Exercise

Zumbatomic Instructor Training {Fitness}

by Diana on April 29, 2012

in Exercise

On Saturday, my friend Shamecia (an instructor-in-training) and I headed north of the city to attend one of the other training sessions that Zumba offers – Zumbatomic Instructor Training. The name is not exactly intuitive, but Zumbatomic is basically Zumba for kids.

I already teach Zumba three times a week, work full-time, and blog, too. But, while I didn’t think I have the time to take on a new class, I did think it would be interesting to learn how to modify moves to make them kid-friendly, especially since I’ve had parents bring their children to class in the past.

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{Me & Shamecia}

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You won’t see a brighter (or should I say “more colorful”) group than at a Zumba training.

Oh wait…actually, you will see a MUCH brighter group here (and please check out the video on that post!).

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Anywho, the training went from 8:30-5:30 with only about an hour’s worth of breaks spread out through the day. We had a jam-packed day, people!

We started with an intro and a one hour master class (adult-style). After a quick break to change, we had lectures and learned kid-friendly choreography for the Lil Starz (ages 4-7). Then we had a short lunch break, followed by more lectures, choreography for Big Starz (ages 8-12), networking (where we broke into groups to tackle different topics and then shared our results with the whole group), modifications (how to make regular Zumba moves kid-friendly), and finally legal-type stuff (parental and legal considerations).

One of the most interesting things I learned is that Zumbatomic is becoming approved for use in schools (and for home schoolers) around the country. Your kids could be doing Zumbatomic for PE one day!

I also really loved how Zumbatomic teaches more than just dancing – it teaches confidence, respect, responsibility, team work, and much more! It seems like Zumbatomic has the potential to have such a positive impact on a child’s life in so many ways.

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Before we knew it, the day was over, and Shamecia and I were licensed Zumbatomic instructors! {Here I am getting my certificate.}

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Here we are with our ZES (Zumba Education Specialist) Loretta Bates. I first met Loretta at a master class my company sponsored for her, and I also was at her Reggaeton Rebellion session at Zumba Convention last year when Wyclef popped in and did an impromptu performance.

I loved Loretta as our ZES! She was engaging, fun, and really enthusiastic about Zumbatomic. I thought she was really in control of the training and very knowledgeable. She was wonderful!

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Before training, I wasn’t really interesting in teaching a Zumbatomic class. Like I mentioned before, I just wanted to have the knowledge of what to do for kids in my existing Zumba classes. But, now that I’ve completed the training, I kind of wish I had more time so I could teach a Zumbatomic class. Who knows where things will go in the next couple years, but for now, there’s the opportunity for me to do Zumbatomic classes at special events, like birthdays. I think that could be really fun, too!

I found a video on YouTube of a real Zumbatomic class. Aren’t they cute?

Reader question: What do you think about the Zumbatomic concept? Would you want your kids to do Zumbatomic? Why or why not?

Zumba Instructor question: If you’re not Zumbatomic certified – are you thinking about it? Do you have any questions about the training? If you are Zumbatomic certified, what do you think about teaching Zumba for kids? Any tips or suggestions?

{ 4 comments }

Bar Crawlin

by Diana on March 18, 2012

in Exercise,Life

Did you do anything fun for St. Patrick’s Day? I actually ended up having a pretty busy weekend…

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After a full work day on Friday, I headed out with friend and fellow Zumba instructor, Sarah, to represent our dance-fitness company at a local charity Zumbathon for ALS.

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The Zumbathon was a huge success – the place was packed and had guest appearances from ZES Renee Pickett and ZJs Andrea Riggs and Erica Dixon. The event was a whopping 3 hours long, and Sarah and I got to shut the show down by leading the last 2 songs. I did Candyman, and Sarah did Get Low (merengue version).

And for an update – I found out the event raised $1,800 for ALS! Woohoo!

***

As for Saturday…

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I headed out with about 20 friends for our second annual St. Patrick’s Day Bar Crawl. Last year’s 13 hour bar crawl was more of an impromptu outing, but this year, there were thousands of people signed up to crawl from bar to bar around uptown Charlotte. I’ve heard varied reports on just how large the event ended up being. Some people say 9,000 people were signed up, while others said it was closer to 14,000. All I know is, there were people everywhere, packed into every bar around town like a giant frat party.

This year, we started a little later and ended a little earlier. The weather was gorgeous almost all day – warm and sunny like summer. We hit up about four bars, had apple-tinis and gatorade shots, enjoyed some junky eats, and played plenty of spin-the-bottle-dance-off (please see this post for a how-to). And now that I think of it, I think we did the Wobble in almost every bar we visited. Did I mention my group contained several Zumba instructors and the rest were Zumbaholics? ;)

We actually ended the night at a decent hour – right around 10pm. The downside? Getting caught in the rain.

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We had to run down several blocks in the pouring rain while onlookers yelled, “Run, Forrest, run!” (yes, they really did yell this at us). Here I am after getting home. Told ya it was raining! I am completely soaked! It was all worth the fun day, though. I had a blast!

Anywho, I came home in time to catch the end of a couple basketball games. I’m not much of a bball fan, but I always join hubby’s bracket pool, which gets me to pay attention to games and cheer for various teams I would normally not know existed. I’m currently in 2nd place. Let’s hope this lucky streak continues!

How was your weekend? Did you make any green food?

{ 2 comments }

Purple Hair & Electric Knee

by Diana on February 28, 2012

in Beauty,Exercise,Life

They say you shouldn’t get your hair cut immediately following a break up, but I wonder if the same can be said of a stressful situation (regardless of the cause).

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I knew things were getting pretty crazy (stress-wise) in my life, but when I started considering doing this (see spikey hair-ness above) to my hair, it was more obvious to me than ever that things were off-kilter. I should probably clarify that I do still think this hair cut is pretty bada$$, but I’m not sure it would work on me.

When I laughingly mentioned the idea of the short look to my hair stylist, Jason, (tell them I sent you for a first-timer discount!), he told me I needed a vacation…not a short hair cut.

I do need a vacation, and I’m actually planning one (yesssssss!). In the meantime, I did NOT cut my hair short.

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Instead, I did this – a pretty dramatic trim (my hair had gotten so long – I think he took off at least 7-8 inches) and a fun (and more importantly temporary) addition of a purple streak of hair. A good look for the office? Not so much. Age-appropriate? Doubtful. Fun for Zumba class? You’re d*mn skippy. Better than a super-short hair cut that would take forever to grow out? You know it!

Anywho, all this rambling to say I’m hoping to return to regular blogging very soon. My crazy-busy work schedule is starting to let up a little. I haven’t been able to blog because the project I’ve been working on for the last three years went live two weekends ago, and I was inundated with work in the weeks approaching the go-ilve. And the weekend of go-live? I worked a regular work week up to go-live and then a little bit around 10pm on Friday, 9am/1pm/4pm/8:30pm on Saturday, and noon/4:30pm on Sunday. Phew! Things actually went pretty smoothly on my end, and I’m just helping wrap-up some post install items now. I’m almost down to 1 month left on this project, and then I go somewhere new. Where? Who knows. Time will tell.

In other news…

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I managed to (slightly) injure myself (again! grr). This time, I didn’t do anything stupid at least. I think my knee (body?) is succumbing to age, use from years of figure skating, and working out when I’m already tired…plus maybe some bad posture/alignment. Anywho, I’ve been seeing a sports doctor, who has been shooting me with electricity and laser beams. Ok, not really, but he’s been treating me and…

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…taping me up with Kineseo tape. Luckily, my injury wasn’t too bad, and I didn’t have to miss any Zumba classes! I got cleared to do low intensity Zumba sans squats, which was sort of a shame because I was just starting to actually enjoy doing squats in class. Weird, I know. Anywho, I’ve also been doing physical therapy and re-training my body to do squats and lunges properly. As a result, I’ve now become extra careful about doing squat and lunge-like moves in class, which is probably something I should have been doing anyways.

I do have some recipes queued up for you guys, and some new ideas for future recipes jotted down on random pieces of paper. Hopefully, I can bring some to life to share with you all soon.

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Bailey says Hi!

Reader question: Have you ever done something dramatic to your hair? What did you do, and did you like it?

{ 14 comments }

The Best Birthday Gift

by Diana on September 23, 2011

in Breakfast,Eats,Exercise

This year for my birthday, I got one of the best gifts of all.

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The day started out wonderfully thanks to hubby waking up early to cook our current fave breakfast – eggs and a carb.

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For this morning, we had a fried cage-free egg and toasted whole grain English muffin with an orange on the side. Oh, and I got flowers, too!

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I painted my nails this fun hot pink color in honor of the special day.

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And as for gifts…?

The best gift of all was having my health back. After taking two months away from Zumba thanks to that back injury, I am finally back to teaching Zumba! Seriously…best gift ever. You don’t realize how many things you take for granted until they’re taken away from you. So, to have the ability to dance freely again, after two months of sometimes pain and sometimes frustration, was wonderful. I’m not 100%, but I’m almost there! :)

But, if that wasn’t awesome enough, a couple thoughtful class participants even gave me cards (and one gave me a gift!). And then…another fabulous thing happened to me. At the end of class, the whole class sang Happy Birthday to me! It was a total surprise and so touching.

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After class, I went out with some friends (Shamecia, Sarah, Talicha, Maria, and Megan – not pictured) for a sushi birthday dinner at one of my favorite sushi places in town. Dinner was excellent, as always…as was the fun conversation with my friends.

Reader Question: What’s the best birthday gift you’ve ever received?

{ 19 comments }

Baby Steps Back

August 5, 2011

I’ve been taking baby steps back from my injury. The other day, I decided to spend a few minutes before work doing some simple yoga poses. Please forgive my poor form. I haven’t done real yoga since Kath’s last day in Charlotte, so I was going off of rough memory. Let go and feel your [...]

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Benched (Injuries Suck)

July 25, 2011

It’s funny being a blogger sometimes because although much of your life is so public, not 100% of your life is typically published. Some of you may have noticed my hiatus from blogging a couple weeks ago. In fact, my sister noticed and g-chatted me to see what was up. Here’s what I’ve been hiding [...]

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Zumba Convention 2011 {Day 4} – Bollywood, African, & Impromptu Dancing

July 14, 2011

Catching Up? Check out my other Zumba Conference posts here: Day 1 – Shopping & Cafe Tu Tu Tango Day 2 – Fitness Concert & Star Appearances (plus a must-see video!) Day 3 – Caribbean Hotness, Master Class, & Pool Time And for my foodie friends, I do have some fun recipes coming at you [...]

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Zumba Convention 2011 {Day 3} – Caribbean Hotness, Master Class, & Pool Time

July 12, 2011

Catching Up? Check out my other Zumba Conference posts here: Day 1 – Shopping & Cafe Tu Tu Tango Day 2 – Fitness Concert & Star Appearances (plus a must-see video!) We stayed out pretty late at the Pitbull concert, but I didn’t let myself sleep in. I was super pumped about heading out to [...]

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