Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Zumba, Zumba, Zumba!

Well, hello there.  This time, I really am blogging from my iPad!  I downloaded this Blogsy app for $4.99.  So, if this post pretty much appears crazy, it's because I'm learning how to work this app.  We'll see what it does!

So, I bought Zumba Fitness 2 for the Wii late last week (or well, I had Robert pick it up for me at the store because I was working).  Let me tell you, the first time I did this... it was a complete disaster. (P.S. In the picture below, I really wish my stomach would look like that.... how many Zumba classes does it requite to get my body to look like that?!)
Zumba Game by Wii
I waited to try it out when Robert wasn't home.  I moved all my furniture, strapped on the fitness belt, and started the game.  I set up my profile and when I got to types of programs I wanted to do: "Single Song," "Short Class," "Mid-length Class," and "Long Class."  Well, what the heck are you supposed to choose?  I went with what I thought would be a safe option: Mid-length class.

That was a big mistake.  And let's get real here... I'm not overly coordinated.  I can do things, but it takes me a long time to learn a routine.  What's I do it enough, I'll get it.. but by no means can I just pick up a dance and start doing it.  Just ask my old gym coaches... they hated teaching me new choreography for my floor and beam routines.  I still have memories of memorizing steps and having to do them over and over again.  Something that should take like 4 hours to memorize would take me like 8 hours.

Anyways, getting off of the beaten path... I knew going into this Zumba routine that I would struggle a little bit. But, hey.. mid-length class, I should be able to work through it.  Well, first of all... mid-length class is like 50 minutes long with no breaks.  It's one routine after the other.  And my only options to choose from were from high or medium intensity.  Wisely, I did choose medium intensity... but I really needed low.

Also, for this to work, you have to strap your Wii Remote into this fitness belt.  Nowhere did it say which way the remote should face.  I just took the remote like I held it in my hand and shoved it in the hole where it belonged.  (This was a bad idea I later find out-- there is a certain way to put this remote in the hole!)

Moving forward, I start this mid-length class. I realize with the first song, this is way too advanced for me.  They aren't giving me enough time to get into a pattern and recognize the steps and the little side bar that comes up and tells you what's next didn't come up near often enough.  I'm shaking my lower half and upper half in what I know is a completely unrhythmic way.  My legs and arms are flying all over the place and I'm about 2 seconds behind the dancer on the screen.

If someone had seen me, they would have been like... hurry "get her some water" because I can tell you, I looked like a fish out of water.  It's how I felt, even!  Much less, once I made it through like the SEVEN songs it made the go through, I got a ZERO percent in technique.  Though, I knew my score would be low.. I didn't quite imagine it would be zero.  To be honest, I put the game away and thought....Lord, help me... I don't know if I'll ever do it again.

So... today.. I decided to give it round 2 (of course, timed so that Rob couldn't see me).  This time, I selected a single song and decided to just repeat it over and over again to make sure that I got the steps.  I also selected a song with LOW intensity to make sure that I could keep up with the dancers and not always be two dance steps behind.  So, after my first pass at my song of choice, I still got a ZERO percent.  I'm like seriously?!  I can halfway do this dance.  Then it occurs to me, maybe my remote is the problem.  Sure enough, I turned it right-side up (sensor facing up) and on my second song I got all these "ZUMBA," "HOT," "NICE" phrases thrown on the screen.  While those words are probably a bit ambitious, I'm going to admit its a bit encouraging when words pop up on the screen that tell you you are doing a good job.  I'll take whatever I can get here people when sweat is pouring down my face.

After about the 3rd go around, I even got 5 stars and my best technique was 86%.  At the end, it says to increase your technique... do the moves with more energy?  I've got a smile on my face here people!  Where does that get recorded??  Anyways, I did master the dance (more than 86% in my opinion, but I can't seem to convince the Wii of that).  So, I reckon I'll keep the game around.  

So, my lesson learned is to take it one dance at a time and then I'll start with a class.  I'm never just going in blind to seven songs in a row again.  That was a bad idea.  I reckon Zumba is going to my workout of choice for 2012... we'll see how long it lasts.  :-)

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