

 

I'll give a little background. I started doing Zumba in October of '09. My gym has it Tues/Thurs at 10AM, and I try to make it to both. Other days I do cardio on the elliptical or treadmill (I read or listen to my iPod), do strength training and take a couple pilates and/or yoga classes. I'm unemployed right now, so I'm taking advantage of the time to work on my fitness.

 

My biggest success was on our most recent cruise. My SO and I made a deal with each other that we had to be committed to working out on the cruise, and we stuck to it. We spent most of the morning in the fitness center doing cardio (Zumba for me...see Anita's other thread), weight training and stretching. We always took the stairs. The Epic is a big ship, and we were on deck 9, the fitness center was on 14 and the buffet was on 15. We made mostly healthy choices when eating, but also didn't deprive ourselves if we saw something we wanted. In fact, I'm pretty sure I had the fruit crumble with ice cream just about every day. Get this...neither of us gained any weight on an 11 day cruise!:D

 

Being physically active is a lifestyle...it's fabulous that you have found a routine that works for you...one that you enjoy so much, you can do it on vacation...Mom was just saying to me about how she can understand about my Dad's need to work out on vacation. I should probably let her share this story...Mom please do...

 

Fabulous that there was a Zumba instructor onboard your TA cruise...and that you were able to do free classes with her...paying $20 to do a Zumba class is not unreasonable aboard ship...the fact is that there are probably so many people that would love to try it, that if it were free, it would be overrun, and the people that would really want to do it because they would want to keep up with their schedule would be frustrated...it's a pretty good weed out price...still expensive though...I bet my Mom would have paid that though on her TA, if it were available.

 

There are so many Zumba instructors now...the talk on the Zumba forum is all about saturation and competition and how easy it is to get licensed etc etc...but there seems to be a lack of licensed cruise instructors...they just must not be able to coordinate their sailing times with an actual class time and schedule...so they are rare...BUT...my guess is that there will be more and more traveling Zumba instructors that will want to work out themselves and be open to having company...I know that is the way that it will be for me on our March 2012 cruise.

 

Okay, so how's everyone doing? I've enjoyed reading about everyone's progress. I's nice to have some support, even if it is from across the globe, isn't it?

 

Goin' to get some water! ;)

 

It IS fun to read about everyone's progress...the thing that I think is the greatest fun is that so much time has passed and yet we are all still plugging away...still loving our Zumba...not giving up...overcoming life and the things we have to deal with...and slowly but surely making forward progress. Little things happen here and there that just let you know how much your body is changing whether or not you can actually discern the difference otherwise. I LOVE those moments.

 

Again, welcome to the thread...don't worry if you don't post too much...I think I talk enough for several people :o ...chime in whenever...sounds very much like you have made a lifestyle choice and tips, hints, encouragements, and other random motivation is ALWAYS welcome here.

[kasi1979]

Hello Ladies,

 

finally my suitcase is packed. It´s a few minutes past midnight, so, I´ll go on my cruise t o d a y :)

I think I overpacked, but with little time to prepare I´d be lucky if I have thought of the important things. Well, if not, we are staying in Europe, so it´s nothing a credit card won´t be able to take care of...

 

DH spent most of the evening altering an evening overall that I bought instead of a cocktaildress. I love pants, and it´s a stretchy material so it´s not so bad that I´m still lugging around to many pounds.

 

Hamburg was lovely. A bit like starting my vacation early.

I was aboard a little ship for a harour tour and afterwards we accompanied Queen Mary 2 a bit down the river Elbe. They celebrated with fireworks. It was quite a magical evening.

 

So, I hope you are all feeling great.

I do, I´m looking forward to this week on board and also to return to my Zumba classes afterwards. I hope I manage to keep my weight in check as well as you did, Pam.

 

Please take care everyone.

See / real you all soon.

[Anita Latte]

Have a fabulous cruise, Kasi! I'm so excited for you!

[Member123]

So, Kasi is either on her way or already in Venice! It's amazing that I missed her by such a short number of days. Meeting would have been outstanding. For Donna, too! I met a few people from Scotland, and a couple from Ireland... very fun loving people. There were a huge number of Germans on my cruise.

 

Anyway, I can't believe how messed up my biorhythms are with this darn time zone change I just went through. It's now Saturday and we flew home on Tuesday. I absolutely did not expect that I would have jet lag coming west... but I can't stay awake past about 10:00pm and I'm waking up around 5:00am-ish. It's really been amazing to get myself back into my time zone.

 

What was I thinking that I could go back to Zumba the day after travel? Well, I've missed several Zumba class opportunities. My DH has gone to the gym once since our return and he gave me an evasive answer when I asked him if going made him feel better or worse. But, today's the day! Zumba at 9:30am! Even though I woke up super, super early this morning. Still going....

 

Wonder if Zumba will totally kick my <ahem> gluteus maximus? Still think it will be good for my mental state. Hopefully. I'll let you know...

 

Bon Voyage, Kasi! Have a great time and let us know all about it. I can picture you on the ship. Speaking of which, Anita, I could post a picture... would that be bad?

Edited May 28, 2011 by Member123

[Anita Latte]

Wonder if Zumba will totally kick my <ahem> gluteus maximus? Still think it will be good for my mental state. Hopefully. I'll let you know...

 

Bon Voyage, Kasi! Have a great time and let us know all about it. I can picture you on the ship. Speaking of which, Anita, I could post a picture... would that be bad?

 

I predict that you will feel great DURING Zumba...and afterward it will feel more like when you first started taking Zumba...but that feeling won't last for long at all...your body will say THANK YOU, THANK YOU for moving me around like this again...and you will get right back into the rhythm of your classes.

 

We LOVE pictures...post away!:)

[Member123]

OK.

 

Just a word about Anita's prediction.... which was OFF......

 

way... way.... OFF....

 

I thought I was going to DIE. And that is literally, not figuratively. I couldn't believe it. I seriously couldn't believe it. Keep in mind that I wasn't actually a couch potato for the last month; I did do shore excursions and I walked a lot. I did dance on the ship. I didn't gain a bunch of weight. But....

 

:eek:

 

I definitely lost some cardio fitness. Big time. I thought Evelyn was going to kill me. Seriously. I looked at the clock at least a 100 times. About 45 minutes into the hour, I actually started praying for Evelyn to show some Mercy! Just a little Mercy, please!

 

It was terrible.

 

And I'm not exaggerating.

 

Now, I'm determined to go on Tuesday night because, seriously, if it was that bad then I can't allow any more time to go by before I get back to my regular workout schedule. Going tomorrow? Nope. I don't think so. But, Tuesday... definitely.

[dmm30]

Pam, your post gave me such a giggle :D It's surprising how quickly you lose it if you miss a few sessions. We've all been there and I'm sure you'll get back into it very quickly.

 

I am still plugging away with both the zumba and the gym. I'm now doing interval training in the gym and absolutely loving it (to my surprise!). I am now down 33lb but more importantly 5" off waist, 4" off hips and 3" off bust so looking more in proportion if you know what I mean. Doing well with the water but 'could do better'.

 

Anita, I was thinking about you the other morning........ I have been trying to go to the gym 3 mornings a week at 7.15am. You can imagine, some mornings I would just like to sleep on but I got up and went through to the bathroom, looked in the mirror and said 'come on Munro, just get it done' ........made me laugh as I then said to myself 'or as Anita would say 'Get 'er done' :D Off I went quite happy so a big thank you to you!!

 

7 weeks and 6 days until my cruise, wonder how Kasi's getting on?? Hope you're all well?

[Anita Latte]

Congrats Donna!! Your lose is AWESOME!

 

Early mornings are rough business. DH and I tried to do that during one of our resolution times, trying to work out before work. It takes some big time discipline and motivation to get out of bed and hit the gym then. I'm glad that thinking of me helped you! That's what it is all about!

 

Under 60 days to cruise!! Woo hoo!

 

Laundry has been INSANE in this house...between all the tennis...all the Zumba practice...and the Zumba classes...SO MUCH laundry. And my bottoms are all so loose, purchased some new bottoms...I really like the Nike brand sueded capris...in my local store they are $25...and they come in purple, hot pink, blue, gray and black. They are only cotton/spandex, so no wicking, but I have found that they dry quickly. They look heavy but they are really lightweight, really thin material...I like the drawstring to help keep them up in class...and they are a semi-fitted kind of pant...not too tight, not too loose.

 

Meanwhile...all my normal shorts are very loose...I can take them off without having to unbutton the fly...I've resigned myself to wearing exercise clothing all summer...I have dresses that will otherwise get me by when I want something different...meanwhile, my new clothes are Zumba related or nothing...

 

It'll be so fun to go shopping...Donna, Are you having to get all new clothes for vacation? Have you started shopping?