Hi All,

I just wanted to post a few suggestions here about things that have been working for me!

As a musician, I'm really drawn to anything musical, and I find that I have the most fun and get the best workout when I'm dancing.

My workout consists of free weights for my arms, crunches and the ab roller for my stomache, and dancing, dancing, dancing for my cardio!

I go swing and latin dancing about once or twice a week. It's SO much fun, and the crowd is always really friendly.....not like the meat-market club scene. People actually go there to dance and EVERYONE dances. I know that the swing scene has been revived and most places offer lessons before-hand. I'm telling you......I get the best workout EVER when I go out dancing.

Also, I use two dance videos: Kathy Smith's Latin Rythym and Paula Abdul's Get Up And Dance. The Kathy Smith video is easy to follow and lots of fun. Paula Abdul's is a bit more challenging, the moves are a little more complex, but stilll lots of fun. I feel like I'm in a dance video when I do it. LOL

Anyhow, I just wanted to throw this out there becuase I know personally, I hate to excercize and dancing doesn't seem like excercize at all! The best part is I've lost 3 inches in my thighs, 2 in my waist, 1 in my chest - all from dancing. (12 weeks)

So......good luck!

Cheers,
Taunia

I once taped some of my favorite oldies off the radio and did free-style aerobics with them. I had such a blast that when it was time to stop, I didn't want to! And the best part was, privacy of my own home with no audience or admission fee!

When you can find something you really like, it's sure to work really well.

Wow. You sound so much like me. I am also a musician. I LOVE jazz as well. I sing and play violin. Anyway, I own both the tapes you are talking about and I love them! I also have Paula Abdul's Cardio Dance (way cooler than her first) and a Crunch workout called fat blaster goes Latin. (Don't buy it though, Kathy Smith's workout is 1000 times better!!!) I also love to dance to try to lose weight. I have actually taken the best of my workouts and combined them. I'll do the ab section from Paula Abdul and the leg toning section (very difficult but rewarding) on the second Paula Abdul tape and then do the Latin Dance. Often I will rewind sections or whatever I feel like doing that day. Anyway, I'm so excited that someone else is into those tapes like me! Well, take care and hope to hear from you soon!

Unfortunately I haven't been performing as much as I usually do because I am engaged and I'm working to save up money so that I may get married. I'm 19 and I attend the university of washington. I sang in the choir there and I loved it dearly, but I had to quit last quarter because I was only going to school 2 days a week. I have had so many dreams haunting me about it! I miss it like crazy. I started to get into jazz about a year ago, and I love it. I like sarah vaughan and harry connick, jr.

Some close friends and I used to perform at Starbucks. We called ourselved Florestan and Eusebious. It was so much fun. We did just about everything you could think of. We would sing a few jazz classics, musical solos, deep thoughts, sax, viola, piano, and guitar solos, and MY FAVORITE improv singing!! That and playing bloody mary in South Pacific (I also love to act) were two of the funnest things i have ever done in my whole life. We didn't get paid to do it, but we loved it. I really hope we can all get together again this summer and do it.

I also love to sing choral. I have had some emotional experiences and I think singing in a choir is as close to heaven as I will ever get on this earth.

And on the lighter side, i LOVE latin music!!! I took 3 yrs of spanish in high school and I'm so sad that I haven't practiced. I love singing in Spanish becuase i think it's so romantic and I happen to be a hopeless romantic.

So what do you think about starting a new forum for "musicians, thespians and artists, oh my!" or whatever. just a cute, cheesy name.

Hey Grace,

That's great.......you should definitely keep singing, you obviously have a passion for it. So, while in college, did you/are you studying music/voice?

You're making me feel old, though. LOL I'm nearly 30 and haven't been in school for about 7 years!

That's great you have such an interest in jazz....Sarah Vaughn is one of my biggest influences. And, since you mentioned that you like Harry Connick, I thought I'd share this with you...it's a little blurry, but that's Harry and me.......and yes, he is a total babe in person and one **** of a funny guy. LOL

Start the thread......I'm in!

I love to dance! I just signed up for a month long series of Country Dancing classes at the Y. It wasn't very strenuous but it was fun none the less.

I really wanted to purchase some good dance workout tapes and was glad two people recommended the Kathy Smith's Latin Rythym and Paul Abduls Get Up and Dance videos. I am always hesitant to buy without trying them out (our video store and library are very limited in the exercise sections). I want to buy them on-line....does anyone have any site suggestions?

Eve

216/212/145 (ww 5/16/01)

For reviews of exercise videos, go to

www.exercisevideosreviews.com
of
www.thriveonline.com

both are good sources.

Also, if you look at tapes on www.amazon.com, some of them have customer reviews at the bottom of the page.

A good place to get cheaper tapes is www.half.com. They are mostly used, but a good place to start. Also, ebay has a lot listed. But be careful. Some of the tapes are more expensive than you can buy them new at other sites.

Good luck to you! I love tapes.

Actually, I think the best exercise video website is www.collagevideo.com because they have user reviews, magazine reviews, and they even have video clips from some of the videos.

Thank you for all the help. I tried collagevideo but found Amazon cheaper. I ordered them and can't wait to try them out.

Thanks for all the great input and thread subject.

Eve

Well - I got the Kathy Smith and Paula Abdul tape yesterday. Last night I watched them both (while eating a ff chocolate pudding curled up in my chair). My husband must of walked by a million times giving me a look that clearly indicated that I was supposed to be WORKING OUT to those tapes, not just watching them (LOL).

He doesn't understand the view then try method. It does look fun (both tapes) but I can see a lot of practice (and rewinding) to look good doing the moves.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Eve