Changing Up my Turbo Jam
Posted by terrepruitt on October 8, 2011
I teach Nia. Nia is a cardio dance workout done in bare feet. It is no impact (or very low – I tend to hop a bit because I am having so much fun!) but allows for high intensity. Impact and intensity are different. I love Nia, but I also love other types of workouts. When I do other types of workouts they usually require shoes because often times the workouts get their intensity from impact. You might already know all of this because I have shared it before. You might also know — because I have shared this before — that I also love Turbo Jam. That is the exercise program designed for home use, as in DVDs, by the incredibly cute and bubbly Chalene Johnson. You have probably read me say before, “No matter how many times I do Chalene’s DVDs she makes me smile.” Her energy is infectious. Well, I’ve done the DVDs I have a lot over the years so today I decided to do them a little different. I decided to combine two things I love. I wore my MBTs while doing Turbo Jam.
Because of my toe/foot situation I had not been doing Turbo Jam a lot, but I am starting to do it again. I do it regular tennis shoes, just some cross trainers, and I sometimes have to think a lot to not move my foot in a toe position that hurts. When you do any type of workout in which you wear shoes you have to think about it a bit more when you are on carpet. Carpet tends to make it a little more difficult to twist on your toes and things, so sometimes it is better to not do that so much in order to 1) save the carpet and 2) save your knees. Even though I have always wanted to do a Turbo Jam workout in my MBTs I thought it would be more strenuous on my recovering foot. But it wasn’t really. It was fine. It was fun. MBTs really have the body using different muscles because the way the sole is engineered. So it was really fun to do a workout I have done at least a hundred times and have it feel different.
The MBTs really made me concentrate on what I was doing. When I do my Turbo Jam DVDs I have a tendency to think about other things. I just follow the moves and think or sing, I am not always concentrating on what I am doing. The Masai Barefoot Technology footwear really had me thinking about balancing properly and not just throwing my limb out. When I threw it out too far without being aware then I somewhat got off balance. Not just off balance in a way that the shoe is designed to make you be unbalanced, but my foot was positioned incorrectly in the MBT so I had to be aware of how I was extending. It was really nice. As I said it was nice to experience the workout in a very new way even though I have done it at least a hundred times. It was nice to have to really think about the muscles that enable balance. It was nice to have to think about balance in order to make certain my alignment was not off.
Now that my foot is so much better and I have confirmed that using my MBTs to do my cardio workouts that require shoes will not bother my foot, I plan to use them all the time. That is really one of the reasons I bought them. But I was not ready until now because I thought it would challenge my foot too much. It actually made toe movements easier because of the curve of the sole. The curve allows for easy almost automatic ball of foot or on the toe movements.
Yay! Newness in an old-but-beloved workout! Do you workout to DVDs? If you do, what is your favorite? Have you done them enough that you are ready to change ’em up a bit?
Terre Pruitt's Blog 
niachick said
OMG I love you so.
Great blog, even greater pic of you doin’ your Turbo Jam with your MBTs. You rock the house sister.
Guess I should look in to Turbo Jam, eh?
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terrepruitt said
I love you so too. Thanks for letting me know, makes me happy to hear about it, even though I always feel all that love! 🙂
It is difficult to do a self portrait when there is only a 10 second timer!
I don’t know if you should look into Turbo Jam. I like it. It is not as dance-y as Nia or Zumba. It is more kicking and punching to music. I like it. I bet you can find sample videos on the web. I think I am going to get Chalene’s Turbo Fire!
XOXO
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Fitness PhoenixX said
Hello! Nice post 🙂 I also love Turbo Jam! I had great results with it a few years ago. If you haven’t already gotten Turbo Fire I would encourage you to do it! I just started & LOOOVE it! It’s like Jam on Speed… I did Jam last week just for fun and it was SO MUCH easier after starting Fire. Have you considered being a beachbody coach? I signed up a couple of weeks ago b/c I love the products and figured- I have a passion for fitness now and I’ve been encouraging all of my friends & family to consider BB programs anyway!
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terrepruitt said
When I saw the TurboFire informmercial I was ready to order it, but a few other expenses came up. But I am still thinking about it. Doing the Turbo Jam in the MBTs adds a little extra challenge.
I briefly considered being a beachbody coach, but again, some other expenses came up. I hesitate to spend additional monthly money right now to join something. I know that the way to make money with that is to sell products and to have people sign up under you and at this time I cannot concentrate my efforts on either of those things. But YAY YOU! Good for you. Good luck with your new endeavor!
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Fitness PhoenixX said
Yes, expenses. I waited for a year to get Turbo Fire… I wanted it when it first came out but delayed due to $. I feel ya. I’m a little nervous, myself, about the extra monthly cost but I was able to sell a Les Mills Pump package last week so my $90 commission covered me for a few months. 🙂 We shall see… hoping it doesn’t end up being just an ‘expensive’ hobby! (I should probably cancel my $10/month gym membership that I’m not really sure why I’m paying for it anyway…) If you are ever interested let me know- maybe I’ll have some good pointers for you by then! Thanks for the encouragement! Will be following 🙂
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terrepruitt said
Yeah, right now I already have too many “hobbies” that cost me. 🙂
Awesome that your commission from one thing is paying for another. That is the way to do it!
Happy New Year to ya! Thanks for being here!
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John Pruitt said
You are so pretty 🙂
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terrepruitt said
No comment.
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