So long ago….like in the 80′s I first recall hearing about Jazzercise.  Even then during the times of neon and jelly shoes, it seemed a bit rah rah and flashy to me and keep in mind I was in junior high so you would have thought would have liked rah rah. Granted this was also around the time of the Jane Fonda Workout, Olivia Newton Johns Let’s Get Physical and all things related to aerobics.  Jazzercise  seemed a bit intense to me and something people my Mom’s age did…which when you are a teenager seems really old.

As I grew older, I went through many plans of attack on how to lose weight and feel cute  in a pair of skinny jeans.  I poured over the internet and checked out all the local exercise options.  I knew I was able to forget I was exercising when I danced…so the element of dance was key.  I also wanted a lot of options for classes….the exercise chains offered exercise-dance-type-classes but not frequently enough.  I needed a place that offered enough times and options so that I had very little chance of saying “oops I missed the class.  Oh well, next week then….”.

I saw there was a local Jazzercise and suddenly images of the 80′s danced through my head…eww ick that’s still around?  And what kind of jacked up soccer mom’s would be there.   I was pretty sure that this was not for me, so I tossed the thought aside.  One day I talking to my friend Eva.  Eva is a total beam of light.  To put it simply she is inspirational in attitude, dress and in her general presence on the planet.  She is one of those people that reminds you why it’s  great to have friends.  She was also a dancer and so I take her review of dance related exercise classes a bit more seriously.  She told me she’d been attending Jazzercise and loved it and I should check it out.

So I suited up and went to my first class.  It was a Saturday morning and the room was packed.  At this point I really hadn’t exercised in some time so I knew this was going to be rough. We had an hour long class of warm up, peek activity and then cool down.  Durinthe course of the class I wasn’t impressed with the instructor at all  and I kept looking over at Eva wondering if this was the awesome Jazzercise she had been raving about.  The teacher was a bit uncoordinated and not very motivating.  We got through the class.  I was hot and sweaty and a really disappointed.  When were leaving Eva apologized, she said she had never seen this instructor, she was some substitute and this was not how the classes typically went.  So I had gotten a bad one.

I gave it another go a few weeks later, this time with the owner was the instructor and it absolutely rocked.  I really enjoyed it.  It was hard, and I felt like I had two left feet, but it was fun. The instructor was also up high in the Jazzercise team and I could see why.  He was amazing and motivational.  So that was it, I was hooked and started going.  I can’t say I went and the rest is history and I can now fit both legs into one pant leg of my once gigantic pants.  What I can say is Jazzercise got me through the worst part of my marriage, then my divorce and reminded me I can move and I look good doing it.  Most importantly it reminded me I could feel good in my body.  If you’ve never tried Jazzercise and particularly if you like to dance, I REALLY recommend it.

In my next post I will talk about what to expect  when you attend.