Strong Bands Fitness Week!

I just found some photos posted by the Ft. Bliss MWR of a fitness event I participated in last month, and decided to snag a couple containing yours truly so I could write about it! Both Army posts we've been stationed at so far have had amazing gyms, and at least once a year host an aerobathon. I have yet to miss one and they are always a blast. Whereas Ft. Lewis only had one a year, Ft. Bliss has one every quarter. For their May event, they really amped it up!

On Monday we got a Strong B.A.N.D.S. (stands for Balance, Activity, Nutrition, Determination, Strength) card with a block for every day. We had to attend at least one fitness class a day and get a signature from the instructor. This wasn't hard for me since I am somewhat addicted to fitness classes, although it was different finding one to do on Friday since Friday is usually my day off. I ended up doing my usual yoga on Monday and Wednesday, zumba on Tuesday, spinning on Thursday, and Gravity on Friday. All the classes were extra full because of all the people taking the challenge and it made for some nice energy!

[By the way, this is the machine used in a Gravity class, and it involves your body weight used against an incline:

It's more challenging than it looks and I'm always extremely sore after doing it!]

The week culminated in a 2-hour aerobathon on Saturday morning. This was the fun part! I got there early to make sure I got a spin bike because they go fast, and my two fitness buddies from the week, Nicki and Ellen, followed my example. Spinning was first for half an hour, and since the teacher is a beast, we were all worn out and dripping with sweat just after that! I couldn't find any pictures of this where I was visible though.

Next was half an hour of a class called Ripped. It was a mixture of aerobics and weights. I didn't completely care for it, mostly because I'm so uncoordinated that I get easily frustrated trying to follow the routines (and I know this is contradictory considering I love zumba, but somehow this was different!). As proof, here I am doing something completely different from most of the people around me...although I don't feel too bad since I'm clearly not the only one confused. ;-)

After that was zumba. Zumba is fun. And I get annoyed when people say they can't do zumba because they can't dance. Zumba teaches you how to dance! ;-) If this awkward white girl with no moves can get a workout from it, you can too!

The last event was of course my favorite: yoga. It wasn't exactly an ideal environment for a good practice, with such a huge crowd of beginners, but it was still a good closeout to the event. 

(Why do I always think I'm sinking lower into my front leg than I actually am?! Arghhh! Must fix.)

My two workout buddies and I were definitely on a workout high afterward! It was so much fun!

If your gym ever offers an aerobathon, I encourage you to participate! I already can't wait for the next one. =) Major kudos to Soto Gym and the Ft. Bliss MWR for putting on such a great event!