Hola, amigos!

Last night Liz and I teamed up and taught back to back Cinco De Mayo themed classes.  Yes, we came up with this idea all by ourselves.  No, the YMCA does not always celebrate Cinco De Mayo.

Clearly we are just the dorkiest coolest fitness instructors you’ve ever had.  Right?!

It was quite the two hour fiesta, if I do say so myself.

We started off with Liz’s kickboxing class.  We jammed away to some Latin inspired Kix routines like “Let’s Get Loud,” “Gasolina,” and “Ay Chico.”  At the end of class, Liz gave away cute little Mexican flags to everyone.  Yes, we decided to hit up iParty before classes this week so we could give away fun Cinco De Mayo treats for all.

Flags for the Kix folks, party beads for my Circuit folks, and cute little cactus stirrers for those that stayed for both!

Check out all the kickers with their flags:

I think we look pretty darn good for being so sweaty, no!?

Next up was my Circuit class.  Am I pathetic for saying that my playlist was seriously the only thing getting me through my work day yesterday?!

(Or maybe that’s just really telling about my work day).

Either way, don’t judge until you take a looksies for yourself:

Pretty awesome, huh?  As each song came on, I kept announcing it was the best one on my playlist.  They can’t ALL be the best, but I think I’ve narrowed it down between Ricky Martin’s “She Bangs,” Gloria Estefan’s “Turn the Beat Around,” and Lou Bega’s “Mambo #5.”  Opinions!?

I guess I could share the workout we did too.  🙂

Tabata Stations Class

For this class I set up three different stations around the room.  I split everyone into three groups and had them do Tabata circuits.  Tabata means eight intervals of 20 seconds on / 10 seconds rest for a total of four minutes.  We alternated the 8 intervals between Move 1 and Move 2 just so the eight intervals weren’t all the same thing. 

For this workout you need a bosu, a medicine ball, a mat, and a band; however you can always choose a version of the move that doesn’t require the equipment if you don’t have these at your own gym.

Tabata Stations Round 1

1. Bosu:  Pushups / Burpees
2. Medicine Ball:  Woodchop Squats / Pulse with legs together
3. Bands:  Bicep Curls Front / Bicep Curls Side

In between stations, perform 1 minute cardio bursts — for example here we did jump rope, jumping jacks, and jumping oblique twists.

Tabata Stations Round 2

1. Bosu:  Plank / Climbers
2. Medicine Ball:  Front lunge with twist on the right / Front lunge with twist on the left
3. Bands:  Single arm tricep extension right / Single arm tricep extension left

Again, in between stations perform 1 minute cardio bursts.

Each “Round” takes about 15 minutes total to do on your own (four minutes for each Tabata and a minute for the cardio bursts), but it took longer in a class environment because I was busy demonstrating form.

Floor

We finished with the following during the last 15 or so minutes:

• Plie Squats:  20 regular, 20 pulses
• Bent Over Rows with Band:  3 sets of 10 then hold
• Ab Attack:  20 regular crunches, 20 left oblique, 2o right oblique, 20 pulses, 20 leg lifts, 20 reverse crunches, 20 climb the ropes, 20 pilates pulses, 20 sit backs, 20 russian twists, and a 20 second 6 inch hold.  Look familiar?  I just took pieces of yesterday’s Core Strength class to finish out tonight’s workout.

The girls worked hard to deserve their party favors!

Love this crowd!!  Too bad I couldn’t serve you all margaritas in class, but hopefully now after last night’s workouts you won’t feel guilty if you have a few to the face this Saturday.  🙂

And thanks Liz for totally rocking this idea with me.  I wouldn’t want anyone else teaching class right before mine!

Has anyone ever taken a themed fitness class before?  If you participated in our Cinco De Mayo fun, what was your favorite part?  Favorite song on the playlists?

Hasta luego!

P.S.  Jen, we missed you!  I know you would have loved this.