Are you tough enough for Cardio Dance Party?
Probably not
I am your average gym goer. I workout a few times a week, and maybe get a run or two in if I have time (you know, in between all of the Netflix and lazing around that are crucial to my day). I like to stay in shape but lets face it, a twelve-year-old girl could probably lift more than I can.
When I first discovered the Cardio Dance Party class at UREC it seemed like the perfect fit. It was a fun, easy, and fairly simple way to stay active- what could be better? Boy was I in for a shock.
All decked out in my finest workout apparel, I set out to dance the calories away.
A big, open room full of girls who seemed to have had this routine down forever is more intimidating than in seems. I was slightly hesitant due to this fact but decided to push through and give it my best shot.
After the first song began I could feel myself getting into the groove of the class as my muscles ached and the calories from those barbecue bites started to burn.
The excitement and confidence came to an abrupt halt after one phrase: “Okay ladies great start, that’s the end of our warm up!”
Dear Lord, warm up?
As the pace increased and beats pumped unceasingly, I found myself stumbling over my own feet and trying desperately to keep up, all the while hoping that no one was watching me totally and utterly fail.
Grape vines, jumping jacks, squats and planks- my gosh, the planks. I had no idea how I was actually managing to do it all. There was one song where I did different variations of windmills and literally did not put my arms down once. If that doesn’t make you seriously feel the burn I don’t know what will.
I thought to myself, how does the instructor do it? She’s so good at this, as I studied the movements of other people in the class in an effort to mimic something that would resemble some sort of a workout.
I was tired, frustrated, and almost ready to give up hope that I’d ever succeed in dancing well, when I heard my favorite Beyoncé song come on. Nothing bolsters a girl’s motivation and self-confidence like Queen B. Did I actually dance better? Probably not. But did I kick it into high gear anyways? Heck yeah I did.
When the session came to an end, I was more exhausted and sore than I expected to be. I did survive, and the level of redness in my face is an indication of just how hard we worked in that class (aka really hard).
Though cardio dance party definitely kicked my butt, you know I’ll be back next week to epically fail again because it was actually really fun.
And it’s always good to bring a couple of friends along who also have no idea what they’re doing- cause we’re all in this together right?