Monthly Archives: June 2016
Fun Pictures/Videos for POP Pilates
While there are aspects about being a POP Pilates instructor that have me fighting the urge to hyperventilate and hide under the table (can’t go under the bed because the mattress rests on the floor), there are also aspects that are super fun.
I may push myself to be social and outgoing, but in actuality, I’m a very shy introvert. I’d much rather sit in a chair at home and read a book than go outside and talk to people. And talking to strangers in situations I’m not familiar with (or know absolutely zilch about like what I have to do these days) is definitely not something I enjoy doing.
Although it takes me a long time to work up the courage to do these things, I eventually get them done and have so far survived every encounter…AND not gotten sick in front of everyone. Or fainted. Or turned into a petrified human statue.
Go me!
But this new line of work I’m trying to inch myself forward into also has fun things like making videos and pictures! It’s not mandatory but I’m encouraged to make little POP Pilates videos and motivational pictures.
I am LOVING making both videos and pictures!
The motivation picture about quitting and failing that I added in my last post was one I made (POP Pilates News) as is this one:
Perhaps it wasn’t my best work but it was my first with this new app that I got specifically for this kind of stuff – WordSwag. It’s fun! I use the trial version of Pic Collage to get backgrounds and then WordSwag to add in text and the POP logo. I really liked the sparkle background for the above even though it was a little difficult to see the words. Give me a break, it was my first attempt.
I got the iMovie app for my videos. I can edit everything, add effects and text, add in and chop up music, etc. I love it! I may be introverted, but I’ve gotten over my fear of being on videos and putting them on the internet. I mean, no one’s watching when I make the video and when I put it up for people to see, I pretend that they don’t exist and that it won’t be seen.
That was in the beginning. I’m cool with being in videos now because people have been so positive and friendly about my videos that I no longer feel self-conscious about being recorded. I feel a bit self-conscious when I do something super silly like dancing (I’m not a good dancer as you might have noticed in a past post when I recorded myself dancing to the first dance routine in the Dance with Julianne: Just Dance! DVD), but on the whole I don’t mind anymore. And after a few days I no longer think about those videos at all. I move on to the next video or picture.
Here’s my newest video for some POP Pilates Booty Work:
My song editing could use a little work this time around (love the song but not easy to edit), but I still like the video for the moves.
This next one was done about 2 weeks back. It’s a total body POP Pilates workout this time.
And my very first POP Pilates video…EVER! An ab workout.
I had never used iMovie before but the basics were pretty easy. This was so fun to make! Every time I make a video, I learn a little more and get a little better. They’ll probably never be perfect but that’s okay because it’s fun!
I’m not used to seeing myself exercise because I’ve never really had a mirror to exercise in front of. Except in group fitness classes and it’s been a looooong time since I’ve been able to take one of those. It’s cool being able to see my muscles working.
POP Pilates News
Not much going on right now. I had a meeting about teaching POP Pilates with the fitness director at my local Y. Yay for my first interview meeting thingie! It seemed to go well. The major obstacle in my way right now is the lack of POP life in this area. People here don’t really know about it, they’ve never heard of it. So if there aren’t enough people interested in the class, there’s no reason to take me on as a teacher.
I offered to give some demos of course to show people what it’s like. It’s hard when somebody asks you “If people like this will they like that?” I mean, how do I answer that? I like Zumba, POP Pilates, Pilates, Yoga, and classes that incorporate cardio and strength training together. Does my liking yoga mean I won’t like Zumba? Everyone’s too different to really be able to tell.
A lot of people on IG like yoga and Pilates and a lot of those people are POPsters (POP Pilates fans), but that doesn’t mean everyone who does yoga and Pilates will like POP Pilates. Although I love yoga, POP Pilates and PIIT28 (go to my PIIT28 page for more info on what that is), I don’t like PiYo…at all. I took only one class to know for certain that I didn’t like it. It was so fast-paced and we had to go through the movements so quickly that I had no time to get and keep proper form. Because of that I ended up hurting my shoulder.
I wish I could have assured the director that people would love it, but I really just have no assurance of that especially after she told me that they had tried a Pilates class during the lunch hour once and it had tanked. Nobody liked it and that surprised her. Surprises me too actually.
Everywhere you go people are different and it could be that the people here in Hastings, NE don’t care for this style of workout. I can’t assure her that people will like it because everyone has different tastes. Boy I wish I could though. All I could tell her was that the class has taken off on the East and West coasts and in Texas. That it’s crazy popular in those places and that its popularity is rapidly growing in CO as well. It usually attracts a good number of students.
But will it attract them here?
I don’t know. Hopefully, yes.
I want so much to fill in this class announcement…
If you live in Hastings, NE or thereabouts and are members of the Y in Grand Island or Hastings, tell the directors etc that you want POP Pilates classes there! You want them and I want to teach them!
Dance with Julianne: Just Dance!
Why do I always always always find workout DVDs when they’re already at least several years old? It’s not fair. Just once I’d like to do a workout DVD that’s relatively new. Within the same year kind of new. Don’t get me wrong, there’s nothing wrong with the workouts themselves. I’d just like to be able to review something new, that’s all.
I stumbled across two “new” dance workout DVDs at my local library last week. I’ve tried one of them. Yeah, I never got around to the other. I may just have to make a note of the title so I can find it and borrow it again later.
You know the TV show Dancing with the Stars? I love that show. Well, if you’re a fan then you’ll have heard about Derek and Julianne Hough. Awesome brother/sister dancers. Derek took a break last season and Julianne left the show some years back. I knew she was acting in movies etc but I didn’t know she had made several dance workout DVDs.
Dance with Julianne: Just Dance!
Get a lean, toned dancer’s physique! No partner needed. Two-time Dancing with the Stars champion Julianne Hough is ready to share her secret for staying fit: Just Dance! Known for her stylish choreography, sparkling energy and ability to teach anyone to dance, Julianne will lead you through three upbeat routines—no partner needed. You’ll kick and you’ll shake all the while toning your abs, legs, butt, arms—everything! Each fat-burning move is specially designed to keep your heart rate up and help you dance your way into fabulous shape. “In these dances, you’re working your whole body and you don’t even know it,” Julianne says. “It really does work!”
This DVD came out in 2010 and I wish I had found it sooner. The first time I tried it, my sides cramped up during the first dance because I wasn’t used to all that hip and oblique action. My guts were tired! I was sweating and breathing hard. Soooo pooped!
And that was only the first dance. 15 minutes long and I was too tired and didn’t want to continue. Although I used to use another dancing workout DVD (it sits in a box all but forgotten) and I’ve done plenty of Zumba before, I haven’t done any kind of dancing for quite some time so I’m soooooooo not used to this kind of movement anymore. Not to mention that I’m also not used to a whole lot of cardio anymore either.
And did I mention it’s in the 90s outside??!! Our poor apt air conditioner is working so hard but can’t make much of a dent in the heat indoors. Still, 79 degrees is a lot better than 95.
I didn’t want to give up on the DVD though because, although I was tired, sweaty, and had a stitch in my side, it was a fun workout once I got the hang of it. Of course it took me the entire practice to be able to get the hang of it and even then I didn’t do that great a job. But still. I’m not known for my dance coordination skills but at least I have ceased to trip and fall.
…That’s only partially a joke.
So I tried it again. This time I went through all three songs. Each is 15 minutes long and focuses on different things.
The first dance is called Work It and it focuses on, from what I can tell, getting into the groove and just going for it. The second dance is called Flaunt It and it focuses on, well, flaunting it. Being sexy. I suck at being sexy but I caught on to that dance faster than the other two…minus the sexy part. The third and final dance is called Pump It and, as you might be able to guess based on its title, it’s focus is to really get you moving. You work harder in this dance than the other two and this was the one where I literally kept tripping over my own feet. It was so hard! The beginning seemed simple enough and I thought, “Oh I got this! Yeah!” Too soon I was left going, “Whaaa?”
I suppose the movements are simple enough compared to other dance routines I’ve seen but, like I said before, I’m not known for my dance coordination. All in all, I found the first dance to be the easiest but there something in all three that I was good at and something I was supremely bad at. The main thing this video lacked was music. There’s really no music to dance to during the workout. Without any beat to really get me into it, it was more like learning moves, not actually dancing.
Despite my failings though, I had a lot of fun doing this and Julianne is a good teacher. A little difficult to follow at times but a lot easier than other dance DVD teachers.
Here’s my attempt at Work It.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BGrsm_FiJ08/?taken-by=kstjshin
Let me assure you that I had been practicing the dance about four times by this point. And that includes my practice before and during the recording. You do the dance about six or so times each session which was really good for me because it gave me ample time to learn it. By the end of the routine I finally got the hang of it…only to be done with it. But that meant I was that much farther ahead the next day when I tried again.
I found this copy at the library and borrowed it for a week for free, but at $9.46 (plus s&h) for a brand new copy on Amazon, it wouldn’t be expensive to buy. And it’s even cheaper if you get it from a third party through Amazon.
Jacquelyn Umof – Get Stretchy
Lately I’ve been trying to increase my flexibility. One of my IG friends posted the above picture on her feed and it made me curious. I knew about @actionjacquelyn – I follow her on IG – but I hadn’t seen any posts about Get Stretchy. Turns out I just missed it. Big surprise.
I discovered Jacquelyn when she modeled for Cassey Ho’s POPFlex activewear line.
The Mermaid Collection is Cassey’s second POPFlex collection. Absolutely gorgeous and so comfy!
I read Jacquelyn’s bio when the Peony Collection (the 1st POPFlex collection) came out and almost cried (yeah, I got all teary-eyed) because it was so touching. When she was growing up, she studied and practiced to be a dancer – a ballerina I think? Correct me if I’m wrong on that. When posed with the question of how she dealt with body image issues from that line of study, she said,
“This is a tricky question, because in the beginning dance made me very self-conscious about my body. Going to ballet class meant dancing and staring at yourself in front of the mirror for 2.5 hours in a leotard and pink tights, and your hair in a bun. There’s no hiding your body underneath baggy sweaters or sweats, or even behind your hair. Your body is out there for everyone to see and judge.
In the beginning part of my ballet career in high school I obsessed with my body. I had to have every part of it perfect. Or, in my mind, I felt like I wouldn’t get the good roles or the attention I wanted from my teachers, or the respect from my peers. I would go to ballet summer camps and eat just enough to get me through the day, and nothing more. I lost my period, and became anemic. I was beginning to go down a dangerous body dysmorphia path.
I went to college, and gained some weight naturally from eating fast-food with my peers and just being a regular college girl. I was still dancing as a cheerleader for USC, but not having to wear a tiny leotard everyday made eating a burger every now and then seem ok, but I didn’t feel comfortable in my skin anymore. I thought that since I wasn’t a rail anymore that I wasn’t as attractive as I could be.
Then I went on to be a Clipper Girl and Laker Girl, and I knew that just eating minimally to get by wasn’t going to cut it. When I would diet (and by diet I mean just cut calories), I would be exhausted. I remember thinking maybe I’ll just eat less and not workout – because I was just too tired from “dieting”. Your body just doesn’t work like it does when you’re 16, and I knew something had to change.
Fast forward to today, where I drink Bulletproof butter coffee everyday, and I’ve never loved my body more. I started to eat healthy fats, grass-fed butter, oils, and realized that I wasn’t giving my body the basic nutrients I needed in order to feel my best. And now that ‘s what I’m after – performing at the peak of my mental capacity and physical potential. I was so afraid that eating too much meant gaining weight – and not being able to do what I love most – dance – but I was so wrong. Eating healthy fats didn’t make me gain weight, and I think my body is stronger than it ever has been. It’s a mental paradigm shift, and I’m so grateful that I went through it because you can’t live the rest of your life by starving yourself to stay thin. It’s not how life was meant to be lived. I’m a super healthy eater, but I definitely let myself eat pizza and Cinnabon rolls – I mean, how could I not?!”
She goes on to say how there are times she still struggles with how she sees herself but how she also loves herself and everything her body is capable of. Sooo…she’s human! Nobody’s perfect. Even someone as strong, flexible, fit, and graceful as Jacqueline Umof can have body image issues from time to time. It’s natural, something everyone experiences and we just have to learn to deal with it and move on rather than let it control us.
“I give my body loving thoughts everyday, and I respect it and honor it, and it shows me respect in return.” – Jacqueline Umof
But this isn’t supposed to be a post about body issues. I just wanted to share a bit from her bio. To read the rest, go check out her bio over here…
Meet the Models // Jacquelyn Umof, Professional Dancer & Yoga Instructor
Anyway, time goes on (not much time as original POPFlex collection only came out last fall or so) and I’m in another IG yoga challenge posting my daily yoga pictures when I see this @actionjacquelyn liking my photos. Who is she? I check her out and she’s one of the models from the collection! “Holy cow!” I thought. “How cool!” So I started following her and the rest is unimportant.
The Get Stretchy program sounded interesting so I clicked on it and it brought me over to her website where the program was on sale for Mother’s Day. $9.99 instead of $49.99. Go mothers! Woo! I figure for that price it wouldn’t make much difference if I decided later on that I didn’t like it so I bought it.
I’m glad I got it when I did because it’s no longer on sale and there are good stretches in the videos.
What’s Included in Get Stretchy:
- 30 days of videos
- Flexibility assessment
- Daily morning/evening stretch and meditation videos
- Downloadable guide: 14 Stretching Tips
- BONUS 1 – 25 minute Yoga session for the splits
- BONUS 2 – 30 minute Feet & Calf stretch session
- Downloadable calendar to track daily progress
There are 14 different daily videos, 7 for the morning to warm up the body and another 7 for the evening to stretch out your muscles. You do them every day when you wake up and then 30 minutes to an hour before you go to sleep. When you finish the first week, you go through it all again for a total of 30 days. Simple.
On Day 1 you’ll do a flexibility assessment to see where you’re starting and then again on Day 30 to see how far you’ve progressed. There’s also a closed group on Facebook that you can join after you get the program. People there are pretty active and friendly.
I’m currently on Day 6. Do the math. I bought it just before Mother’s Day (May 8) and today is June 7. I should be done or nearly done, but I’m still on my 1st week. That’s because I started Day 1 and then forgot about it for well over a week. Then I started again…and again…and again. The 4th start after I moved to Hastings, NE seemed to be my clicking point and I’ve been very good about doing my AM and PM stretches.
Last night and this morning were super difficult, especially last night. I’ve noticed I’m much more flexible on one side than the other…which is totally normal. It’s too soon to say I’m getting more flexible though I do notice my flexibility comes more easily in the mornings now. My body doesn’t dislike the early morning movements as much as it did in the beginning though my neck still protests…big time. But, then, that’s nothing new for me. I take it a little more easy on the neck movements in the morning so I don’t hurt myself.
Anyway, I’ll wait until the end of my month to make a real judgement about the program but so far it’s enjoyable. Check out Jacquelyn’s site if you’re interested in any of her programs. She’s got a lot more there than just the Get Stretchy program.
Moved! + POP Pilates
So it’s been some time since I last posted here. I’ve been preoccupied with moving. Brand new town, brand new state, nothing’s the same and I don’t know anyone except my hubby and my son. I’m still settling in – there’s a ton of stuff left on my to-do list – but I’m getting there. One thing at a time.
My husband moved here first and I visited him back in January or something. Our apt was fine. We were worried it would be too small but it was rather cozy and comfy. I think I was just happy to be in our own place and with him again. The weather was awful. Pure awfulness. Overcast the whole time, snowing a lot, 1-2 inches of ice covering the ground. I was terrified to drive for fear that my brakes wouldn’t stop us. I wondered if the sun would ever come out.
Now I see the town in Summer and the grass is nice and green, well-mowed, the sidewalks are well-kept, the weather is lovely and sunny. It’s not too hot yet and the air is moist. It feels so good to have moisture in the air!!! My ripped up cuticles are healing on their own accord and I barely need any lotion!
Aaaaaand! I have a lovely little place right outside my apt to take my IG yoga pics! Extra yay about that is that I’m going to be starting up mini-POP Pilates videos. POP Pilates is not a common thing out here. There’s 1 place doing classes over in Lincoln but that’s over 100 miles from me.
And that brings me into my POP Pilates news. Not THE big news that I have classes but news nonetheless.
In the hopes of generating some POP Pilates buzz in Hastings, NE, I’ve created a Facebook page just for POP Pilates in Hastings. The name is pretty simple…
Except now I’m wondering if it’s too simple. There are other towns/cities named Hastings in the world. I got the idea from some other POP instructors who did the same thing. Some of them used their name though instead of the area. Maybe it would be better if I did that? I’ll have to wait and think about it because after I change it once, I won’t be able to change it again. At least, so I was told.
On the page I’ll be posting POP Pilates pictures and quotes and mini POP Pilates workout videos. I even got an movie app to edit the movies. I was playing with it yesterday, desperately hoping it was worth the money (not like it was anywhere near expensive but still), and it worked beautifully! So easy to use (it had to be easy if I figured out how to do what I needed within 30 minutes) and it did everything I’ve been wanting to do with a video but haven’t been able to do on freebie apps.
It’s called iMovie – obviously for Apple products. I won’t go into it right now. I’ll wait until I’m more familiar with it and then do up a review in its own little post.
Anyway, hope you enjoy the page. I’ll do my best to get a video out there every week. Hopefully classes will start up soon but, as I still have to talk to gyms (lots to do to get settled in a new place), it’ll be a little while still. Hopefully not toooooooo long though.
Wish me luck!
Fitness Freak 