LOL. In my mind, I can hear my friend Cindy kinda laughing at me for saying this, but I’m gonna go ahead and say it anyway.
I love working out.
I really do! Granted, the fact that I work at a desk, and it’s very sedentary, probably has something to do with it. When I’m not working, it feels good to actually utilize my body.
I love that loosey-goosey feeling I get from dancing or running or stretching, especially in my upper back and my shoulders, where I hold a lot of my tension… Ahem! Pardon me while I pump out some quick shrugs.
I am not a gym rat, though. I used to be much more so (Gold’s Gym was my jam back in the day), and I still go to a gym a couple times a week because my HIIT class is held in one, but I don’t spend an inordinate amount of time there because, ya know…I got stuff to do.
So I do most of my workouts at home now in my living room watching a YouTube video on the TV.
Thank goodness for YouTube…
I’m always looking for new workout videos, too, if you have any recommendations for me, but here are the ones I’ve been into lately…
This first one is a dance video, and even if you’ve never taken a dance class in your life, I think this one is SO MUCH FUN. It’s 40 minutes long, but yet those minutes just fly by.
By the end of it, you’ll be drenched in sweat (a good thing in this case). Also, your “bootyshake” will be #legit.
I’m not kidding.
Also, I just started doing pilates, and we as yet have a kind of complicated relationship… I mean, I like it, but it’s soooo much harder than it looks.
While it might seem like you’re just laying down on a mat, which you might think would be somewhat chill, yeah…no. It’s very challenging for me, which I like. Plus, I’m in my living room, so who’s gonna judge??
In these two beginner tutorials, which are examples of what I can handle at the moment, there’s a ton of core work, lots of legs, lots of booty, and lots of upper body exercises. By the end of one of these, I’m wasted, even though there aren’t any high-impact jumping or running moves.
The thing is, though…I have to really concentrate and totally BE IN IT when I’m doing these video because I have to constantly remember to squeeze certain muscle groups, so it does require paying attention.
So these aren’t the kind of videos you’d do when you just wanna zone out…
Now, those HIIT classes I take two times a week, I’m not gonna lie… In those classes, everyone there is freakin’ real deal, and I struggle to keep up. Everyone is so intense, and they’re in good shape, and I have to push hard to keep up with the rest of the class, so in my other workouts during the week, I can’t always push so hard. I need some easier, less intense workouts too, you know? And this workout is one of those perfect low-impact cardio workouts, but I’m hesitant to call it “easy,” in air quotes, because I’m still sweating like a mofo by the end of the 30 minutes.
Like the pilates workouts, I have to really concentrate on squeezing certain muscles and maintaining proper form. This workout, by the way, is a great one to do while you’re traveling because you don’t need any special equipment.
I mean, you could use a yoga mat, but a towel works too.
Sometimes I also like doing resistance band workouts when I’m traveling. Those are the over-sized rubber bands, and they don’t take up much room in your luggage.
Particularly good for lower body (booty and thighs, especially).
This is a total body resistance band workout that also includes short bursts where you do as many reps as possible of a certain exercise, like burpees or push-ups or whatever, and by the end of this one, I feel WORKED.
OK, last one — hip-hop tabata.
OOH! Tabata…
Whenever I do this one, I start questioning, WHY AM I SUBJECTING MYSELF TO THIS!?
Feels great to finish it, though.
Tabata workouts are basically like short sprints or interval workouts with short breaks between the exercises, and you repeat a particular exercise a few times before taking a slightly longer break.
This one is a super fun, super sweaty hip-hop dance one I really like.
Have a good workout! 🙂
Your friendly neighborhood beauty addict,
Karen
