Oh, Shakira!

Oh, Shakira!  You are so right, honey.  The hips most definitely do not lie!  And right now mine are screaming, "What the hell were you thinking?  We don't do exercise!"

Today I went to my first Zumba class at Zerger Hall (ZH).  Talk about irony!  If you are not familiar with Newark, let me explain.  ZH is the local senior citizen's hall.  Yep, that's right!  I went to the local old person hangout to get my groove on!  I had never been there before, so it was nice to get a quick, self-guided tour.  They have a little gift shop in there.  I'm assuming it is the arts and crafts of the various members of the center.  This is good to know so in 10 years or so when I'm a card carrying member, I can sell my quilts and cards in there.  That would be a great way to earn some extra wine money when I'm living on my teachers retirement pension.

Now I don't know about you, but I'm always hesitant to go to an exercise class for the first time.   You never know what to expect.  Will the class be full of cute, little 20-somethings with perky boobs dressed in Nike spandex shorts and sports bra?  Nothing worse than showing up and being the only one in the room with faded sweatpants and a "I Got Crabs" at The Crab Shack, Myrtle Beach, SC t-shirt.  Or will the class be full of regulars?  You know what I mean.  A group of women who have been meeting 3 times a week for the last 5 years.  They have every routine memorized.  They look like a well, oiled machine when the music starts.  And these women can be brutal to newcomers.  They glare at you when you can't cha-cha cha on cue or you grapevine left when you should sashay right.  And  the collective gasp when you start laughing at yourself for screwing up the moves!  How dare you have fun in their class!  If you aren't serious about sweating and raising your heart rate, then get your butt out of there!

So what happened today you ask?  Well, let me tell you.  I showed up at 8:45 and was greeted by the instructor.  She was this cute 40 something woman!!!!  To be honest, I already had a connection to her. She is the wife of our athletic director.  I had not, however, met her before today.  Other than being extremely happy for 9:00 a.m., she was a regular girl.  No sexy outfit that made you want to sit on her. While she was color coordinated, she wasn't flaunting her T and A.  She took the time to go over some steps with the 3 newbies before the class started. I remember laughing because she was 3/4 of way through her quick instruction when she demonstrated a move and said it was the hardest one.  I thought to myself 'oh crap!  And I thought the first move was difficult!'  The class was made up of a variety of women.  Most of them were 40+ which was really nice.  With the exception of one or two, everyone was dressed just like me...like they just rolled out of bed and put on the first thing off of the floor!    So comforting!  Everyone was so helpful with the routines.  The majority of them were willing to show you moves and/or show you the direction you should be going.  Other than the fact there were women much older than me who were in much better shape than me, I felt like I had found my 'group'.

If you're unfamiliar with Zumba, it is a dance class set to Latin music.  The rhythm  of the music sends you to a Caribbean Island!  Now that is nice in the middle of the winter!  However, it should be noted that our weather has been very spring like lately.  In fact, yesterday I had the top down on the car.  OOPS!  I've digressed once again!  Back to the story at hand.   I have to say that I shook my bum and my boobs in ways that I haven't done since my bar days 20 years ago!  I was extremely thankful for my past aerobic experience.  It came in handy with a few of the moves!  I was able to stay on beat for at least 50% of the time.  The other 50% I just shook what God gave me.

But as the evening  has progressed my hips are screaming out in pain!  They hurt so bad that I had to take some anti-imflamatory medication!  Hopefully the pain will subside soon.  I can so sympathize with Sophie who has arthritis in her spine and hips.  I know exactly how she feels.

So will I go back?  Of course!  The plan is to attend again Monday night. It was fun getting my sexy on!   I guess my hips will just have to suck it up and deal!  Just because they complain, it doesn't mean I have to listen to them!

Make Every Day Count...
Denise

PS:  Thanks to Liz for a wonderful class!  If you are reading this, just know that I enjoyed your class!  You are a great instructor!