Posted by terrepruitt on September 13, 2012
Zumba is astronomically popular. The marketing and “it’s a party” advertising has attracted MILLIONS of people. My first few Zumba classes were fun but I left feeling as if Zumba was not a very safe product. Not all the classes contained a warm up and a cool down. Most had no instruction, just the teacher pointing and making other hand signals I was not familiar with. After having taken the required Zumba Instructor Training, I see that the Zumba Fitness Program is constructed to be safe and meets with the general fitness guidelines. It could have been that the classes I had taken were not following the program with the prescribed class format.
A standard guideline for fitness classes that is considered safe for the general pubic is 10 to 15 minutes warm-up and at least a 5 minute cool down. Since Zumba is marketed as being something everyone can do, the program incorporates these guidelines. Zumba instructors are trained to follow this set formula for the safety of all participants. It is understood that many people who attend a workout class come in “cool”, it could even be that their muscles and bodies have been in one position for most of the day. Muscles need to warm up and get blood flowing in order for there to be less risk of injury. A warm up is necessary for the body, it is also nice for the brain so that one can “shake off” the happenings of the day and embrace the workout that is ahead.
In addition to the Zumba Fitness Program following the standard fitness guidelines in regards to a warm up, a “formula” for the warm-up section of the class was created. The formula has three components, and if they are used correctly they should allow for a nice smooth transition into the remainder of the class. The warm up is built into the Zumba Fitness class model to prepare you for the bulk of the class. The bulk of the class, as you may know, has a very unique formula.
Zumba was not created to be an elite fitness class, it was meant for everyone to enjoy themselves. There are moves and steps to follow, but each participant is allowed to add their own style and their own “flavor” — as it is called in the Zumba world. That means not everyone will be doing it the exact same way. Not everyone can shake their hips as the instructors do on the training DVDS and I don’t think anyone is as loose a Beto.
While I was taking the Zumba Instructor training I kept wondering if the creator of Zumba, Alberto “Beto” Perez and the co-creator of Nia, Carlos AyaRosas know each other, even though one is from Columbia and the other one is from Mexico. Some of the same ideas and philosophies are in both exercise/fitness programs. To me they have a lot of ideas in common. I had no idea how similar the programs were until I attended the Zumba Instructor training.
I have posted a bit in the past about Zumba because people are familiar with what Zumba is but not with what Nia is so they often ask me for comparisons so they can understand. Well, in the past my answers were coming from the perspective of a Nia Teacher who had taken a few Zumba classes. Now my answers and my comparisons will be from an instructor of both Nia and Zumba. So I will be posting more about Zumba in the future. I will be sharing and clarifying a bit about the actual Zumba Fitness Program. I will also be doing my best at delivering the Zumba Fitness Program making my Zumba Fitness classes fun and accessible for everyone.
I’ll see you in class!
Posted in Zumba | Tagged: Beto Perez, Carlos AyaRosas, class format, class model, exercise program, general fitness guidelines, Nia, Nia Classes, Nia Teacher, Zumba, Zumba cool down, Zumba Fitness, Zumba Fitness class model, Zumba Fitness Classes, Zumba Fitness Instructor, Zumba Fitness Program, Zumba formula, Zumba instructor, Zumba Instructor Training, Zumba party, Zumba warm up | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 11, 2012
I might have mentioned this about Nia before, but it came up again today so I am posting about it. If I posted about it before, I can’t find it. Nia is unique in many ways. One way that Nia is unique is that we don’t shy away from issues or situations. I have been instructed in other types of trainings to “always remain positive”. As an instructor “to leave your problems at the door”. I’ve been told it is the instructor’s job to create a positive atmosphere. And while, I understand that, and I believe it to a certain extent, there are times when other feelings and life situations can be acknowledged. Today is September 11th. It is the anniversary of a very horrific attack that has affected the entire world. 
Everyone has their own opinions and feelings about the attack, the results, the anniversaries, and all, but for many it can be a time of sorrow. Whether you knew someone who died in the destruction of the World Trade Center Towers or you just know that many things were taken away when those planes crashed into the towers, it is sad day to remember. With many exercise classes it would not be in keeping with the training to bring that memory into the class. I was teaching a new class today. It was only my second time at this new location and with these new students. I thought that maybe bringing something so “heavy” into the class (the second class!!) might not be the right thing to do. But it crossed my mind that this is Nia, and in keeping with what Nia is, I could do that, because dancing and moving to issues and life events is something that we do in Nia. We can dance our emotions, whether they are happy or sad. We can dance our sorrow or our joy. We can dance for people who have died or are in need of positive thoughts. We can dance for beloved pets that are no longer here. We can dance whatever we want. We can dance our hearts. We are not confined to being the “happy-up-beat-don’t-let-any-emotions-but-happy-show” type of exercise. And my heart, my heart really, really, really, wanted to remember. I wanted to remember all the lives that were lost in connection with the event. I wanted to remember what we all lost on that day. I wanted to remember what we still have. I wanted to remember, to honor, to grieve, to rejoice, to share, to sense, to feel . . . . . I wanted to do Nia.
So I took my concerns to my class and I asked them if it was ok with them that we dance a dance of remembrance. I explained to them how this is something unique to Nia, that we can dance anything. I suggested a focus of remembering with an intent of doing so in our own way with our own feelings, I suggested feelings of both sorrow and joy. Because as we all know it was tragic to have lost so many lives and so much freedom, but many did survive and many freedoms are still ours to enjoy. The students were free to dance their own version of remembering.
As I said, this is a new class with mostly new-to-Nia students, having such a vague and “non-physical” type of focus is something I usually do with people who are not new to Nia. I have found that many participants especially people new to Nia, appreciate having a physical or body related type of focus. By physical or body related type of focus I mean a body part/area (“Let’s focus on our feet with the intent of sensing our whole foot.”). But I also believe that people can do what they can do. So if a non-physical focus and intent works for the participant then they will be able to incorporate it into their workout. With a focus on something that affected everyone, even though it was non-physical, I sensed the participants could tap into the remembering that was significant to each as an individual.
I love that Nia allows for us to not only dance what we SENSE, but also what we feel when we feel the need to do so. Today, I felt the need to dance what I feel. I feel the need to honor the victims of September 11, 2001 — ALL of them, even the ones that are alive — because everyone was affected in some way and for some of us dancing is a great way to express it. Nia classes don’t always have to be about the “happy” we can dance what we need to dance at that moment.
Posted in Nia | Tagged: exercise class instructor, freedance, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia exercise, Nia feelings, Nia focus and intent, Nia joy, Nia participants, Nia students, Nia workout | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 6, 2012
Another one of the 52 Moves of Nia is the “A” Stance. This is the stance where the position of the legs allows the body to look somewhat like the capital letter A. The legs are placed wider than hip distance apart, even wider than shoulder width. The legs are far enough apart and wide enough for them to appear to be as the bottom “legs” on a capital letter A. The feet are parallel, the upper body is relaxed. The Nia Technique Book states the benefits as: “Practicing “A” Stance improves hip flexibility and leg strength, which improves agility and mobility.”
I would like to add that it improves or at least allows the practice of balance. Not balancing on one leg which we do a lot in Nia, but balance between the body and the legs, balance between both legs, and balance between the legs and feet. Also balance of weight between the two feet. This is a stable and balanced stance. The weight is not on one foot more than the other. The weight is not on the front or the balls of the feet more than on the heels. This is a great stance to practice balance in. To allow the body to rest onto the whole foot.
Not only having the feet be parallel but even. If you were to stand at a line would your toes be even, both up to the line? I had noticed with myself for a while now that when I step into an “A” stance my right foot is ALWAYS slightly back from where my left foot is. I have been noticing this since I injured my foot in November of 2010. Just last week as I was teaching my regular Nia Class in Willow Glen, I noticed I stepped into “A” stance and my left foot was the tiniest bit back from the line on which my right foot landed (had there been a line). I thought that was funny. I giggled, but I hadn’t thought of it again until now. I don’t always think about my uneven landings until I have the opportunity to land in a stance where I see my feet several times in a routine. Then during the routine I focus on having my feet land even. There are times, of course in a dance where they don’t need to be or aren’t supposed to be even, but when doing a regular closed, open, A, or sumo stance I think the feet should be even. The “A” stance is a great stance to practice that because you can clearly see your feet and the pose is relaxed enough that there are not other things you might be thinking about. I feel the “A” Stance is a great way to practice balance.
As with all stances one way to practice the “A” stance is to simple stand in one place and move through the stances. Another way to practice is to walk and then stop in the “A” stance. Walking and stopping into an “A” Stance would be a great way to work on landing “even” — as I mentioned before. Walk, then stop, then look at your feet, notice the sensation in your hips, if your feet are even then that is the sensation you want to replicate, if not, then adjust your feet, notice the sensation in your hips and try to replicate it again as you step into “A” Stance.
The “A” Stance is just one of the six stances in the Nia 52 Moves.
What do you sense when standing in the “A” Stance? When you step into the “A” Stance do your feet land “even”?
Posted in 52 Moves (of Nia), Nia | Tagged: 52 Moves of Nia, A Stance, balance of weight, closed stance, Nia 52 moves, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia in Willow Glen, Nia Practice, Nia Stances, open stance, Riding Stance, Sumo Stance, The Nia Technique book, Willow Glen Nia | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 4, 2012
This is not like rolling out the red carpet or a ball of string because the hamstrings are not really strings at all. They are muscles in the leg. Well, actually the hamstrings are made up of three muscles, so it is a muscle group/set. The three muscles that are included in the muscle set are the Semimembranosus, the Semitendinosus, and the Biceps Femoris. They are on the back of the legs. You can see them on my Hamstrings post I put up back in 2009. According to The Muscle Book the word’s origination is “German: hamme – back of leg, Latin: stringere – to draw together.” The hamstrings are responsible for pulling your calf back towards your buttocks, and for extending the thigh. There are a lot of ways to stretch out and increase flexibility in the hamstrings. One way to treat tight hamstrings is with the foam roller. The foam roller is a great way to ease tight hamstrings. The roller can be used for a hamstring roll.
With many, many, many people working at desks all day, and sitting all day, tight hamstrings seems to be a common state of being for many people. The position of the knee when one sits in a chair is part of the function of the hamstrings . . . as I mentioned above . . .pulling the calf back towards the buttocks. So it is not unusual for people who sit a lot to have tight hamstrings. With tight hamstrings one cannot bend over and touch their toes or easily bend over to touch the floor. Sometimes tight hamstrings can even interfere with walking, the leg is not able to swing comfortably forward and/or allow the leg to straighten. Does that sound familiar? Maybe you have sat for a long time and when you stand up you don’t come up all the way and then your first few steps are short and your legs are tight. The foam roller can help with that. It is an easy massaging type of stretch that can be done watching TV or in between those long periods of sitting.
Using the full roller, sit on the roller with the roller positioned at your hamstrings (just under your glutes/butt), your legs are straight out in front of your body. Use your arms to support your body. The position of your arms is straight and under your shoulders supporting your weight. Using your arms, roll so that your legs roll over the foam roller. So you bring yourself backwards and tthen push yourself forward over the roller. The roller is rolling along the back of your legs, gently massaging your Semimembranosus, Semitendinosus, and the Biceps Femoris. You can do this for as long as you would like. It really is a great way to bring relief to tight hamstrings.
Sometimes tight hamstrings may contribute to lower back pain. When the hamstrings are tight they might cause the pelvis to tilt up increasing the strain on the lower back. So there are really a lot of reasons this easy roll with the foam roller might be something you want to do.
Do you have tight hamstrings? Does this sound like something that you would do to ease those tight hamstrings?
Posted in Foam Rollers, Hamstrings, Muscles | Tagged: and the Biceps Femoris, Foam Roller, Hamstrings, lower back pain, muscle group, muscle set, the Muscle Book, the Semimembranosus, the Semitendinosus, tight hamstrings | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on September 1, 2012
At the end of July I thought it would be nice to switch things up during the month of August. My idea was triggered by comments from people talking about the scale not changing. It seemed that the scale not budging at all for one day affected the people’s moods. So I thought perhaps a break from the scale would be something some people would benefit from. I planned the challenge to be 21 days and 30 days so that both timeframes would land on a day that I post. I post on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. I managed to post about the challenge on the 21st, but I didn’t post about it on the 30th. On the 30th I thought about it, then forgot about it, then thought about it when I was more than halfway done with my post about one of Nia’s 52 Moves – Knee Sweeps and didn’t have time to measure. It takes more time to strip down and measure than it does to hop on the scale, huh? Well, how did you do if you did? Did you see a change in your measurements? Did you also keep track of your weight at day one and day 21/30?
For me it turned out to be necessary to go the 30 days. At 21 days, I wasn’t seeing a good change, but by 31 (as I said, on Thursday the 30th I didn’t measure because time got away from me) I saw a good change. What I didn’t do at 21 days was get on the scale, I was thinking the point was to avoid the scale, but now I am thinking it might have been nice to have a comparison. Perhaps you thought of that option. I did not until today.
I also learned that I need to be a little more specific on my notes of where I am measuring. I know I made a point to instruct you to make notes, and I did, I just need to make better notes. For one place I said something like, “3.25 inches below the dot.” Well, when I wrote that note I must have had a clear idea on what “the dot” was, but 20 days later I had no idea. I laughed at that and hoped you make better notes on the “landmarks”.
So here ends the challenge, but of course you are free to stay off the scale and/or add measuring to your routine. The real point is to not let the scale frustrate you and to remember it does not always tell the whole story. There are other things to help complete the story; mirrors, measurements, clothes, people, etc. Of course, not everyone allows the scale to frustrate them, I understand that, I was trying to present a way to help some from getting frustrated. And maybe just another way to see things.
So how did you do? Did you see a change via measurements? Did you learn anything (as I shared with you what I learned)? Would you rather use a scale or a tape measure? Or both?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: 30 day challenge, Knee Sweeps, measurement change, measurements vs. weight, Nia, Nia routine, Nia's 52 Moves, tape measure, weight change | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 30, 2012
Now, I know that I’ve been doing the knee sweep a lot longer than I have been doing Nia. So it is true that Nia’s 52 moves are not necessarily unique to Nia, but they are part of the core of Nia. You will find a large portion of Nia’s 52 moves in every routine. There are correct ways to do them, but Nia allows for the body’s way and also, I believe Nia allows for the move to be incorporated into the dance. For instance, The Nia Technique book states that the starting position for a knee sweep is the sumo stance. I am sure that I have done a knee sweep from a sumo stance at one time, but the first dance that pops into my head where we do the knee sweep it is not from a sumo position. But the by the book (oh, yeah, that reminds me, “BUY THE BOOK!” 🙂 ), anyway, the by-the-book version of the knee sweep starts from a sumo position, complete with arms in ready position and everything. Then the body rises as you come up on one leg bringing the other leg up with a bent knee. The knee crosses the midline of the body, the opposite hand “pushes” the knee out. The knee swings out so the pelvis is open. Then the leg comes down and the foot lands on the earth. That is the knee sweep of Nia’s 52 moves.
The book does not indicate that when your foot comes down it is in the toes-to-the-front position, but that is how I teach it. I don’t want my students landing on their foot with their knee out to the side. If we are just doing knee sweeps as an exercise, maybe I would have them do that, because they would be aware of the torque in their hip, but probably not.
When I was first doing this move in Nia I was trying to do it as the book shows and as many of the people on the Nia instructional DVDs do and as the instructor does (whether it be Debbie Rosas or Carlos AyaRosas). And that was with the knee out to the side very wide. REALLY opening the pelvis. But when I did that I noticed a “something” – I don’t know what it was, but it was something – in my lower back. So I decided that opening my hip that wide and having my leg out that far was not MY body’s way, so I do not do that. I share with my students that I found the comfortable spot to be about as far as my forearms can reach. I “glue” my elbows to my sides and hold my forearms out to the side. As far as they can go is as far as I allow my knee to go. That is what works for me.
Some of the time that we are doing the knee sweep it is at the end of a “up-two-three-four (knee sweep), back-two-three-four (knee sweep)”. So that would not allow for the sumo position to be the start. Other times we are standing upright. As I said, I am sure I have done it from the sumo position because I bet it is in a routine I am not thinking of. But the ones I am thinking of it is done from a walking or standing position.
The amazing thing about the knee sweep is that it calls for the knee to cross the midline of the body. So that means that if you were doing a left knee sweep (with your left leg) your left knee would enter into the right hemisphere of your body. If you were doing a right knee sweep (with your right leg) your right knee would enter into the right hemisphere of your body. It is a great thing when your limbs cross the midline. It helps stimulate the brain. So there is a reason in many exercise routines and cardio classes that we have you do “cross overs”.
The knee sweep is one of those moves that requires balance. Since at one point you are standing on one leg, you will be able to improve your balance or practice what you have. Also the moving of the leg helps with that stability. Standing on one leg helps with strength and opening the hip helps with mobility and flexibility. The knee sweep of Nia’s 52 moves does a body and brain good!
Are you familiar with this move? Have you done it before in your exercise class? Did you give it a try?
Posted in 52 Moves (of Nia), Nia | Tagged: Cardio classes, cardio dance class, Carlos AyaRosas, cross the midline of the body, dance, Debbie Rosas, exercise routines, flexibility, improve balance, Knee Sweep, Mobility, my body's way, Nia, Nia instructional DVDs, Nia routine, Nia students, Nia's 52 Moves, stability, strength, Sumo Stance, the Nia Technique books | Leave a Comment »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 28, 2012
My husband and I used to dance. We danced “Country Western”, we did the two step, the cha-cha, the waltz, and the west coast swing. We liked to dance. I sometimes would fake it though. Yeah, I would. We would go to a lesson and they would show us a move. We would practice it during the lesson then usually there was a dance party after. We would join the party. My husband would always DO THE MOVE WE JUST LEARNED. I would say, “Ack! You’re doing the move we just learned!” And he would look at me with a look that said to me, “Of course, Silly Woman, that is why we are here. To learn stuff and then actually DO IT.” But for me the time spent in the lesson was never enough to actually learn it. Even though the leader’s part is much more difficult than the follower’s, I still couldn’t get it in one lesson. So a lot of the times I would fake it. And by fake it I mean, that if you were to look at my feet and KNOW where there were supposed to be, you would know my feet were not correct. I could move in a way that if you were just casually looking you would think I was doing it right. I would always make sure I was facing the right direction so you wouldn’t really know my feet were not doing the move correctly unless you knew the move yourself! Since most people don’t stare at your feet the entire time I often got away with it. I was good at faking it. Faking it was easy in the fast songs.
Eventually I would learn the move correctly, but there were some moves that took me a long time to get. Then somewhere along the way we decided to compete. I mean, competing really is the only way to know if you are really improving and to spend all that money on lessons and not improve can be a silly thing. So we decided to compete. Do you know what that meant? No more faking it. I mean the whole point of competition is to have someone look at you and judge — among other things — your feet. So I had to stop faking it.
I am learning a lot as I sub for different exercise classes. I recently subbed a class and I was reminded of the faking it. It is easy to fake it in some classes. Let’s say Zumba for example, I’ve posted before about how Zumba is all agility (I have since learned otherwise, but I will reflect on that in a post at a later time). Zumba is the fast start and stop. Move stop the move and move the other direction, move stop, move stop. The full range of motion is usually not achieved, you are moving to another move before you really get to finish the first one. Start, stop, start, stop, start stop. It is easy to fake. The fast dances were always easy for me to fake. The good thing about faking it is you are still moving and that is good in a sense. Even if you are not doing the move correctly you are moving and burning calories and often it is so fast the casually observer or someone standing next to you is not going to notice. I think this is one of the things that people like about Zumba . . . you are moving and dancing even when you are faking it.
It is the slow dances that are difficult. With Nia it is not as easy to fake. With Zumba a move could be hopping from one leg to the other. With Nia we might actually balance on one leg. No speed to it, just lifting one leg off the ground and standing on one leg. Strength and stability. No faking. I always invite participants to use a chair, a wall, the barre, or even their other foot, but either way you cannot FAKE standing on one leg. Sadly, I think for some, not being able to fake it keeps them from joining in the joy of Nia. The judgment from themselves is so great that they can’t let go and just do what they can because what they can do is not blurred by the start and the stop. What they can’t do is not blurred by speed. And they don’t give themselves the chance to learn how to do the moves. They don’t allow themselves the time to get the muscles in a condition where they can move slow and controlled. Faking it is easy, it is actually doing a move slow, controlled, and correctly where the difficulty comes in.
When I take a Zumba class I know I fake it often because I don’t know the move so I concentrate on being at the right place and/or facing the right direction at the right time. Eventually I get the moves . . . well, most of the time.
I know this is my opinion, I don’t really KNOW, but it is coming from a place of judgment based on some things I have seen and heard. You know I am always trying to figure out the differences between Zumba and Nia and why people like them. And recently this was a thought because of something I heard and observed . . . the speed, the faking, the judgment.
Do you fake until you make it in your exercise class?
Posted in Nia | Tagged: agility, balance, cha-cha, Country Western Dancing, dance party, exercise classes, Nia exercise, stability, two step, waltz, west coast swing, Zumba, Zumba classes, Zumba exercise, Zumba party Nia class | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 25, 2012
I cannot believe it has been over a month since I was driving around to the Community Centers of San Jose that offer Group Ex classes checking out their floors! Since we do Nia bare footed I wanted to see what community centers have dance studios. While I was looking for the community centers is when I first noticed the painted utility boxes around. I can’t believe it has been over a month since I was driving from my Nia class in Willow Glen and I noticed someone painting the utility box that I pass all the time. Over a month ago! Wow. Time goes so fast. I was hoping to have more pictures of more boxes, but I haven’t seen any since then. I must not be in the areas where there are boxes — could also be that I am a little distracted and not noticing the boxes. Sigh. Anyway . . . I think the artist might have completed painting these boxes in one day. I am not certain because I didn’t drive by again until the following Monday and I didn’t stop to take pictures until a week after I first stopped. I was just waiting to post because I didn’t want to have the utility box posts right in a row. I don’t mind having Nia posts, or exercise posts, or food posts consecutively, I just didn’t want to have utility box posts one after the other. Before I knew it, it has been a month. Wow.
The first picture is a shot of the front of the boxes together straight on. The next “picture” is a collage (obviously) of pictures of different angles so you can somewhat see the side of the boxes. The second collage is pictures of the back of the boxes and the little label disclosing the artist and the sponsor.
Looks as if the birds are driving around in San Jose. These boxes are on Bird Avenue so I think it makes total sense that birds are driving cars, vans, motorcycles, sports cars, and delivery trucks.
You might have noticed that the artist incorporated the vent on the back of the box painting it as if it is the back of a truck. Cute. You may also have noticed that one truck seems to be carrying eggs. I think Mr. Willis is showing his sense of humor by having a bird drive around as either an egg delivery service or perhaps a pickup service.
It is quite a cheery little mural. Also very responsible. You might not be able to see, but all of the birds on scooters or motorcycles have on helmets. It is a law in California that you have to wear a helmet, so it is good of the artist to have legally correct drivers. I am not sure that any birds have been ticketed for not doing so, but it is still a good idea!
So what do you think? Cute, huh? Have you seen any painted utility boxes in your area? If you have I would love to see. Send me a picture with some information and I can post it.
Posted in Misc | Tagged: art box sponsor, City of San Jose, City of San Jose Group Ex, community center classes, Councilmember Pierluigi Oliverio, dance classes, dance floors, dance studio, Group Ex Classes, Group Ex teacher, helmet law, Nia, Nia class, Nia Dance, Nia exercise, Nia San Jose, San Jose Art Project, Scott Willis, Utility Box Art, Willow Glen, Willow Glen Nia | 5 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 23, 2012
S
o tomorrow marks our fourth box of produce delivered. Since I have been subbing Nia for a lot of other classes this month, I really appreciate not having to go to the store every other day. But it seems like two of the boxes I was too busy to cook/eat/deal with right away. But for the most part we go through the veggies and fruit rather quickly. I haven’t really received too much that is new to me. We received some tomatoes that were an odd color to me. They were red, but they were a very deep red. Except for the one that had a big moldy hole in it, they were very good. I realized a while ago when I started trying to eat tomatoes that I don’t like the jelly part with the seeds. I like the firm fleshy part. These tomatoes had more fleshy parts then “jelly” part. They were very good. So far, despite some quality that I would not have picked from the grocery store or a farmers market, I am really happy with the Farm Fresh To You deliver.
The two things I had a problem with was the moldy hole in the tomato and the lettuce that was already wilted and was so “on the verge” that it left a green ugly smudge of itself on the box that the produce comes in. Any fruit delivered is always finished first – YUM! I love the plums I get from my in-laws, I don’t know what kind they are, but they are dark and sweet. But I loved the ones I got in the second box too. They had a flavor that brought back childhood memories of summer fruit. The nectarines were good too. Aside from the wilted lettuce I love their lettuce. It is soft and not bitter. But I could use a lettuce delivery more than once a week, so once every other week is really not enough. I believe one week the list said we would get a lemon cucumber. I was looking forward to that, but I didn’t get it. I did get the broccoli rabe which I had never had before, but it didn’t any different that brocoli. A little more tender, I suppose.
The third box had pluots in it. They were good too. I even shared one with my husband. The pear you see was a substitute. We were supposed to get a lemon delivered and we did not because I asked not to received any lemons. We have a lemon tree and while the one they were going to send was a different kind I don’t use lemons as it is so I didn’t need another one. My husband likes pears so that works. The cucumbers were awesome. So crisp and flavorful. I really like their cucumbers. Unfortunately I forgot about the eggplants, so while we ate them we did not eat them at their peak and I did a little disguise technique on them, just in case. Now those peppers, Shishito peppers . I don’t even know what those are. I looked them up online to verify that they were not hot before I tried one. They information said “sweet” so I tasted one. That has got to be one of the most bitter things I have ever tasted. So they are still sitting on my counter. They will probably sit there until I have to throw them away because I don’t know what to do with them. I will keep an eye out for those on the list and if they pop up again say, “NO THANK YOU!!!!”
So that is my produce delivery update. I am a little bummed that I have not received anything out of the ordinary. I guess I could just got BUY something myself at a Farmer’s Market that is out of the ordinary, but I am really not included to do that. So I was hoping to get if “forced” on my. Anyway, every time I cook or make something and my husband says, “This is REALLY good.” I point out that it is most likely because of our yummy organic produce that we are having delivered. He had even suggested we get it delivered more often. I have been entertaining that idea. But there are a lot of options so I have to think about it. Could be awhile before I decide. I mean it took me years to get this far, but now that I did it I am glad I did.
How about you? Any exciting summer fruit or veggie make it to your table this season?
Posted in Food | Tagged: Farm Fresh to You, Farmers Market, lemon cucumer eggplant, Nia, Nia class, Nia Teacher, organic fruit, Organic produce delivery, organic vegetables, pluots, Shishito peppers, substitute Nia | 2 Comments »
Posted by terrepruitt on August 21, 2012
So if you are participating in the little challenge of not getting on the scale for either 21 days or 30 days, today is the 21st day. I assigned 21 days so that is would land on a posting day (I post Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays). I will let you know that due to more “stuff” as I had posted about before, I got off to a late start on my own challenge! So how is it going for you? Has it been a challenge to stay off the scale? Have you noticed that you are not obsessing about the number the scale displays because you are not looking at it? Now the thing with measuring with a measuring tape instead of scale means you need to keep doing what you’re doing. So if you were doing some type of cardio three times a week and adding some strength training in and weighing yourself, looking for that number to change when you stop using the scale it doesn’t mean to stop doing the other stuff. It is just a different way to track progress. And for some it could be a little bit of a reprieve IF they allow the scale to affect their mood. I found it funny that today on FaceBook someone posted about the scale stealing motivation and she reminded people it doesn’t tell the whole story. That is what I am saying too. That is why I thought it would be nice to change it up.
I know that some people don’t even have a scale. Some people don’t even use one. Everyone is different. I just hear a lot about people being upset because they didn’t lose a pound “today” and they’ve been trying so hard. So I think that maybe for those people it is nice to try a different way to track progress.
My schedule is a bit “off” this month as I am spending time dealing with “stuff” and I have picked up a lot of classes that I am subbing for the City of San Jose. I picked up eleven classes which is great but I have not been able to concentrate as much on my resistance training as I would like. My numbers did not change as much as I was hoping to see when I thought of this challenge. What about you? Did you see a change in numbers? Are you stopping at day 21 or going to continue on and see what 30 days will do?
Not only do I have the added class times to do I have a little bit of added prep time for each class and the travel time to and from each class. Since I am subbing in Nia for other classes such as Zumba, Zumba Gold, Pilates, Kick Boxing, and Cardio Toning, I do try to pick Nia routines that will fit. I am not changing Nia to fit the class, because I explained how that turned out in a post earlier this month, but I do try to pick routines that might fit a little better. With a Zumba Gold class I might do a Nia routine that is a bit mellow or doesn’t have a lot of bow stances. And with subbing a Zumba class I might put together a lot of the higher energy “get moving songs”. So all of that cuts into my plan. But I’m going to buckle down a bit because I have some stuff that I needed to get done this month behind me. I am going to keep up with this little challenge myself and see where that tape leads me.
Well? How are you still with me? Are doing the challenge? How is it going? Doing it for 21 days? Doing it for 30 days?
Posted in Misc | Tagged: 21 day challenge, 30 day challenge, body measurements, Bow Stance, cardio, cardio exercise, Cardio Toning, City of San Jose, Facebook, Kick Boxing, measuring tape, Nia routines, Nia San Jose, Pilates, resistance training, San Jose Nia, scale, scale challenge, tape measure, weight, Zumba, Zumba Gold | 2 Comments »
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