Core exercise: Solid, not rotten, to the core......

I wasn't sure what to expect from this class although I certainly understood its goal. Almost any athletic endeavor requires a strong core and your core is essentially everything below your neck and above your legs. If you can still keep a hula hoop going for days at a time you probably don't need this class, but for the rest of us core training is pretty important. The class was well attended and there were a variety of ages in the class with many members coming up right after a Zumba session.

The young instructor Janee started us out with some basic Zumba dance moves to warm up with and I have to admit that although I hadn't listened to Michael Jackson's Thriller CD for ages, those songs still get you going. From there, we did some basic Yoga moves with both of these activities focused on strengthening those abdominal muscles. Then we stepped it up a notch as we did a variety of crunches and abdominal exercises to music. If you haven't done these, a crunch is like a sit-up that doesn't make it all the way. It sounds easier, but isn't and doing a bunch of these in a row definitely was a workout. I didn't use a mat, but if I had it to do over again I certainly would. This old dog doesn't adapt to a hard floor as well as he used to. There was a cool down period and then the 45 minute workout was over.

I had a good time and it seemed like everyone else did as well and I was impressed that so many of them did this following an hour or more of Zumba. You don't need to have a top level of fitness to join the class, but it probably shouldn't be your beginning activity if you haven't exercised in a while. A solid core is of course vital to many sports especially more active sports such as basketball, racquetball and tennis or some less active ones such as golf or bowling. I am definitely adding more core exercises to my fitness routine and may well visit this class again because I can really see how it would help me with my favorite winter sports, cross-country skiing and ice skating. After all, I want to be solid in my core, not rotten.