Ok so anyone who reads this blog and knows me well enough, knows I'm pretty routine about exercising. I DEFINITELY wouldn't say I'm dilligent because I have plenty of lazy days! However, I have been pretty consistent with trying to make it to the gym at least 2, sometimes 3 days a week and fill in with running at home on other days when I can! Of course there has been many a week when I didn't make it at all, but for the most part, I try to definitely not miss Monday and Wednesday nights if possible. Why you ask? Because I truly LOVE my MRT class on Monday and Wednesday evenings. My love affair with this class began when I lost my teacher from a different class and was looking for a substitution My friend Linda and I had been pretty dilligently attending Zumba at our gym every Monday and Wednesday night since January of this year. We were so pleased once we got into the routine. Finally, an exercise class that's fun, involves dancing and fun music, and burns an unbelievable amount of calories! I was hooked! So happy to have found a workout that I actually looked forward to. In fact, we were so sold on the concept we even attended Zumba classes with other teachers to compare the styles. Nope, not even close, no one compared to our teacher and we were always super bummed when she missed class and we had to dance with a sub. So here we are, twice a week, all happy and content with our routine and then BAM!
Fast forward roughly 6 months later. We noticed for a couple weeks in a row that our beloved teacher was missing an awful lot of class, I thought, hmmm what's up? I even started telling Linda that I wasn't going unless regular teach was gonna be there...yep, Im that person, totally unopen to change and a creature of comfortable habit. Well after many terrible classes with terrible subs and missing my fun workout, I finally asked the lady at the desk (I'd like to call her rude lady at the desk but that's another story) what the deal was? MUCH to my horror, as well as Linda's..regular teach is gone, flew the coop, not coming back! We tried to look around town and see if maybe she was just teaching elsewhere, no luck there. I like to consider that last move only mildly stalker-ish, thank you very much! And for the record, I sincerely hope, for her sake, that I never run into her in town because if I ever find out where this woman lives she might find me on her doorstep, twice a week religiously, in my tank and tennis ready to JAM! Class or no class, I heart this woman!
Anyhow, with the loss of our aerobic hero we were feeling kinda lost and needing a substitute class for the same time slot. The class timing worked out great for us and was super convenient, right after work and only one hour long. Enter MRT and Ms.Verna..dum dum dummmmmm!
A few of the other girls we work with had been going to this MRT class at the womens center portion of the gym and had mentioned it several times before. My first thought being, "ok, I don't even know what MRT means and it sure dont spell D.A.N.C.E so, no thanks!" But, as we all know, desperate times call for desperate measures, so I agree to give it a whirl! Let me go ahead and preface that at this point I had gotten to the point that I really loved exercising. I loved having a fun workout I enjoyed as well as the group aspect of it and being able to do it with friends as well as meet new people in the process, and of course, I had begun to see results so there were many cravings I needed to feed after the loss of our Zumba class.
After the first night at MRT I knew I was going to like it! It definitely wasn't as fun as Zumba and I knew it probably wasn't going to be as great of a cardio burn, having always been mainly interested in cardio exercise, I was a little worried. Right off the bat I saw that it offered something I had never had the chance to do before, a total body conditioning in a group setting, with music, all women, and the funniest instructor I have met! I'd also like to add that at this point, I STILL do not know what MRT stands for but the goal of the class is to perform exercises which help to increase your metabolism. We start out with a quick little warm up and then move right into step aerobics for about 20-30 minutes which satisfies your cardio crave. The last part of the class is spent doing strength training with weights and floor exercises for arms, legs, and abs. Personally, I had never done step aerobics but was definitely up to give it a try. I also have always wanted to do more strength training with weights to tone but have left mildly intimidated the few times I have been to the weight room at the gym. I also really liked the group aspect of all of these things.
Basically, Ms. Verna turns on some tunes...sometimes cheesy 80's music, sometimes her personal fav, Pitbull...and we get to exercising! As we are going through the motions, she just talks..and talks...and talks...and talks! HA! Seriously this woman is a crack up! She doesn't just stand at the front of the room and call out orders such as, "And 1 and 2 and 3 and stretch and lift and sweat your butt off" She just talks to us about whatever goes through her mind. Whatever is going on, random thoughts she has, how tired she is of doing this one motion but we gotta keep at it! I just know that whatever she says is real and it's funny! Little Ms. Verna is probably in her early to mid 60s but this woman is TONED and in shape! And she is quite hilarious. I seriously think I could make a blog post each week solely dedicated to the one liners and funny conversations with Ms. Verna. Honestly, I go to class probably 40% because I want to exercise and 60% because I want to listen to the funny things she has to say. No matter how many people are there in class, when you walk in the door, she shouts hello to you...mid exercise move typically. I wish I could remember some of the many things she has cracked us up with but heres just some "for examples" from tonights one hour class alone.
"Hey y'all, ____ band is playing at my friends house this weekend and I am so excited. Yall please keep us in your prayers because there is NOOO telling what all's gonna go down at that house. They did hire two cops though...and Im really glad"
"Ok yall let's get up here"- steps on her aerobic step to start the next move
"Ok let's go skiing"-starting the snow skiing jump..."and we're HITTING the slopes, here we go"
Like I said, this is just a minor sampling and this doesn't include the many times she busts out in random song or dance momentarily. I.e. tonight one of the songs was "C'mon baby light my fire" and right after they sang that line she would say "Firreuuah". I seriously just love this woman. Aside from keeping us entertained she is a super great instructor, knows a lot about fitness and wants every woman there to get the most they can out of the class because it is your class. She never pushes you to do more than you think your body can and always encourages those who want to push harder if they are able. And at the end of every class she thanks all of us for coming, like 3 times!
So today is to Ms. Verna and my new favorite class. She tells us that building a muscle is what helps to up your metabolism and that muscle burns fat even when we sleep! My ears are perked at that point alone! If you are in the Saline County area you should check it out at Fitness Unlimited Women's Center Monday and Wednesday nights 5:30-6:30. They also have free childcare! Bonus! My disclaimer...if I ever find my retired Zumba teacher, Ms. Verna may take a backseat, but for now, I'm blissfully burning with Verna!
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