Showing posts with label zumba. Show all posts
Showing posts with label zumba. Show all posts

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Jillian Michael's Hard Body DVD

Jillian Michael's newest DVD Hard Body is a now out and kicking butts all over the place!  I just got it, so, so far, I've only tried level 1 twice, but it's already kicking my butt!  You can burn about an average of 350 calories in 40 minutes while sweating like a pig!

1. Remember my tip to work out in shorts and a sports bra in front of a mirror and keep your tummy tucked in!

2. Also, work out without a fan, and you'll sweat more which means you'll loose more water weight.  (I did Ripped in 30 level 1 and Killer Abs level 1 back to back and burned off 2 lbs of just water weight.  It's amazing how great you can feel after a nice, hard sweat!)

3. Add 3 lb weights or even just hand weights or ankle weights to that exercise you love but doesn't make you feel challenged anymore.  That will really spice things up and make you feel challenged again...plus you won't have to find a new work out to do!  (I dance or do Zumba with 1.5 lb hand weights; I also started back at level 1 on all my Jillian Michael's DVDs but upped the weights.)


Thursday, January 10, 2013

Tip 2: ZUMBA!

I'm sure by now that everyone has heard of Zumba, but I've been doing it for 5 years, and I still love it. 

I originally started with classes at my college gym, but after college, I couldn't afford classes, so I got online and got a used copy of Zumba Fitness: PARTY for Nintendo Wii.  It's a good workout, fun, and it calculates your calories based on your energy (you wear a belt on your hips that holds the Wii remote so it knows how your moving, how much, and how fast.)  The only thing I do not like is that you have to unlock levels to do the longer workouts, and they are all pretty much the same dances, they just sometimes go in a different order based on the length and intensity of the "class."  They have, however, come out with the Core workout for the Wii that I haven't tried, yet.  Also, the avatars are weird and it's still fun to do, but boring to watch.

Now, the Zumba Fitness: RUSH for Xbox Kinect is AWESOME!  (I'm saving up for the Zumba Fitness: CORE workout next.)  This game has several different dances, several different mixes, 10+ "classes" to choose from and "real" avatars in various settings that is fun to watch.  Also, with the Kinect, it shows in the bottom left corner how you're moving, so it's kind of like a mirror (and we all know that when working out in front of a mirror makes everyone work a little harder!).  This game, too, calculates your calories burned based on how much you move and the energy you exert.  In a mid-length, medium intensity class, I burned 376 calories; in a full-length, medium intensity class I burned 1,372 calories; in a mid-length high intensity class I burned 1,734 calories.  HOW AWESOME IS THAT!?  I'll let you know how much I've burned off whenever I get to the other class combinations!

If you don't have a Wii or Kinect, I can guarantee that you can find a class in your area to try out.  If it's something you really enjoy doing, then I suggest going to Game Stop and getting a used console and a used game.  (It'll save you time and money in the end when you can work out at home!)