Why I Love Fat Girl Dancing

I have seen this video pop up all over my FB timeline over the past week. A lot of praise has been bestowed upon the lady dancer. I believe people tend to have a negative view of the health and fitness of people whose weight and size goes against what is fashionable let alone what the medical profession deem to be right. One size fits all mantra. There seems to be a requirement that we all morph into skinnies and hit up a malnourished catwalk.

Anyway what I love about this video is here you have a plus size dancer who owns it. She reminds me of a lady from the local uni who taught me dancing and performance arts when I was younger. She too was a big girl but she did the splits she kept up and overtook the most of them. I love the fact that in this video the lady commands your attention more than her male partner. She would do so even if she was slimmer. She seems to have a natural dancer ability. Her size is not her barrier and why should it be.......

Gym Member

So yes my fitness improving has been slow and somewhat stagnate. On a whim I went to look at a gym with my friend and last week joined. I was adamant before that I would only workout at home but lately I have time on my hand so I am better of forgoing a makeup purchase or lunch date and be a gym member. 

My 1st week has been completed and it has left me in pain and my workouts pale in comparison to others. That fitness equipment I have at home that is not used often is now actually part of my gym routine. The good ole cross trainer. It hurts my thighs so much and often I do not feel I can go past the pain threshold. I manage 5 minutes only at present though this shall pass with time. My 1st day was the hardest which was with a personal trainer who showed me how to use the equipment to get the best results. 

I will blog updates on my fitness goals an weight loss aspirations on this blog as and when. Though over on my new fitness blog That Sweet Sugar Dumpling I intend to blog every few days. Right now my goal is to be more active once I have fully achieved that my next goal will be to adjust what foods I eat. Contrary to the popular belief systems about folk who are over weight I am not a food hoarder. I just need to be more active and eat more fruit and not skip meals. Breakfast is such a chore to eat but I will have to ensure I have it so I do not workout on empty.

One more thing I so need to learn to swim. I am going to save up for lessons. I have ordered some tankini's so I can dip my toes in the pool but I want to do more than just wade in the water.

Black Girls Run

I spotted this over on CNN and thought what an amazing concept. From two friends Toni Carey and Ashley Hicks wanting to be healthy to a nationwide campaign in the USA that has encouraged many women to change their mindset to exercise.  I find this interesting as my friend has asked me to join everyone on the next 5k race. I will only be able to power walk but being able to run with ease would be such an achievement. You can read more about Black Girls Run on the website.

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Ab Circuits ~ Defining my core

My friends are always trying to get me to join them on their fitness ventures. I always say no because my fitness is well below par. The promises I made to myself years ago on this blog have ye to be fulfilled. My fitness DVD's , Wii games and mini home gym has grown a little. I just need to use them. So surprisingly to myself my friend wanted to do some ab circuits.

Thankfully this was just an intense core workout and not a sweat bath. During the class I grimaced at my lack of stomach muscles, my inability to pull my belly button into my spine or keep my bum in the air long enough. You would think having a weight placed on your back while your lifting your body through your stomach in some form of way would have done me in but no. It was at the start where we laid on our backs with knees bent doing sit ups. All I could hear the instructor saying was keep your chin off your chest. 

My chest is full of bosom as you know from my last trip to Bravissimo. Let me tell you my chest was giving me problems I felt like my bosom was choking me. It was just too my pressure for me. I was so relieved when we moved onto exercises on our sides and stomach. Lesson learned I must invest in a proper sports bra. Hopefully it will keep my bosom at bay. Can you imagine if this was a cardio session.

The instructor was a lovely lady who told me to keep coming back and it will get easier. She even gave me a core exercise to do when driving. At a red light suck stomach in pull through belly button towards back and release on green. You need to have your car seat upright which is how I drive anyway. 

I think I will keep doing this class until my work circumstances changes. Bonus discovered I can join a scheme that gets me discounted classed and free swimming. If only I could swim. At my age I have no idea how long that will take to learn.

Serena still my body idol

Yep my weight battle is just that. A battle that everyone comments on. I am actually trying to count points and feel content. I spotted this advert featuring the ever fit Serena Williams over at Black Girls Guide to Weight Loss. She is definitely comfortable in her skin. I pray one day I will be too. Oh yeah she is my body idol but I do not want her body. I want my own version.

Fitness at any age

Saw this whilst browsing World Star HipHop site. This lady is 72yrs old and has such an amazing body. I need to step up my game big time. I find stories like these so inspirational.