Rockband IS Exercise!

Jannae Powell

I went to kickboxing class yesterday and it was PACKED! It was great that there were so many people but I was a little nervous about accidentally kicking someone — or getting kicked myself! Luckily there were no incidents. I am starting to get the hang of the class, it was a little difficult to learn the steps when we started. But I found myself anticipating the next moves and overcoming my awkwardness some. I really want to try the Hip Hop Funky Fitness class but unfortunately I have a previous commitment for tomorrow night. SO it will be another week before I can try that one. On Saturday there is a class taught by Laurie called "Body Blast"…. hmmm…. sounds painful. But I enjoy her methods of teaching (they are just FUN) so I think I might go check it out.

Tonight was an off night from the gym. I wanted to try to do SOMETHING at home, so I started towards the living room to exercise with the Wii Fit. BUT my 16 year old wanted to play Rockband instead. I have considered previously that Rockband COULD be considered exercise - now I am certain that it CAN be. I prefer the drums, and after 2 hours of rocking out my arms, back, and right leg feel like they do after an hour at the gym! Skeptical? I know you might be thinking that it's not "real" exercise… but consider this…

My "Rockband2 (Drums) Workout": Start with something easy like "Drain You" by Nirvana to get you warmed up, continue with "Float On" by Modest Mouse, then try "Chop Suey" by System of a Down, then peak with "Carry On My Wayward Son" by Kansas on MEDIUM OR HIGHER difficulty, then cool down with "You Outta Know" by Alanis Morissette, and finish it off with "E-Pro" by Beck. Your heartrate WILL elevate and your arms will feel like Jello when it's over. I don't know how many calories you will burn or anything like that, but if you have a heart rate monitor it will record an actual workout - and there will be sweat to prove it. :) AND it's a blast! (Just to brag a little… I scored 98% with a 303 note streak on the previously mentioned Kansas song… on Medium difficulty! I'm SUCH an energy hoarder - hahaha!!)

Until next time…