Major Announcement coming! Get ready!

Something WONDERFUL is about to come to Orem. Check back again soon to see what it is!

Zumba Party! April 30 at the Orem Rec Center

Tanya has organized a fun party on April 29 (Changed to April 30!), at 8-9:30 p.m. All three instructors will come and we'll dance to all our favorite songs. AND we will have a platform so you can SEE! That will be the best! It comes at a great time for me. I love to celebrate my Zumbaversary in such a fun way! TWO YEARS of Zumba blessing my life!

Send me your FIVE favorite songs that you'd like to hear at the party. Here is a link to a playlist of some of our favorites. If your favorite song isn't on this list, let me know!

Shelly's Zumba Playlist

How to get the Most out of your Zumba Workout

You are having FUN—Right? You know I always say that is the most important thing. Why? Because if you have fun you’ll come back and do it again! And doing it again and again is how your body gets in better and better shape.

So now that we’ve established FUN, how can you take it to the next level? Here are a few ideas:

Eat better. Evaluate how you are eating to maximize your energy level so you have MORE of it to give in class! Reduce your intake of simple sugars to avoid blood sugar peaks and then subsequent lows. Look for foods that have high nutritional value for less calories and keep them easily available.

Watch your form. Curl your pelvic bone upward and raise your shoulders up and back, opening the chest (the opposite of a slouch). Notice how your abdominal muscles engage? See how much taller and more confident you look? Now hold that position and wiggle something. Your core muscles really have to tighten!

Give it some energy! Don’t just move your arms, PUT them where you want them. Pretend gravity is on vacation and really move! SMILE! And when you feel the energy take you over, give it a holler!

Don’t overdo it. Getting fit doesn’t mean barely breathing or leaving the gym feeling completely wasted. Exercise is supposed to improve your life. If you work too hard you probably won’t enjoy it and will quit your exercise routine altogether. Or you may wear out a joint or muscle and have to take a break from exercising. Booo! We don’t want that.

Take care of your body and your body will take care of you!

New ZumbaWear!

Hurry! Check out the site and tell me if there are things you want. Some sizes are out of stock but are being restocked soon, so tell me your wishlist! I'll place an order Monday or Tuesday.

www.zumba.com/shop

Here's that fabulous ab song

This song is SO good. Here's the place to find it.

LOVE Zumba on Valentine's Day!

If you are in Zumba on Monday night it is because you LOVE it more than anything else you could be doing for Valentine's Day. So we'll make a playlist of all the songs you LOVE. I've got a few up my sleeve. What are your favorites? Send them to me and I'll put them on the list!

Why Dance to Music in a Foreign Language?

When I first came to Zumba classes, I found I enjoyed relying on the feel of the music rather than the lyrics. When you don’t have the lyrics in your head to express yourself, you rely on your body to bring out that energy. That means you are working your muscles more and enjoying it at the same time. The time flies!

If you already speak Spanish and know the lyrics, there is good news for you, too! Zumba highlights music from all over the world. In addition to Latin rhythms like salsa, cumbia, merengue, samba, flamenco, axe, and tango, we get to enjoy rhythms like polka, bhangra, soca, and African dance. AND, we still enjoy a sprinkling of familiar English songs that bring a smile to your face and really get you moving! There is something for everyone!

Hale Freezes Over 5k/10k this Saturday

Just in case you are interested:
http://webticketing.haletheater.org/

Scroll to the bottom and register quick!

FREE High School Night at the Orem Fitness Center

February 4 is a FREE after-hours high school party! 10-midnight! I'll be doing a Zumba class from 10:15-11:15 p.m.

Admission is FREE with a current Orem city high school ID. Send all the teens you know. I'll work 'em hard and send 'em home by midnight.

My diet experience

Yes, I’ve been on a diet. Twice. 20 years ago. Of course, just like most people, I gained all weight back, plus MORE. I said, “hmmm, if I keep doing this I’ll keep gaining weight for the rest of my life!” So I promised I’d never go “on” a diet again. Going “on” a diet implies that at some point you’ll go “off” the diet. That’s the part where you gain it all back! Permanent results require permanent changes, so if you want to lose weight, you can’t go “on” a diet and expect it to fix things quick. You’ll have to “change” your diet. The good news is:  those “changes” tend to not be as drastic as many “diets” and the results are much longer lasting!

Count downs are SO last year.

Ever put together a jigsaw puzzle? The excitement is seeing how much progress you can make each time you sit down to work on it. Even though all puzzles start out telling you how many pieces there are, I don’t think anyone spends much time counting how many pieces are left in the box. Instead they enjoy seeing the picture grow on the table and want to see how much of it they can build.

Who would enjoy taking apart a house of cards one card at a time? No one. The fun part is seeing how high we can build it.

Sadly, we don’t see projects in our lives with the same excitement. Too often, we are focused on how many pieces are left in the “box” and not enjoying the fun of how much progress we’ve already made.

It really takes the fun out of it.

We count down how many months left in school, how many more minutes left in a meeting, how many years until the children grow up. We count how many minutes left on the treadmill, how many laps left to run, how many pounds to lose, how many days left on a diet…

It really takes the fun out of it!

If you are taking on a new challenge, try looking at it from the perspective of building up, instead of breaking down. Count the minutes you complete on the treadmill, the days you stick to your diet plan, the number of new healthy meals you create, the times you make it to the gym. Don’t count consecutively. Count every minute, every lap, every day, every meal.  The point is, BUILD. And build up. Don’t even think about “the end.” You may be surprised what a big difference this small change in thinking can make!

NEXT POST: my experience with diets.

WARNING! READ THIS before you make any New Year's Resolutions!

First let's talk about the bad kind of New Year's Resolutions.

The bad kind of resolution would be to set a goal for a result you want. For example:

I want my children to not fight with each other.
I want my boss to give me a raise.
I want to lose 20 pounds.

What's wrong with those goals? They only focus on the outcomes. They have nothing to do with your behavior. Behaviors you can change. You can't always control the result.

Better goals:
I will work to get my children to bed earlier so they have the rest they need.
I will focus more time at work on the things that are most needed, (and spend less time on email!)
I will work out 3 times per week, find healthy snacks to satisfy my hunger, and drink 6-8 glasses of water per day.

Do you see the difference? The first set of goals can lead you to be continually frustrated if you haven't been able to produce the desired effect. The second (good) kind of goals are the ones YOU have control over. At the end of every day, you can say, "Yes, I did it. I can probably do it tomorrow, too." Much more positive.

Check out a podcast segment I did on this very topic four years ago.
http://babiesandmomsradio.com/blog/2007/12/

You'll just need to listen between 7:25 and 22 minutes. There is an article I reference about Chinese footbinding (I do have a point). You can find that article here: http://www.myseveralworlds.com/2007/07/11/suffering-for-beauty-graphic-photos-of-chinese-footbinding/

I want you to be successful and feel good about yourself. I hope this helps. I welcome you to talk to me anytime. 


NEXT POST: a healthier perspective on continuing your goals.