Exercising my core

Although I could simply spend my 30-40 minutes Just Dancing every day and stay in better shape than I have been in a while, I decided to step it up a notch with the addition of the best workout DVD I've ever come across -- Core Fusion Body Sculpt.

My friend gave this to me as a gift, and I didn't take it personally because she gave it to several of us girls at the same time. Her philosophy is that we're beautiful women who want to maintain our beauty as we hit old age (or 30). I can get behind that inspiring message from a friend. The gift also came at the perfect time -- just two months after I quit my membership.

What I love about Core Fusion is that it divides the workout into five 10-minute segments, each focused on a different area of strength or flexibility. The Core Fusion philosophy that is repeated by the two trainers/narrators throughout the DVD is "strength within stillness." That is completely true. Keeping myself posed in a certain position during each strength workout is a challenge that literally allows me to feel the burn!

The table of contents includes:

• An arm sculpt that requires the use of two light free weights -- I use 3-lb. weights, but when doing this workout with a friend I also discovered that I can handle the 5-lb. weights and hope to make it through a workout without them killing me. You can see a YouTube video of this workout (don't let those tiny movements fool you!)
• A thigh sculpt that requires a chair or countertop
• A gluteal sculpt that also requires the same chair or countertop
• An ab sculpt that requires placing your legs on some wall space
• A stretching routine that I have never actually attempted -- The other four workouts end with a 1-2 minute stretching segment, and I find that's sufficient (that, and the fact that flexibility is my one true athletic talent, so I don't get too many results from flexibility training).

The narrators describe the ab sculpt as the most difficult ab workout you'll ever do, and that's probably correct. Still, for me, I find the gluteal portion the most challenging, perhaps because it requires balancing on one leg while kicking the other leg into the air, then after five minutes shifting legs and performing the same exercise all over again. It's totally exhausting, and it makes walking down the stairs the next day rather difficult.

This workout DVD is also well designed for anyone trying to workout in a small space with limited equipment. You really only need to invest in a couple free weights and then you're set.

 Additionally, people of any fitness level can benefit from completing these routines. As with any fitness plan, it's easier to make it through the DVD as you build your strength, but you'll probably never outgrow this DVD because the narrators share ways you can adjust each workout to achieve a greater challenge.

I only complete Core Fusion 2-3 times a week. This, combined with almost daily bouts with Just Dance 2, has assisted me in losing the little jiggle I had in my arms, and I can already see a more defined line cutting through my abs. Not bad for just a couple months of effort. Feeling better and physically seeing results has been great motivation for me to keep this up, and I might be interested in checking out more Core Fusion DVDs. Thanks, Diya, for getting me hooked!

Will run for pi

I am proud to report that even though it was never a New Year's resolution, lately I have been doing a fantastic job exercising. Warmer temperatures (80 degrees tomorrow in the D.C. area??) means more long walks with the dogs, and they also signal the arrival of outdoor races. I have never claimed to be a runner, and about eight months ago I had abandoned my gym membership and consequently running on the treadmill altogether.

Then my buddy asked me if I was interested in running in a race at the high school we attended. How long of a race? You know, the length of pi, in keeping with our school's nerdy traditions -- we would run 3.14159 miles (or approximately a 5K, in normal-people terms). Now, I should have immediately leaped at the opportunity, seeing as during my gym-going days of yore I was running several 5Ks a week on the treadmill. But I've always hated running outside, and I hadn't run in so long, and I just sort of hate running in general. To be a good friend, though, I said yes, and I'm glad I did, because as with all things in life, it really wasn't bad at all. The anticipation of pain and general distress was much worse.

Matt agreed to run too, and as a result my friend's husband decided at the very last minute he'd run as well since I did not properly communicate that Matt would not be available for standing around and gossiping while the ladies ran. Matt even told his students on Friday that he would be running in this pi race, and with a line anyone who graduated from my high school can appreciate, his students responded, "Watch your back -- those Jefferson kids are competitive!"

We, of course, as a motley crew of four were not particularly competitive runners, finishing almost exactly in the middle of the 220-contestant pack with respectable times of about 33 minutes. An 11-minute mile is nothing to write home about, but my friend and I achieved our goal of not walking, we both ran our first 5Ks, and between the four of us we raised $105 for the class of 2013 to have a rockin' prom (which is a cause I can totally support since I attended many a car wash to defray the cost of our prom). Not exactly the world's most pressing issue, but a worthy cause nonetheless.

In summary, if you are worried that you cannot run 3 continuous miles, take it from the world's least-likely runner: you can do it! And, though I am sure you've heard it a thousand times, it's so true: If you're having a hard time motivating yourself to exercise, find a buddy who will help keep you on track.

Despite the fact that I had not run in months before I ran the pi race yesterday, I was still prepared to run thanks to the exercise routine I've been following this winter. I've already told you about my obsession with Just Dance 2, and I've added something else to the mix as well. More on that tomorrow!

Just dance

I am not an athlete, and I've never claimed to be one. That's why I was so proud of myself over the summer when I had worked my way up to running several 5Ks a week (on a treadmill) along with other cardio and (minimal) strength training. But once the school year returned in full force and going to the gym became a once-a-week trip at best, I decided to give up the pricey gym membership. This also meant I wasn't working out for several months.

Lately, though, I've found a few at-home workouts to get me back in my groove. The most fun, by far, is this little gem: Just Dance 2 for Wii. Over New Year's at the beach my friend Susannah introduced me to this game that her sister had introduced her to just days earlier. Right after we returned from the beach, Matt snagged me a copy on Amazon, and I have to say, I am hooked.

Move over, basement furniture, there's a new workout in town.

If you're not familiar with the game, Just Dance 2 (I can't comment on the original Just Dance, though I'm guessing it's similar) requires the player to copy the dance moves demonstrated on the screen, and players earn points for synchronizing arm movements with the computer. This does, of course, mean that a player could win without technically moving her feet (and I know this from experience), but that would be cheating and it would defeat the whole purpose of exercising. Players can compete against the computer or against friends; there's even a duet option for teams to compete against other teams. This also means next time you come to my house I will probably force you to play this with me.

The game includes music and accompanying dances from diverse genres and ranks each song in two categories: level of difficulty and level of sweat. A song rated one difficulty star and three sweat drops means the choreography is relatively easy, but following the moves will still get your heart rate up.

Just Dance 2 has a system that allows you to track your workout routine. I know it may sound silly -- and maybe I'm just horribly out of shape -- but doing several of these more cardio-intense dances in a row really is a workout. I've programmed my game to follow the "intense" workout (I use that term loosely, even though that's its technical name). This means I need to do six high-intensity dances in a row each day to meet my weekly goal. The best part of all this is that there's a little graph that pops up after each dance to show you how much progress you've made toward your goal. Each dance allows you to score several hundred "sweat points." I have to say, that graph provides me with some serious positive reinforcement.

Promptly after meeting my daily objective I may have cracked open a Woodchuck Raspberry Cider, but at least I earned it.