Tuesday, August 10, 2010

BodyJam Review

So I've had my gym membership for just about one month now, and in between trips to New York, trips to Ohio, and this nightmare of a summer grad class... I've actually been going pretty consistently considering my availability. According to the Gold's Gym locker room scale, I'm even down five pounds from when I started. As happy as that makes me, it also makes me wonder how much I might have lost had I actually been following a diet instead of eating fried cheese on a stick at Cedar Point last week!!! :-P Luckily I am back on track food wise (even though Dave likes to sneak yummy chocolate cookies into the house to torture me with!).

Anyway, I chose to get my membership with Gold's Gym for a number of reasons. One reason was the pool (swimming laps at the public pool in 100 degree heat with hundreds of kids screaming and splashing around is not my idea of a good time) another reason was for their classes. Since joining I've been trying to find a class I would be interested in. Cycling burns a lot of calories, but the classes seem so intimidating to me. I heard that body pump is great, but the time of the classes hasn't been working out for me! Eventually the yoga and Pilate classes will spark my interest, but what I really wanted was a good cardio workout that didn't involve me tripping on a box! Luckily, this month my gym introduced BodyJam into their class lineup.

Gold Gym's North Hills describes BodyJam as:

"This addictive fusion of the latest dance moves and hottest new sounds puts the
emphasis as much on having fun as breaking a sweat. Funky instructors teach you to move with attitude through this 55-minute class. Go grab a friend and get front and center to get high on the feeling of dance!"

Okay, I'm not exactly the most coordinated person, but this sounded like fun! Plus it is a cardio workout that uses just the body so I don't have to worry about tripping over anything, buying anything, or dropping anything.

I showed up to the gym a half hour early so I decided to warm up and burn a few calories by running on the treadmill for a bit. Turns out that REALLY wasn't necessary!! I walked into the class and noticed that even though the participants were mostly women, a few men joined our group as well. The instructor of the class was a big lady (as in tall and buff) and looked like she could EASILY kick anyone's butt.

The microphone at the gym was down, so prior to starting the workout, the instructor went over some of the more difficult dance moves. As the class began, she would teach us simple moves and build up a choreographed routine to fast-pace hip-hop music in the form of salsa, mambo, and disco. Quickly into our warm up I was already feeling the sweat as I watched my body jiggle in the room's way too many mirrors. Luckily as we danced through the class, I became less and less focused on the mirrors and more focused on how much fun I was having. With so many different levels of fitness and coordination bouncing around the class, it was the perfect workout for anyone.

I left the class feeling exhausted but also feeling great thanks to the endorphin's high. My legs were sore and I could tell my muscles would be hurting in the morning. Looking back, running on the treadmill was a stupid idea considering 55 minutes of cardio was more than adequate in burning calories. I have to keep reminding myself not to push too much. Getting injured is not on the goal's list. :)

BodyJam was an awesome workout and I recommend it for anyone looking to burn calories in a fun, upbeat way.

12 comments:

  1. I'm glad you liked the class and this may sound very motherly but "I'm proud of you."

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  2. awwwwwwwwwwwwwww... thanks MOM!!!! :-P

    It was time... I got sick of the yo-yoing. Join me in running the boilermarker next year. ;) Any race that ends in free beer is good in my book!

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  3. Kelly, I think this is a great idea! Anything I can do to help please let me know. One tip that you might find useful is livestrong.com has a place where you can type in nearly any food and find out the calorie count. This includes most resturant dishes so before I go out to eat I always check the menu online and calorie counts on livestrong and try to pick something before I go to limit my calorie intake. Best of luck and I will be following :)

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  4. Love it! I've used myfitnesspal.com where you can search calories and other nutritional information for different foods, keep a daily food and exercise diary, and chart your progress. Go Kelly!

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  5. Sounds like Zumba! I loved Zumba, even though I am totally uncoordinated as well.

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  6. Thanks Cheryl! Have fun in Cancun! You have no idea how jealous I am. :-P

    Hollie: I was hoping they would add Zumba to their class list. I think that is why body jam appealed to me. However, there is one part where we pause and focus on our abs by swaying our hips in belly dancer/stripper kind of way. All I can think about is Miranda Hobbs telling Carrie: "I'm gonna find her inner goddess if it kills me"

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  7. KELLY!!!!!!

    1) I MISS YOU!!

    2) I second the checking out Livestrong.com. Their calorie tracker is called "The Daily Plate" and it's excellent.

    3) I'm selling my Bodybugg if you want it (www.bodybugg.com). It's a great tool - I just don't need it anymore.

    I know there were LOTS of others, but I forgot what they were now... Dang!

    -- Sarah

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  8. @geoNERDette: hmmmmmm.... if I wasn't unemployed I would take you up on that bodybugg offer! :-P

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  9. so, I thought you were going to blog everyday! What have you been doing? have you taken any other classes?

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  10. Sheesh! I just wrote an update! :-P

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  11. AND never did I say it would be EVERYDAY! lol

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