Kicking Butt in Kickboxing!!

Today was the second day I have taken the bag kickboxing class at my gym and all I can say is OH...MY...GOD!  No matter if there are enough bags for the class or not, the instructor makes sure anyone who shows up feels the burn.  Last Wednesday we did Tabata drills.  For those who don't know what those are, it's a six minute interval where you go all out for twenty seconds and rest for ten seconds.  We did one Tabata drill for our upper body and, after some free weights, we did another Tabata drill for our lower body and finished with lower body resistance.

This week, because there were too many people in the class to use Tabata with the bags, we did a circuit.  This circuit included four different stations, two on the bags and two working either cardio or strength, for 45 seconds.  We did two complete rounds, after doing two minute drills working our hands for four rounds.  Our instructor finished the class up with: some defensive slides, jumping jacks, forward and backward runs, burpees and abs.  This doesn't include our warm up.

By the end of her class, if you're not dripping in sweat then you're not working hard enough.  Needless to say, this class is  becoming a staple in my weekly regiment.  Oh, and just a little warning.  If you take a kickboxing class, bag or no bag, never tell a guy who trains in any form of martial arts that you do it too.  My b/f is an MMA fighter and laughs every time a girl tells him she trains too because she takes kickboxing or Tae-Bo classes.  They're designed as aerobic workouts, not real fighting techniques.

 Sorry, but I had to throw my two cents in there. Too many people think they can defend themselves because they've taken these classes, when that's not what they are designed for at all.

Til my next post, I hope you have a fantabulous day.

To Be An Aerobics Instructor Or Not To Be....

Lately I've been thinking about becoming an aerobics instructor.  I've been looking at ISSA and AFAA, but am a little confused about the prerequisites for certification.  I have sent a message to one of my friends who is an instructor, so hopefully she gets back to me soon because I really want to sign up for a certification class soon.  It would solve an issue I've been having about work and working out.  I figure this way, if I miss a workout, it's okay because my job is still active. Plus I enjoy instructing other people.  I've worked out with my friends and family for years and avidly read about fitness when I was younger, so I would correct the way they were doing exercises so they wouldn't A) injure themselves and B) so they would get the most out of the exercise. 

Also, if I was an aerobics instructor, it would give me more time to write and promote my books. Then maybe I could get paid to do two things I love! The only thing I'm worried about as an aerobics instructor is having to deal with someone who needs to be resuscitated. Even though I have to get my CPR certification in order to be an aerobics instructor, just the thought of having to use it scares the beejezus out of me. And who wants to put their mouth on a sweaty stranger?  I mean ewww gross.  I don't know.

Oh, and I know I haven't been keeping up with my workout journal like I should, but I have been working out, despite what my spotty record keeping skills say.  In fact, I'm going to spin tonight at 6 pm and then I have a great Zuzana workout I'm going to follow it up with.  Also, since I reached my goal of running two miles in 20 minutes, I set a new goal of being able to run three miles in 30 minutes and I'm only .15 miles away from accomplishing my new goal.  WooHoo!  Now if I could stay focused on my singing, dancing and writing goals, my life would be perfect....and I would probably be a robot. 

Well I hope you have a fantabulous day and I'll be back soon. :)

INSTANT INSPIRATION

I admit that sometimes life leaves me feeling a little overwhelmed.  Between work, trying to write a novel, making illustrations for my children's book and trying to stay fit it's hard to find inspiration to keep going.  Especially when I feel as if I'm going nowhere fast.  Everything I'm trying to do takes time to finish.  No instant gratification for this girl.  So even though I've made fourteen pictures, I still have ten more to go.  It took me weeks to make the fourteen, so I know it will take me weeks to make the remaining ten.  The same goes for fitness.  I have a limited amount of time when I can workout.  So the goals I've set for myself will take time.

Undoubtedly, after weeks and months of hardwork, a day comes when I can't override the trapped feeling I get.  That dark feeling that tells you no matter how hard you work you're never going to reach  your goals.  Yeah that one. When that feeling has taken hold I know I need som inspiration.  So where do I get mine? From lots of different places, but the best place I've found is bodyrock.tv.

This is the place where Zuzana blogs about her day and workouts.  I love her site because it's not just about fitness, it's about overall well-being.  She even has her own demons she had to overcome and openly talks about in an interview she posted on her blog.  On top of Zuzana, the community of bodyrockers is very inspirational and supportive too.  Not only about working out, but about other obstacles life may bring.  Each one has their own story and many openly share them.  It's truly an infectious site full of positive energy that reminds me I can reach my goals.  Not just in fitness, but in life too.  Also, after watching one of Zuzana's workouts, how can you not feel motivated to go out and do something? Below is the video for the workout I did yesterday.  I hope you enjoy it and have a wonderful day.

So tell me, where do you draw inspiration for life from?