running: the dawn



Five years ago, today, I became a Jazzercise instructor.  Literally my favorite job ever!  Even though I no longer teach classes, I still love going and the Jazzer-community is nothing short of amazing! Since I rave about Jazzercise so much on here and I get a LOT of questions about what its like I figured now would be the best time to share with everyone why I’m so obsessed with Jazzercise.

What to expect at a Jazzercise class:

1. When you first get there, a class manager or the instructor will welcome you and make sure you get oriented.  I’ve visited classes EVERYWHERE that I travel from California to Chicago, Michigan to Vermont.  They are always so open and friendly.
2. The opening song/routine will be some nice easy movements to get your muscles warm and then you spend a few minutes stretching.
3. The cardio section lasts between 35-40 minutes.  Songs are selected to get your heart rate up quickly, sustain it, and then slowly bring it back down.
4. The last cardio routine is always my favorite.  Its usually a little more funky and dance-like.  Recently there has been a lot of music from the Glee cast which is super fun!
5. For the last 15-20 minutes of class we do stretching and strength training.  We use weights, resistance bands, exercise balls and mats.  The ab workouts are usually my favorite and can REALLY burn!
6. The last routine always includes some more light stretching to round out the perfect 60 minute workout.

Some general reasons why Jazzercise is my favorite form of exercise:

• Always new fresh music. I actually find most of my running music from Jazzercise class.  They always have current upbeat song that motivate me to work hard.
• A scheduled start and stop time. I’ve found that just “going to the gym” doesn’t work for me because I could go “whenever” which means that I put it off and end up short changing my workout.  So, just the fact that it starts at 6:00 pm gets me out the door.
• Informed, quality instructors. Jazzercise instructors come in all varieties, but they all love what they do and it shows.  Classes are always fun, and informative.
• I don’t have to plan out what I’m going to do. When I go to class I know that I will get a full cardio workout plus resistance training with all of my major muscle groups: arms, chest, back, legs, glutes, abs.
• It has the BEST of everything! I have exercise ADD and I love to try out new forms of crosstraining, but I don’t want to pay for yoga, pilates, kickboxing, latin dance, etc.  Jazzercise incorporates the best of all these different genres and puts it together for me.  I love that during one class I’ll be kicking and punching during one song, finding my “cha cha” hips the next, and even doing pilates “100′s” before class is done.
• Accountability. I know that if I miss a day or two people will notice.  When I was gone for two weeks at Christmas time I got a postcard, emails, and facebook messages from the instructor and others in the class making sure everything was ok and telling me that they missed me.  It’s so great to know that people notice my presence and miss me when I’m gone.

And finally, why I think that Jazzercise is the BEST crosstraining for me, a runner:

• Strengthens the opposing muscles. In running the motion goes from the back of the foot rolling through to the toe where you push off.  In Jazzercise, and most other aerobics, the impact is reversed.  You land on your foot rolling “toe-ball-heel.”  I have found this to be an awesome way to have some impact in my workouts, but still give my running muscles a break.
• Core strength. Throughout the entire 60 minute workout you are strengthening your core.  With the twisting, lifting, and hopping the core is engaged as it keeps you stabilized.  When I first started going to Jazzercise regularly I noticed a huge change in my running posture.  I was running “tall” and using my core strength to have support my spine.  This helped me not fatigue as quickly.
• Hip strength. Every time I see articles in Runner’s World or other places about how to stay injury free and recover from a knee injury they address the importance of hip strength and flexibility.  What I LOVE is that most of the suggested exercises for strengthening the hip are ones that I already do in Jazzercise, just by going to class.  We routinely work both the inner and outer thigh and often the moves are ones that engage the hip flexors which helps me power up those hills that you all know I LOVE!
• Stretching. Although I used to be a gymnast, and I know the important role that stretching plays in the life of an athlete…I don’t always make the time to stretch.  When I go to class I know that I will get some light stretching at the beginning, and entire routine of stretching after the cardio, and some more light stretching right before I leave.  I love that stretching is a given when I go to Jazzercise.

So, if you’re interested in checking out a class, here’s a link to find a class near you.  Next Monday, January 24, is the one day sale nationwide.  If you are looking for the perfect time to attend a class for free and get some major discounts that would be the perfect time to check it out!

**I am not an employee of Jazzercise Inc, and did not receive any benefits from writing this post.  I just REALLY love their workout!!!**

jazzercise.

No one believes me when I tell them that I love Jazzercise, and they’re are even more shocked when they learn that I spent three years as a Jazzercise Instructor.  (In fact, had I not resigned last May, January 22 would have been my 4-year Jazzer-versary.)  But it’s true, I LOVE the Jazzercise workout.

I know what people think when they hear the word Jazzercise.  First, most people literally show me their “jazz hands” and start laughing because they are so sure they just summed up all there is to know.  The conversation then goes directly to the 80’s.  I can see the images they are forming in their minds, all of which involve…shiny blue spandex leggings, lavender leotard, serious head band action and to complete the ensemble, hot pink leg warmers scrunched up just over the white double velcro straps of their Reebok shoes.  Hotness!

I can personally testify that Jazzercise has evolved through all the changing decades and is just as up-to-date today as it was with all of its 80’s glory.

Monday I signed up and officially became a customer of Jazzercise once again.  My first class was in 2000.  A friend of mine was going and she couldn’t stop talking about how much fun class was.  Back then, I was a poor college student, so I would wait to get coupons in the mail and then go to class for a few months at a time.

From the first day, I knew this was an exercise that I could get excited about.  The number one reason is that it gives me a chance to dance my little heart out.  The moves are not hard, but they are SO much fun.  The music always got me going, and before I knew it the class would be over.

The year that I ran my first marathon, I signed up to go to Jazzercise the four months leading up to the race.  I used it as my cross-training going five days a week.  Come race day I felt strong.  Jazzercise uses moves from all different fitness-related activities from kick-boxing to latin dancing, from yoga and pilates to plyometrics.  For me, it’s the perfect companion to running.  In Jazzercise I spend so much time focusing and strengthening my core and I remember how different my running posture was after a just a month of attending classes.

Then it was time for me to leave school and get a full time job in the big scary world.  I am not exaggerating when I say that I would look up online to see if there were Jazzercise classes near any potential job.  When I finally decided to move to Vermont I found and apartment within walking distance to the local Jazzercise center.  It was there that I found a community of women that melted my heart.  The Barre Jazzercise center was also where I decided to become a certified instructor.

I thought I loved Jazzercise before, but once I became an instructor my love affair was elevated to a whole new level.  After another move brought me to Kansas and again I was immediately welcomed into a family of fitness-minded strong and beautiful women.  These ladies were with me through my dating-engagement-wedding evolution.  That brought them even closer to my heart.

So, when my latest move brought me to a small rural town and my job demands increase, I couldn’t balance all areas of my life anymore and I had to step away from my role as an instructor.  It broke my heart.  I spent the last seven months Jazzercise-less.  The first time in 10 years.

And now…I’m back!  I took my second class tonight as a returning customer and loved every second of it.  There’s something different about Jazzercise sweat.  It gets in my eyes, my mouth, drips off my nose.  It’s like swimming, but not.  My legs were burning by the end of class, so many squats and lunges!  I can’t wait to feel the sore in the morning.