's motd Thurs Oct 21, 2010

[Guest guest]

KLUTZY

Thursday, 21 October 2010

", I just love watching

your workouts but my problem is that I have two left

feet. I'm just not coordinated enough to do your

workout DVDs!"

Okay, do you feel klutzy?

I mean, when you're doing one of my workout DVDs, are

you going left when everyone else is going right?

Listen, I believe that everybody has a little rhythm

built into them. You've just got to discover your own

groove!

Now let be honest, I always felt kinda klutzy when I

was a kid. For one thing, I waddled when I walked

because of my excess weight. I could never do things

like jump rope. Hey, you've gotta have rhythm for

that. I never played any sports either because many

sports require a certain kind of rhythm. But

where was my rhythm?

And here's the ironic part...

See, both my parents were dancers. I'd

always see the two of them dancing together in our

dining room. I would carefully study their steps as

they danced. I'd watched their front steps, back

steps and side steps. And boy, could my folks ever

dance, too!

"Dicky, come over here and dance with me," my

mother would call out to me When I came over, she'd

bend down a little, count the steps with me and,

before you knew it, Shirley and I would be dancing all

over the dining room!

I used to love watching American

Bandstand when I was a teenager. I'd get up

off the couch and try dancing right along with the

show's dancers. From watching Bandstand, I

learned to dance the Mashed Potato, the Watusi and the

Jerk, to name a few. But I'll admit, when I first

tried dancing along with the other kids on the show,

sometimes I'd go left when they were going

right! (So I know what those people who E-mail me are

talking about. LOL.)

In the 70s, when I opened my exercise studio,

Slimmons, I'd stand there in the middle of the workout

room and create my aerobic routine. When I rehearsed,

I always began with my leg movements. I'd do

side-to-side steps, front-steps, back-steps and

variations of those moves. After I completed the

footwork part of my routine, I'd begin working on my

upper body movements. Then I'd put all of those

movements together.

When I began teaching class and maybe forgot part of

the choreography I'd worked out, I'd either walk in

place or do one-leg jumping jacks and leg-lifts. (I

still use this little system at Slimmons today! LOL.)

When you're doing any workout DVD,

you should sit and study the routine before

joining the action. And when you think you're ready

to join in, take it slow starting out as you get the

movements down pat in your head and in your feet.

Work on your leg movements before moving to the upper

body movements. And hey, if you're still feeling a

little klutzy, you can always walk in place and do

some other big-body movements to compensate. (Like I

do.) Remember, the worse thing is to simply

stop at some point during your workout. Instead of

just stopping, move your hands below your

waist and get your heart rate down slowly. And

be sure to drink water before, during and after your

workout. Before you know it, you'll know the upper and

lower body steps and be able to do a full hour-long

workout!

Okay don't use that "klutzy" thing as an excuse not to

get your workouts in ever again. You've gotta start

somewhere, that is...you've gotta start! Be

brave, get that body of yours into a cute little

workout outfit and press on. Come on now...find

that rhythm inside you!

Love,