Zumba - Day One (and a tad of self-loathing for good measure)

Last night was my first Zumba class. I decided to sign up for "sesson 1" which is for 3 weeks. The studio is literally less than 5 minutes from my house and I took that as a sign.

I was nervous to begin with and then I show up and there are only TWO other girls there for the class. They were both younger than me. They were both thinner than me. And the instructor looked like she was 18. "This is greeeeeeat" I thought to myself. Well, I was already in the building so I couldn't turn and run now, could I?

I knew there would be mirrors in there. I was ok with that under the assumption that there would be at least 10 people I could hide behind. No such luck for me. I avoided looking at myself at all costs. I friggin HATED what I was looking at. I looked like the "fat old lady" in the youtube videos I was watching. Instead, I stared at the instructor's feet the whole time.

Now that the self-loathing is out of the way...

I did pretty good! This instructor's choreography involved a LOT of pivoting which I was petrified of doing in double time on my left knee, so I just kinda modified it by stomping and not pivoting. Sure, I was hot and tired, but by no means exhausted. Nor defeated. I did learn that I can't march and clap at the same time. What the heck happened to my coordination? I do still wish there were some other people in there, so that I'm not sticking out like a sore thumb doing "my own thing".

I'm not too sold on this particular instructor. She does not give any verbal cues, and doesn't even give a "woo hoo!" or "come on!". She told us that at the beginning of the class. She points, and slaps her thighs or punches. I think I would like someone a little more engaging. I'll stick it out for the first session. Maybe I'll check out some other instructors in the area on a drop-in basis. There are enough of them out there to be able to find the right "fit".

After class I went home and made some pan seared scallops with capers and a salad with evoo and balsamic. I didn't have any pain in my knee but a tiny bit of swelling so I took an Alleve before I went to bed. All in all, I felt good. It would be good if I could get a knee brace. I should just look into it and do it. The ones they sell at CVS are too small. I could get one online and possibly use my HCRA to pay for it (because they're up in the $100 range). If anything, it would give me peace of mind.