Exercise Videos



   I have a gratitude journal. Every night before I go to bed I write down three things for which I am grateful. Recently I wrote that I am grateful for exercise videos.
   I'm grateful to be able to work out again. When I was struggling with anemia, I couldn't work out except for yoga. Anytime I tried to do anything moderately strenuous, I'd get out of breath. It's a little scary to have to stop during workout because of serious lightheadedness. There was even a time where even certain yoga poses were too much to do.
   Those days are over now. I'm back to running in place,marching, grapevines and other moves. I've even found the old Tae Bo workouts I used to do 20 years ago. They are on Youtube. It feels good to be up and moving with Jenny Ford, Leslie Sansone and Chris Freytag. Lately I've even been able to keep up with Billy Blanks. (Not brave enough to tackle Jillian Michaels yet.)
   The best thing about workout videos is that I can work out without having to go to exercise classes. I'm not a big fan of working out in public. I've taken exercises classes before. I took a spinning class and some sort of weight class. Most of the people in the class had matching workout gear and looked like they could model in magazines. No one wore old t-shirts and black below the knee workout pants like I did. Some of them had matching towels and water bottles too.
  None of them had trouble keeping up or doing things perfectly. I would usually be on my seat during spinning class while everyone else were standing on their pedals. At least once a class during weightlifting class the instructor would come to correct what I was doing. I never saw her to that to anyone else.
   By far, the worst part of any workout class was when we would move left or right. You see, I have trouble telling left from right. Most people don't have to think about right or left, but I do. It's not uncommon for me to confuse right and left and turn the wrong direction. In dance classes when I was a kid several times I would do the moves on the wrong side. The same with exercise classes. The class moves one direction. I might move the other.
   It's embarrassing to have to admit this. The good news is that I am not alone. According to an article on Psychology Spot, 20% of the population have what's called left-right confusion. The article also says that it is more common among the left handed, women and those with high IQs. Since I am a left handed woman I am comforted by this fact.
   Because of this inability, I'm very self conscious when it comes to exercising in groups. That's why I am so grateful for workout videos. The instructors say to do things on the right or left. I do my best, but if I move the wrong side or the wrong direction no one knows. No one cares. It's all right. I don't have to worry about anyone snickering behind my back or in front of my face. I don't have to worry about crashing into other people. I can concentrate on my form.
   That's why I'm grateful for exercise videos.
 

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