Fitbit - Small, But Mighty

As you may have seen me mention a dozen or so times, I finally got my Fitbit in the mail this week.  For those not familiar with the Fitbit, it's kind of like 24 Hour Fitness' Bodybugg®, only much smaller, can clip anywhere and it's cheaper*.

First, let's talk about the "smaller". I love that I don't have to wear a belt or an armband to use this device. I clip it to my collar, tank strap or my sportsbra when I'm walking around or at the gym. Its about the size of a portable USB thumbdrive and looks like a wee money clip. They provide an additional plastic clip it can slide into if you want to strap it to a thicker belt or strap. It also comes with a soft elastic wristband that the Fitbit clips onto (and slips into a protective sheath, as well) so you can track your sleep.

You heard me. Track your sleep!  That was the big seller for me, even above the price.  This doodad can track everything the Bodybugg tracks... my steps, my calories burned, my activity level (and on the website, my food intake, mood and more) and it can track my sleep patterns. I just get in bed, hold down the little button on my Fitbit for 2 seconds until I see the word 'start', then I just lie down and get my Z's on.  In the morning, when I wake up and am ready to get out of bed, I simply hold the button down again for 2 seconds until it says "stop" and go about my  day.  When it syncs with my profile, it'll tell me what time I went to bed, how long it took me to fall asleep, how many times I was 'active' during the night and ultimately, how much actual sleep I got. It also can be set more sensitively if you really want to see every time you rolled over or whatever.   Totally. Rad.

I give this 5 donuts.

Zumba! Or How to Not Look Like Shakira

Last night, I decided to try Zumba® for the first time. I was super nervous because I am, as I've said before, not really a "joiner". I don't really do classes, I don't join many groups, I don't even like Weight Watchers meetings. Not that I'm not social -- anyone who knows me can attest I'm the Grand Poobah of Extroversion -- but, that usually doesn't involve sweat and stretch pants.

For those who don't know what Zumba is (I didn't, really!), it's kind of like a latin dance fusion... there was salsa, merengue, some brazilian booty shakin', all set to really high energy latin dance music. Think cha-cha meets step class without the step. The official description from 24 Hour Fitness is:

This workout combines high energy and motivating music with synchronized dance movements designed for any fitness level. The routines feature aerobic fitness interval training with a combination of fast and slow rhythms that tone and sculpt the body. Want to burn some calories and have fun? Then Zumba is for you!

I got to the class early because I'd heard that some classes have lines for Zumba... like, long, long lines.  Like you're auditioning for American Idol-type lines.  That was not the case at my gym fortunately, so I had some time to kill before class, which I used chatting up other class-goers lingering outside the door like me.  I was encouraged and saw there were a couple other girls my size... bigger, actually and I thought, if they can do it, so can I!  Of course, then I found out it was there first time, too and they were just as nervous than I was. So I figured we were all in this together and I was going to follow-through with it even if I looked like a total buffoon.

The Show’s Called Goddess, It Ain’t Called Classes

I'm considering taking some classes at my local 24 Hour Fitness (or one of them, anyway).  I'm not really a 'joiner', per se, and I'm loathe to even consider myself trotting around a glass room in clingy pants, but I need some variety.

I've always been interested in taking a dance-type class, but all the hip-hop ones seemed a bit intimidating. I'm not all that interested in learning "the hottest floor-slammin' moves of the club!"... I'm just not the "drop it like it's hot" type. But some of the others look promising... classes like Salsa Moves and Hustle™. But the latest ones that interest me are Hot Hula™ and Zumba®.