Sunday, April 28, 2019

My Exercise Jam ... Or How To Fit Movement In Your Day While Also Having Fun!

Hello, beautiful people!

I've been stressing over what to talk to you about this month. Not that I lack topics (yes, blabbermouth that I am, LOL), but there's just so much I want to tell you and I was stumped as to what to go with.

The past 2 weeks have seen me strangely in a lull where it was school/Easter break and I had almost no editing work on the plate! So it was almost like I had 2 weeks to myself ... and we all know how that ends up. The blokes here love to go out, so of course, we're also eating out (the staff at McDonald's Cascavelle know us by name & face by now, I'm sure!); there's no alarm clock in the morning, so guess who is sleeping in like a beached whale...

And, of course, NO EXERCISE! I do yoga first thing when I get up around 7am usually, but that routine went out the window during this break. I gotta tell you, if I don't move for more than 2-3 days, my back starts acting up (I have a too-curved spine from growing up too fast and being 5-feet tall already at tables meant for 3-4 feet tall kids, plus I had a car accident some 20 years ago where a vertebrae in my spine was crushed).

So how do you fit exercise in during break time? How do you fit exercise and movement in, full stop? I'll show you my way!


I love music! I could listen to music all day long! Yes, I do blip out sounds when I'm concentrated - I can never write to music, for example. But when I'm going about my day? Bring it! Now, there's something about a good rhythm that just gets under your skin and makes you want to move... That's my exercise jam on days when I know a more 'formal' routine won't cut it.

Everyone knows of the success of Zumba to exercise, sweat, and get that ripped body. I started my exercise practice about 10 years ago on Zumba myself. Had two left feet, yeah, but I learned the steps and suddenly for the first time in my life, I could DANCE! The body modifications followed - more defined arms, leaner legs, firmer stomach (though I still had a long way to go!).

But stopping at a specific time, getting out of comfy clothes and into skin-baring sports bra & shorts, esp. when it is cold as all heck here in winter? Not sustainable. And following all those complicated choreographies were getting to me - like my hand slapping in my face when it's supposed to be going the other way, that sort of thing. I didn't need the humiliation on top, ha!

Then I reckoned - movement is movement, right, and ALL movement is exercise! Adjusting accordingly, the moment I heard a song come on that I could get my groove on and dance to? I took it! Consequently, now when I need to move and just need to shake the cobwebs from my bones, break the rust in my joints, activate the energy in my muscles? I put my music on and dance like no one's watching inside my house (the cat is often watching, wondering who the heck this alien is that's taken over the gullible mummy. The husband might also be watching, but hey, what man doesn't love watching his woman give a performance with her body moves *wink, wink* The teenage boy just moves away before he'll need to bleach his eyes out...)

So here are 'my' songs I jam to when I feel the need to move, or just because, as dancing around like a loon brings me joy - you can never have too much joy in your life! Trust me, just the 3 minutes or so of 1 of these songs doing constant movement gets your blood pumping and is a real workout!

In no particular order:

Happy by Pharrell - who can resist this beat? It just makes you, well, happy *grin*




Shake It Off by Taylor Swift - love her, hate her, this song has got the shakes and gets you moving!




Sucker by The Jonas Brothers - quirky rhythm that gets you to boogie. I love this one and its irreverent tone




Arms Around You by XXXtentacion & Lil Pump feat. Swae Lee and Maluma - a bit slower, but gets you moving and swerving in those figure-8 moves that are also very good at moving the actual energy in your body




Alingo by P-Square - this one gets me every. Single. Time! It also pumps up the happy!




Ala Li La - a great rhythm from sunny Mauritius! This is the typical sega music of my island and you just cannot help but want to move when this music comes on! Have fun thinking you're under the tropical sun with this one!




Sugar by Maroon 5 - such a catchy tune and move-able track! Upbeat and lively, this gets me going every time!




Can't Stop The Feeling by Justin Timberlake - who can resist this? Brings joy on the highest level when you listen and just let go to bop around the place to the beat!




This is in NO way my definite/full list of music to jam to and get my groove on. But with these 8 tracks to start with (go make a playlist on YouTube or Spotify, or even on your phone if you have all these tracks like I do!), that's about 25 minutes of good dancing and joyful vibes to shake it off to (sorry, couldn't resist the pun!) and get in some much needed movement and exercise when everything else seems impossible. It's what I do on most days whether I need the exercise or just need to allow myself to feel good and get the endorphins flowing!

What's your favourite track to jam to? Tell me in the comments! I'd love to beef up my music library and get more good sounds going on.

From Mauritius with love,

Zee

2 comments:

Nana Prah said...

Dancing is my favorite form of exercise, too. I was surprised to see the P Square song on your list. I really shouldn't have been though. Great music is everyhwhere.

Zee Monodee said...

Hey Nana!

OMG, I love P-Square! Shekini is another one that gets me moving every time. And yes, good music transcends and crosses frontiers.