Any other Zumba fans?

[Cruiser Dancer NE1?]

╔╗╔╦══╦═╦═╦╗╔╗ ★ ★ ★♥ ★☆★

║╚╝║══║═║═║╚╝║ NEW YEAR to the ★

║╔╗║╔╗║╔╣╔╩╗╔╝ Cruiser Zumbaholix ★

╚╝╚╩╝╚╩╝╚╝═╚╝ ★★★ Friends!☆ ★☆ ★

For the New Year 2015..

There is simply no time

to feel miserable, sorry and sad..

When there are Sizzlin Zumbaholic friends

who will inspire U to dance, fun fitness & be glad.

 

It's been a while since I posted here at the Zumba site.

SO ANYBODY FUN & SIZZLIN ZUMBALICIOUS fun friends

sailing with us & Z-rockin the ship on JAN 28, 2015,

STAR PRINCESS, 10 DAYS San Fran TO MEXICO???

 

We'll do some Z-jammin at the packed Vista Lounge on sea days

at 9:30am. Heckya, we'll do Z, UJam & Freestyle Dance

Funkin' at the Ultimate Top Deck party & at the disco nightly.

 

Bonus: Sweet Super Bowl Sunday, Feb 1,

Top Deck on the JumboTron!!

 

ZUMBA ON WITH LIFE Y'ALL!!

 

As we take another simple

breath, someone in this

world takes their last.

This moment, let's count

our blessings, jam on, appreciate our

Zumba lives and hava hella bash & blast.

 

El Aliga on Fb

[Anita Latte]

Another year!

 

I'm teaching this morning. I spent some time last night revamping my playlist. Amazing how long I have been doing some of the same songs...

 

I have added the following into the mix:

 

New warm up:

 

 

I did some serious editing to this song! I've become pretty good at it...the perfect song for the circuit at Curves is 4 minutes long. Since we change on and off the machines at one minute intervals, a 4 minute song gives both groups the opportunity to dance for a full 2 minutes to the song. So I added 45 seconds to this song...There is a one time only bridge in the third minute that I repeated in the fourth minute...and I also had to add another repeating 16 count to the horn part following the chorus because of when the groups transition on and off the machines to make that easier to get into the movement. I'm very pleased with myself and my skills! LOL.

 

And I finally added this flamenco beat:

 

 

I picked the Spanglish version of the song because I love the way Sean Paul sounds.

 

I've started working at Curves now. I'm teaching Zumba twice weekly. I also teach two other toning classes weekly...and now as a staff member, I've also committed to using the machines and actually doing the circuit.

 

There's a 90 day challenge going on right now...which is perfect timing for my cruises in April. I did my weight and measurement yesterday...OMG. Not happy numbers, but it is what it is. The thing that is interesting is that my body fat % hasn't changed too drastically, even given my weight gain. The owner/manager says that she would NEVER have put that weight on me...that I am COMPACT.

 

Mom has always known this. LOL. There are stories here...about my childhood and falling asleep on the couch and the fact that even as a little girl, I have been compact...weighing way more than my appearance would indicate.

 

Soon I will be doing the strength testing that will get me set up on the computer to be able to track and be more guided on the circuit machines. I'm very curious about this. I'm eager to see how I do on that.

 

Meanwhile...since I have a very good plan for my physical activity, the big challenge is food and diet. I find myself at odds with the thinking that so many have regarding food. I think I am in a place of too much knowledge...makes you second guess everything. I understand the importance of portion control...but I think to restrict calories too much is a big mistake. I also understand the need to eat often to rev up the metabolism...but I honestly believe that the most important thing to do is get good sleep.

 

Apparently, fat burn happens overnight. Apparently, when your body does what it does all night long during sleep...THIS is when you burn fat depending on what you have done during the day. More activity during the day with more variety and your body will do more things at night that will deplete your fat stores.

 

So my priorities are:

 

1. Activity. Done...just need to follow through. Not a problem really given the fact that I am the instructor for many of these activities.

 

2. Sleep, rest, and destress. MUY importante. What is funny is that I know that eating regularly and on a schedule will actually help me to establish a good sleep pattern.

 

3. Food. FIRST...establish the pattern. Don't worry too much about what...more concerned with when.

 

4. Food. WHAT...I want to deplete the stores in my pantry and freezer and then get my routine-like with purchases and meals.

 

And throughout it all....

 

Water, water, water...hydration is another MUST DO.

 

Hope everyone had a lovely holiday season. Stay warm. Stay safe. And do whatever you can to maintain the energy that comes with the beginning of the new year. :)

[Anita Latte]

Working on a fun, fast merengue...think it must be a Zumba original...can't find a normal video for it.

 

 

The choreo that is given to ZIN is all over YouTube. It looks like fun, but I don't love it for my class simply because those moves are all too common in my other routines. SO...need different moves. I have it about 75% choreographed...I should have it done for class next Tuesday.

 

I don't teach this Saturday...so I'll have plenty of time for working on some new routines.

 

I'm also thinking about this one:

 

 

This would be a great first song for the second half of class...

[MJC]

I'm cruising in March, and my goal is to do Zumba 3x per week until I go. I want to lose at least 5 pounds, add some ab work, and work on my stretching. I'm looking forward to doing Zumba on Princess on my sea days.

 

Anyone else have Zumba cruise goals?

[MJC]

Since both my parents have dementia, this is good news to me:

 

http://examinedexistence.com/dancing-helps-the-brain-function-better/

 

 

Looking forward to Zumba classes on my Princess cruise soon!

[trixiegal]

I need to find a good Zumba class in my area. I LOVE to dance. Grew up dancing ballet, tap, jazz and hip hop from 4 years old to senior year of HS. Never really got back into it and now I'm 40. Weight loss is a goal but I just want to get active again. Zumba at my old gym was waaaay too crowded and I haven't found another class I've liked. I know a lady who is now a size 2 [emoji15] from a size 10 who got hooked on Zumba. She's an instructor now, too.

[tbmrt]

I need to find a good Zumba class in my area. I LOVE to dance. Grew up dancing ballet, tap, jazz and hip hop from 4 years old to senior year of HS. Never really got back into it and now I'm 40. Weight loss is a goal but I just want to get active again. Zumba at my old gym was waaaay too crowded and I haven't found another class I've liked. I know a lady who is now a size 2 [emoji15] from a size 10 who got hooked on Zumba. She's an instructor now, too.

 

I loved, loved, loved zumba and unfortunately the class near my home only met once a week. Decided to try J...rcise (not the "old" style one remembers from the 80's)...I've been going 3 times a week and lost 27 lbs in a year.

 

May not be for all, but may be good for some. Current music and lots of aerobics and some weights/bands.

 

(I don't work for them...just wanted to chime in here)

Barbara

Edited April 19, 2015 by tbmrt
wording

[kasi1979]

Ladies, do you remember me?

I´ve been a Zumba-Fan for several years, danced actively for about two, than broke my ankle, and now, a healed ankle and a pregnancy later am working to get back in shape.

As I am now a stay-at-home-mom I have no time at all ;)

I bought the Zumba exhilarate dvd package and am doing my best to get back. Do you have recommendations on up-to-ate Zumba videos ? Come along and share your knowledge...

[cruising_diva]

I have all 3 sets... Total Body Transformation started it all for me! I purchased Exhilarate and hated it. 👎 The production sucked. The clothing is atrocious. There are new moves that are meh. I most recently purchased the newest DVD's, with the Zumba Riser and Zumba Step. Its fun! The people are much more likable. The clothes are still ugly but I am better able to overlook it. The videos are put together well, and it's kind of a "best of" Zumba, combining the old moves and new moves into the best workouts yet.

[seafood]

I also purchased Exhilarate and also HATED it. For me, the moves were very difficult to follow. I have since purchased the Zumba Fitness Incredible Results and LOVE it. The music is great and I have no problem following most of the moves.

[MJC]

https://www.zumba-cruise.com

 

 

I would so love to go on this, but it's such bad timing for me. :(

[MJC]

I'm going to be missing some classes in July, so I made myself a playlist using Beto's with videos from youtube:

 

http://zlife.zumba.com/celebrate-all-weekend-long-my-playlist-music/

 

 

I love this guy's energy and it's my summer goal to get through this dance without a mistake!

 

[MJC]

I'd like to start a list of which cruise lines have Zumba classes. It is an important part of my weight control strategy while cruising. I've only done it on Princess so I'd like to know about the others. Anyone?

 

Zumba Cruise List

 

1. Princess

[delacruz]

I'd like to start a list of which cruise lines have Zumba classes. It is an important part of my weight control strategy while cruising. I've only done it on Princess so I'd like to know about the others. Anyone?

 

Zumba Cruise List

 

1. Princess

 

Sorry I don't have any definitive information for you, but I mostly sail Royal Caribbean, did one Carnival before I began Zumba-ing, and one recent Celebrity.

 

I haven't seen it formally on Royal Caribbean, although I've noticed a member of a Royal Caribbean Facebook page will give Zumba classes when she's on a cruise. And I've been on several ships that would offer 'Latin Fitness Dancing', essentially Zumba without a certified instructor, but they are totally hit and miss as to whether to expect them and the quality.

 

I've only sailed Celebrity once, and on the 6 day cruise I can't remember if it was officially Zumba or Latin Fitness Dancing type classes, but classes were offered 2-3 times that week and were decent, but for a fee.

[tbmrt]

There was Zumba on the Celebrity Equinox last year from what I remember for a reasonable fee. However, it was in late afternoon, 4 or 5pm, which didn't work for me so I cannot comment on the class.

 

Did on deck aerobic type exercises which were held a morning or two which were fun.

[MJC]

So far we have...

 

Zumba Cruise List

 

1. Princess (sea days, open class, free)

 

2. Royal Caribbean (hit or miss)

 

3. Celebrity (sea days, sign up in advance, fee)

Edited July 11, 2016 by MJC

[Anita Latte]

Resurrected! 

 

I'm bringing this thread back from the archives (I think) because I need to be able to search it! LOL. Using Google is hit and miss and the forum search function won't pick up an archived thread... Sooooooo.

 

It's back!

 

The short story is that I'm wanting to put together some Zumba routines for myself...after all...this is why I had become an instructor...so I could always put together a Zumba class for myself...but the sad, sad news is that I'm having issues with my music library. I thought I could rely on my old iPod BUT one of DS's friends had found it and started using it! I have one of the old square iPods with a wrist strap...it kind of sort of resembles the Apple watches and this friend thought it was cool and that he would just adopt my little iPod. I saw it on his wrist and was like...DUDE. But he wrote OVER my iPod with all HIS music. UGH.

 

So I'm starting from scratch except for the fact that I know that I documented a lot of info here on this thread...

 

We just bought a house over the summer. Yes, we moved in the midst of a pandemic...and are homeowners again after being renters for 10 years. We have a flex room that we call the Yoga Room. Really it's going to be a studio room...it's in the midst of some dry wall repair, new texture and then painting. I have mirrors to create a mirror wall...and otherwise the plan is for it to be open space...available for use for yoga, PT, Zumba...really anything that requires open floor space. 

 

My body has become a bit of a blob over the past couple years...and the lockdown didn't help. But right now, I have no valid excuse for not doing something about it. DS is off to college. All obligations on my time are in my control...all related to housekeeping and home and garden improvement. And an empty calendar stretching for days into the future with no disruptive travel plans. There really is no excuse. 

 

There are things that need to be done in order for me to actually be able to do some Zumba...

 

1. Remember/Find my music.

2. Remember my routines.

3. Create a routine that is the equivalent of the couch to 5K program...because a normal Zumba class would probably hurt me. LOL.

 

This is the start of finding my music and my routines.

 

I'm also wondering if anyone else is out there continuing to do Zumba? And if you are...can you recall any names of songs that you are doing and like? I'd like some new material... Warm up song. Cool down song. All of it. I've been away from the scene for so long...I have no idea how popular Zumba is any longer...

 

I'm toying with the idea of doing virtual non-Zumba classes with friends...technically I can't do a Zumba class because I'm no longer licensed to do so.

 

So if anyone is still out there and wanting to talk each other up to focus on something good for ourselves...I hereby open the conversation again...

[burm]

I used to participate in about 5 zumba classes a week, but had to stop due to bad knees. At the end, I would dance my heart out for an hour and after class I could barely walk to the car. Now, two years, two new knees, and several pounds later, I am anxious to dance again.

 

My all time favourite youtube instructor is Claudio Lopez Utreras from Chile.  He has a lot of videos out with great music.  Unfortunately, my knees are still not up to doing justice to an hour at his pace. In the meantime, I have discovered that I can easily follow the fitness routines of ZDancerLiz. Her routines are too wimpy for serious zumba dancers but are perfect for seniors or the otherwise less fit. There are no sharp turns (although you can throw some in if you wish) and they only last from 30 to 40 minutes. Perfect for seniors who are either recovering or just want to keep on dancing once they can no longer do it at their previous level. 

 

I miss zumba at the club and can't wait to get back once the world returns to normal. I will be ready!

 

 

 

[delacruz]

I'm glad to see this thread resurrected! I just skimmed over some old postings here, and see that most of what I had to contribute was my difficulty staying on a consistent path of diet and exercise.

 

Part of why I was having trouble staying totally connected and consistent with a Zumba class was that my previous gym changed instructors frequently, and some were lackluster, and I didn't have a connection with anyone in the class. After a year of paying dues in 2018, I realized I was REALLY out of shape, and my knees were bothering me more often than not.

 

In Jan 2019 I found a Zumba Gold class that I thought I'd try. When I walked in I thought I was taken aback at how everyone hugged and greeted each other with such authentic friendship. After a few classes I finally felt comfortable to join in. This group, which met an hour twice a week, also was did soul line dancing, and the more advanced members not only performed wherever they could, but also socialized often at monthly meals, galas, parties for any occasion. I found the Zumba to be much easier than my previous classes, but as I was getting into my mid-60's (I turned 65 last week), much better for my knees and stamina. Eventually I started doing the line dancing and then was asked to join their performing group 'First State Steppers'. Unfortunately, like you've experienced, that came to a halt in March. I also got Covid at that time (good thing I didn't expose them), and with my number 1 symptom and side effect being fatigue, it took until May before I could even attempt to work out again. Once we realized we weren't getting back to our classroom, Ida started offering free classes on FB Live, and sometimes Zoom on a Saturday, but I couldn't quite get into 'the groove' not being in person, and that she couldn't play copyrighted music on FB. We've since started meeting at a parking lot once or twice a week, weather permitting, and that's been SO much better, although we do SLD more than Zumba. I also just bought a year subscription to 'Body Groove', which has been fun, I just need to rearrange for a better place in my house where I can have a larger TV (I cast the app from my tablet to the TV) and more open space.

 

A couple of weekends ago, AARP sponsored a Zoom dance event that was Latin music, and Beto taught a segment of it. It was so much fun, but I realized how my stamina has changed from the years ago when I could do a much higher impact and intensity routine. I felt bad about it, but at least I'm moving!

 

Anita, that sucks about your iPod and playlist! I have to get to work, but I'll think about what songs have worked well. Since we're oldies but goodies ourselves, our instructor has thrown in a bit more Motown and oldies than any other class I've been in, but of course still adds several Latin or World music. For sure my favorites have been Bailando, Despacito, Vivir Mi Vida, Danza Kuduru, LImbo (Daddy Yankee), Fireball, Shake Senora.

 

Reading back, I noticed some discussion on shoes. I'm putting this here as a reminder for me to followup with some input on shoes, since knees have become a problem for me.

 

[Anita Latte]

@burm Thanks for sharing the link! I have a few CDs that I made of some of my classes. For a while there, I was paranoid about something going wrong with my iPod and I'd have a CD that I recorded as a back up. I wrote titles like "Tuesday" on them so no idea what is actually on them. Tuesday happens to be a great play list. So many of my favorite songs and while I had the CD playing I was trying to remember the routines. Funny how memory works...I could get some whole songs...some just the chorus or the verses or everything except the bridge...anyway...I couldn't believe how fast the pace was!!

 

And to think that I was doing that however many times a week. OMG. 

 

Gyms are open here. My local Y only has Yoga classes...and you have to make a reservation to attend, but I'm not comfortable with the whole indoor aspect.

 

Judi, wow on having COVID. I'm so happy to hear that you are on the other side of having it! It also seems like you didn't have severe symptoms? Just maybe debilitating symptoms? Are you fully recovered? There's talk of long haulers having lingering symptoms. Well...whatever...so glad that you are moving on and continuing on.

 

Zumba Gold is what I'm talking about! Kelly was my instructor that I loved so much and she taught Zumba Gold classes. The ladies there were the best. It was definitely a social class and because it was taught through a community/recreation center, there was a core group that attended many of the classes there. It's just what they did.

 

Line dancing is fun! It's great that you found a group that could give you that consistency...I think that is really the key. And if you are a social person, then having the energy of the group is really key to developing that consistency. Stupid COVID messing with you schedule.

 

I'm not on FB so not aware of any regulations there. Interesting to note about the copywrited music. But there isn't a problem on Zoom? OMG that would be amazing to be in a Beto class! 

 

I also don't have any Zumba shoes right now. Nothing I have is appropriate. I ordered some that should be here tomorrow. They are a dance sneaker with a split sole. I had a pair like that before and ultimately I didn't like them because the heel was too high. The ones I've ordered have a much smaller heel. The soles on the toes are stitched on suede and rubber on the heels. They may be too slippery for things like squats? And maybe they won't have enough cushion? I'll report how they are when they get here.

 

My fave Zumba shoes were the Zumba brand shoes. I haven't even looked at the site though...they didn't last long and so I didn't think they were worth the money but they fit pretty well...but I was doing a lot of Zumba and wearing the shoes to and from class etc so maybe they would hold up better in my current situation?

 

I don't have a scale so no idea what my weight is. I know from my size that it isn't good. I'm still doing ok with my ACL injured knee. The conservative treatment has been fine but I know that the weight has got to come off. I could feel how impactful it was to do what I did with the CDs playing...how I know that I need better shoes for doing Zumba!! But my personal goal is to put together a low impact, slow paced, just start moving kind of playlist. I want to include the different international rhythms because I know it helps time pass better to have that distinctive change in beat but I'm not going to be as strict as the Zumba protocol would require if I find other songs that work.

[burm]

youtube is the best place to go for zumba videos. You just search "zumba + song name" and your favourite song will come up with videos from various instructors. No copyright problems.

 

I prefer Latin, so Claudio Lopez Utreras is a favourite with me because he has most of my favourite zumba songs but there is lots of Zumba Gold available as well.

 

 

 

You can get entire workout videos as well, with warm ups and cool downs.

 

 

 

As to  shoes, I had tried some of the top recommended shoes for zumba but prefer my Bloch split dance shoes. The heel on mine is not high and I find they give me perfect flexibility with just the right amount of slipperiness. I thought the zumba shoes were too stiff. 

 

When I was in Argentina a few years ago, I bought a couple of pairs of custom tango shoes. When I picked them up, the salesman grabbed me and danced a tango across the store floor to test them. Maybe that is what we need to do for testing zumba shoes- run a video in the corner of the store so customers can test them dancing. LOL  

[TTEllis]

Zumba? I thought a Zumba was a fish sandwich on Bora Bora.🤔

[delacruz]

I have several playlists I made on youtube also that I have used for Zumba, and had to add a bunch of Zumba Gold so I could handle it. Marc Bosmans is one of the instructors that makes it interesting but easy. @burm, I will take a look at your video suggestions.

 

Yes, Bloch shoes (and similar split-sole styles) really helped me. I had originally worn Ryka Studio shoes, and then Ryka or Asics shoes with a good pivot point. But I was finding my toes were feeling numb after a 1 hr class, and my knees getting worse. First I found in 2016 that my high arches were way higher than I thought - shopping for good walking shoes for a cruise to Europe and walking on the electronic mat - only the heel and ball of my foot touch the ground. The split sole Blocks, although they don't appear to have arch support, allow my arch to stay as raised as it naturally wants to be, and I have much better flexibility. For the floors I was dancing on I didn't find them to be slippery.

 

When they started wearing out, I got Skazz by Sansha Majestic m13m. There was a Dec 2019 sale where I got 2 pairs for the same cost as the 1 Bloch pair. 

 

@Anita Latte the extra weight I've been putting on and not regular enough activity is playing havoc with my knees again. Luckily, my scale weight also doesn't quite show on my body, which has changed over the years. Even though I haven't worked out regularly, I am wearing the same size as I did 20 years ago when I was 20 lbs lighter. 

 

Thanks for asking about my experience- I felt relatively lucky during my bout with Covid. I had been very careful by mid-March, and doing all but wearing a mask, which wasn't being recommended at the time. I work on computers, and I would ask the client to step 6' away, and I'd sanitize their keyboard and mouse before and after working on it. I can't pinpoint 100% where I got it and none of my clients did, but while at behind the reception desk at a vets office, one of their customers came in to buy dog food, hacking up a lung, and claimed it was allergies - the staff sprayed Lysol everywhere as soon as she stepped out! I hadn't been to a store or socializing for 2 weeks prior. Several days later I got conjunctivitis, then a few days after that I started coughing with a fever. I went home and slept for 22 hrs, and that was my main symptom - fatigue, and some fever and shortness of breath. After 2 weeks of barely being able to stand in the shower, my energy came back bit by bit, until 6 weeks from the beginning I felt mostly normal. I didn't start back to attempting to get some exercise till a month later, but in that time all I wanted to eat was comfort food. I think my residual fatigue is from my weight, not exercising regularly, and a bad routine of staying up too late.

 

 

[Anita Latte]

The shoes I ordered just arrived! So early, I wasn't expecting them until Friday. How funny, Judi, I ordered Skazz by Sansha! I had read and read about the odd sizing and rolled the dice on a size 13!?! I normally wear a 9.5/10 but then I also need a wider (not officially wide) toe box...and as it turns out, I think the 13 will work just fine. A quick test run with some simple moves on our floors and all seems go to go with them. I'm going to keep them. Surprisingly, they were really affordable. I'm so pleased.

 

YouTube has always been such a good source for videos. I would search and search for routines. My only issue right now is that I would usually have a clue on a song...somehow...and so I would search just like you said @burm with the song title and Zumba and find a routine or pick and choose and combine and alter...something to work with though. But now...I need to find some songs first I think... I'll check out that name Judi. 

 

These days I'm a Spotify user. DH and I had a bit of a salsa lesson together...this is me trying to show him how to do some salsa...and I searched for Slow Salsa and got many many different playlists of that title. I may just need to spend some time listening and then searching. 

 

With the whole knee situation...DH has troubles with one of his knees too. We believe it's related to some compensation movement that he developed after he sprained his ankle on that leg. So I've been doing a lot of research on knees for the both of us...and basically, I think it boils down to needing to reactivate a whole lot of muscles...when your muscles aren't working as they should, your joints end up bearing the brunt of the force of impact. And usually the muscles aren't working as they should because your body senses that a joint is unstable...so your body kind of cuts off the network to the muscles around that joint so to speak. This can especially happen after injury. We've gotten into this idea of Muscle Activation Therapy...if you want to read further about it. DH actually found a MAT therapist well before the whole lockdown situation and was approaching the end of a 10 week schedule? The work was very slow going but it seemed to be helping. I'm planning on taking some ideas from that to incorporate into some routines to help make it all more therapeutic for my own knee situation.

[Anita Latte]

Let's talking about breathing...

 

I find that writing really helps me to teach myself...so I'm writing this as much for my benefit as anyone else reading this...

 

One of the very first things that DH's MAT therapist worked on with him was proper breathing. Most people think of belly breathing as being "proper" but I'm here to tell you that even belly breathing isn't quite PROPER. Say what?

 

I think everyone knows that your shoulders should not be moving when you breathe. Some...my DH included...have a tendency to do this thing with their shoulders when they try to take a deep breath. This is NOT diaphragmatic breathing...this is shallow breathing. It is a compensatory style of breathing...it can develop for any number of reasons but the main point is that it is definitely NOT proper.

 

Enter belly breathing. Especially if you have ever taken a yoga class. You're in Relaxation Pose and that soft, calm voice is telling you to let your belly rise and fall with your breath. Supposedly, this is deep breathing...the opposite of the shallow, shoulder enhanced breathing...and while it may be a form of deep breathing...it STILL isn't PROPER.

 

Think about it. WHERE are your lungs?

 

Are they in your belly?

 

NO. There are under your ribs...

 

So...WHAT should be expanding and retracting with each breath? Your belly? NO. As crazy as this sounds...you should be able to have a TIGHT belly and STILL be able to breathe. Because your lungs are not IN your abdomen...your lungs are under your rib cage...and in fact it is your rib cage that should be expanding and retracting with each breath.

 

You should be able to work your abdominal muscles and still breathe...

 

So if you are working plank... Your arms are stacked...shoulders over elbows over wrists...and there is a straight line from the back of your hand down the back of your torso and over your rear end and down your legs...and in order to properly keep that body of yours IN that straight line...your ABS are DYING...well, they are dying if they are MY abs...

 

Now BREATHE. With those abs fully engaged.

 

Problems?

 

Yes OMG...how in the world are you supposed to BREATHE when you are holding your core muscles as tight as you possibly can?

 

Well...that is what the DIAPHRAGM muscle is for.

 

I didn't know that the diaphragm is shaped like a parachute. When it is relaxed, it is like a fully blown up and beautifully formed mental picture we all have of a parachute. But let's picture a different kind of parachute. Let's picture the one that we may have gotten to play with in elementary school. Everyone is standing around in a huge circle and has hands on the big circular parachute. We all lift and lower and lift and lower and eventually...we get that parachute up into the shape of an umbrella and now some of us get to run under it!

 

THAT's our diaphragm muscle. It's all attached around the edges to various places and then there is a central tendon that raises it up and down. When the diaphragm is relaxed it is in that perfect form for running under...a fully expanded umbrella. When the diaphragm is contracted...when you WORK the diaphragm...that central tendon is like a string and it tenses and pulls the diaphragm DOWN from the center...essentially making it flatter. It's like the kid's parachute falling and no one can run under it.

 

This downward motion of the diaphragm creates negative pressure in our chest which causes air to rush into our chest. Thus, the lungs fill with air and as they fill with air...our flexible ribcage EXPANDS in every direction...expanding outward from the spine. The lower ribs expand the most.

 

The belly doesn't have to expand AT ALL...

 

If you are belly breathing in the typical fashion recommended in so many classes...then you aren't isolating your diaphragm...your diaphragm is working in concert with abdominal muscles. Suddenly then when you want to have strong, contracted, supportive abs for any number of exercises...it's like you can't breathe well.

 

Our MAT therapist instructed us to engage our abdominals when breathing. Pay attention to your abs AND your shoulders...don't let either move really while breathing...and search and seek out that deep breath that is actually isolating the DIAPHRAGM. Feel the ribs expanding.

 

When I first tried doing this...I couldn't believe how my stomach cramped. OMG...I've never experienced abdominal work on the level of simply contracting my abs and trying to take deep breaths at the same time. I ached for days afterward.

 

We did this work while laying on a mat...feet flat on floor...knees bent...the back of the head on the floor. If the BACK of your head doesn't hit the floor...use a pillow. Have your pelvis in a neutral position...don't do the tilt that forces your lower back to the floor...your lower lumbar should have the natural curve. Once your body is well situated...engage your abs...use your hands to ensure that your abs stay engaged and aren't moving. Now BREATHE.

 

Don't necessarily try to do a LONG breath. Do a simple 3-4 count inhale. Hold for a beat and then do the 3-4 count exhale. Hold for a beat. Repeat. It helps me to envision one of those blowers for stoking a fire. You don't necessarily want to have SLOW breathing...you want to get air in. Let it out.

 

I used to envision long breathing as deep breathing. I recently read that this type of breathe control will actually deprive you of oxygen because there is too much time in-between the breaths. Breathe with long breaths for too long and you'll just want to start panting because you aren't getting enough oxygen.

 

So DEEP doesn't mean LONG. DEEP is in reference to the expansion of your lower ribs and rib cage because you are filling the lower lobes of your lungs with air.

 

I will tell you that it isn't easy to do. This is an exercise that can also be done in a chair but it may be harder to think about engaging your abs and then contracting and working your diaphragm until you become familiar with how that feels.

 

The only online instruction that I could easily locate is here:

 

https://www.coreexercisesolutions.com/belly-breathing/

 

There are many, many benefits to proper breathing.

 

One of the greatest benefits has to do with the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). This is the system that tells your body to relax. This is the system that is NOT engaged when we are under stress...that is the sympathetic nervous system (SNS). The PNS and the SNS are like a light switch. If one is on, the other is off. Both cannot be off or on at the same time. It's one or the other.

 

We want the PNS to be active when we want to go to sleep...relax...have good digestion...and LOSE FAT. When the PNS is engaged, fat is the primary fuel source.

 

So personal goals...

 

Diaphragmatic breathing is simple. Not easy, mind...but simple. And the results could be profound because PNS activation is something that I could definitely benefit from. I find that I can downplay simple things...if it seems too easy, then it can't be worth doing. Something like that anyway...but I happen to know that diaphragmatic breathing is NOT easy...so here's focus number 1.

 

Step 1...focus on breathing PROPERLY. DAILY.

 

Doesn't that sound absolutely ludicrous? Nevertheless...I will take time every day to work on proper breathing.