motd Wed Sept 14, 2011

[Guest guest]

IT'S ALL ABOUT

THE TEMPO!

Wednesday, 14 September 2011

I've been reading National

Geographic magazine ever since I was a kid. In

fact, a photo of me appeared in one of their issues

many years ago. See, the magazine had come to New

Orleans to do one of their famous photo features of my

hometown. They came into a French Quarter praline

store and, lo-and-behold, there I was. They

got this really cute photo of me standing there

staring at about 60 freshly-made pecan pralines.

To this day, I still get and read

National Geographic. In fact, I just read an

article in a recent issue of NG that really

caught my attention. Oh, it was right up my alley and

I just have to share it with you. The article was

called Fitness Beat. And hey, since fitness

is my life, I couldn't wait to see what the

article had to say.

In it, they talked about how, when

it comes to exercise, music is often the driving force

behind how hard and efficiently we workout. (No

wonder you see so many people wearing headphones when

they're working out on the treadmill or ellipticals at

their gyms.)

National Geographic says it not just about

the volume of the music though. Its about the

tempo. And just what is tempo? Well, tempo is

the combination of all the musical instruments in a

song working together that make you want to...move!

Some songs either have a good

tempo or they don't. (I guess that's a matter of

personal taste for some.) Tempo is the pace...the

beat of a song. And it's the beat that makes

our bodies really want to go wild and move!

I found this article interesting because I've

discovered and have been preaching the same things

for decades. I've always loved those songs that had a

little sassiness to them and a really good beat!

I listen to hundreds of new songs every single month.

Why? Well, because I have to select the right mix of

music to bring with me when I teach class at

Slimmons. I want songs that will get everybody in

class up, excited and sweatin' right along with me.

That music really makes them want to move. It's

always been my little secret and now it looks like National

Geographic has let my secret out of the bag!

(Thanks, NG.)

The tempo of the music, when combined with your body

movements, seems to challenge that heart and those

feet of yours to move even more. (I really like the

sound of that!) As you're working out to a

good musical tempo, you begin to sweat and burn more

calories. I can see it in the faces of the people at

Slimmons when they like the tempo of the songs I've

chosen for class. They're really moving, sweatin',

smiling and...having a good time. Hey, my

mission is accomplished!

With every one of the video and

DVD workouts I've done over the decades, I always

tailor the tempo of the music to fit the mood of that

part of my workout. For instance, I begin with a

moderate tempo for our warm up. Then I really ramp up

the tempo up for the cardio segment and finally, I

slow the beat down for the cool-down segment at the

end of our workouts. They all work together to give

you the most efficient and healthy workout possible!

So there you have it. Now today, I want you to listen

to some great music and dance like Fred Astaire or

Ginger as you...feel the beat!

Love,