YES, I'M STILL WORKING OUT! Someone posted on my facebook page that she noticed I hadn't been doing my workout blog and she hoped I hadn't given up.  I haven't blogged lately, but only because Chuck has been out of town, back today, and The Q is VERY time consuming.  In a good way.  The stomach virus I had last week did set me back.  Even after the puking stopped, I didn't feel like doing anything for a few days.  But on Saturday, I did my very first Zumba class.

I am not a fitness class person.  I have questionable coordination and an even greater fear of making an idiot out of myself, so I shy away from anything that requires arms and legs to work together in conjunction.  But in the spirit of getting out of my comfort zone this year, and after hearing from MANY friends of mine that Zumba is the greatest thing ever, I got up last Saturday and headed to the gym for a class.  I'm soooo glad I did.  First of all, at Better Body's, the class was made up of women my age and older, which cut down on the intimidation factor a lot.  And it is the friendliest group of women!  They actually greeted me and made some small talk when I came in.  And then there is the instructor.  Perky beyond belief, but not the least bit annoyingly so.  And then the class itself.  Apparently, Zumba must mean "work your calves and butt until you can't walk the next day" in spanish.  But it was broken up into three minute intervals, so just when you thought you might die, there was a tiny break and it was on to the next thing.  I will be making this a regular part of my workout.  It's really fun, even if I look like the village idiot.  Every village needs an idiot, you know.

The boot camp is not happening for me yet.  My mind is willing, but my knees are NOT.  As much as I like to think age is just a number, my knees are openly mocking that.  As long as I'm working out with weights and staying on the treadmill, I'm good.  But even a walk yesterday around Charokee Park pushing Q in the stroller has left me pretty crippled today.  Zumba was tough on my knees, so I'll be rocking the knee braces this weekend.  I know that as I get in better shape, my knees will hurt less, so I'm just trying to manage my knees until the rest catches up.  Getting old is a real pain.  Literally. 

Someone asked me how much weight I've lost since I started this.  Not much. But I'm down a little over 3% body fat, so yay on that.  I'm trying not to get discouraged and have made some adjustments to my diet so see if we can make that happen a little faster.  But I truthfully feel so much better now, it's worth it even without dramatic weight loss.  I no longer have squishy little old lady arms.  I am already getting back the muscle definition in my legs.  My stamina is vastly improved.  I just don't feel so lethargic.  I'm guessing if I keep this up, the rest will happen eventually.  After spending my life trying to figure out how to lose 20 pounds in ten minutes (I kid, but not much) I'm in it for the long haul.  I'm going to be 60 when The Q is in college.  I want to be able to go the Parents Weekend and not need a walker.  Slow and steady wins the race.  Or so I've heard from all those skinny people I've always hated until now.