Bollywood themed workout and movie night

Our plans for Sunday night fell through, so I was pretty much on my own for much of the evening. I decided to do a Bollywood night, starting with a workout and followed by a movie. Are you familiar with Bollywood? It's India's answer to Hollywood and many of the movies feature songs and lots of energetic dancing.

I checked out the Bollywood Burn workout from my library. Here's my summary for you:

What is needed: No special equipment. Room to move around, taking several steps forward, backward and to the sides.

Structure: Three fifteen minute dance routines, progressing in difficulty. 47 minutes total.

Special features: Freestyle dance performance. Audio options of music only or music with instruction.

My impressions: I watched this through once and then did the first two workouts. Workout done by two women and a man. For a Bollywood feel, the instructors are barefooted and rather glamorously dressed, with plenty of sparkle. I was not, wearing my usual sports bra & shorts ensemble with tennis shoes. The first segment is a warm up, and the second is faster, with some dance choreography. It involves a lot of jumping and kicking. I'm not comfortable doing much jumping (which is ridiculous for someone who wants a jump rope, eventually) so I tried to follow along with less impact. It looked fun, and maybe it would have been better if I would have done what they were doing, but slowed down it had the feel of old Jane Fonda aerobics for me. The instructors are very graceful, bouncing around lightly, but I have to say I felt elephantine, clomping around in my sneakers. I was also somewhat disappointed in the music; I thought it would have a little more flavor. These are just my own reactions, of course, but I don't think that I'll be doing this workout again.


I had a better time cycling to the Om Shanti Om CD, lent to me by my considerate coworker Floating Lush , who encouraged me to watch  Om Shanti Om to begin with. The super energetic music gave my workout a push!

Check out "Dard E Disco" below:

Here is an English translation of the song from BollyWhat? The Guide for Clueless Fans of Bollywood Films :

Dard-e-Disco

The Pain of Disco

Woh haseena woh neelam pari

That beauty, white fairy

Kargayee kaisi jadoogari

Did some sort of magic

Neend in aankho se chheenli

Took the sleep from these eyes

Dil mein bechaniyian hai bhari

The heart is full of restlessness

Woh haseena woh neelam pari

Kargayee kaisi jadoogari

Neend in aankho se chheenli

Dil mein bechaniyian hai bhari

Main bechaara hoon aawara woh lo samjhaoon mein ab kis kis ko

Woe is me, I am lost and how many people can I tell

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco

In my heart is the pain of disco, the pain of disco, the pain of disco

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco

Dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco

The pain of disco, the pain of disco



Phasledil ki gulposhiyon ka mausam tha

The season of beauty it is in my heart

Hum par kabhi sargoshiyon ka mausam tha

On me it is the season of colours

Phasledil ki gulposhiyon ka mausam tha

Hum par kabhi sargoshiyon ka mausam tha

Kaisa junoon khaabon ke anjuman mein tha

What a feeling it is in my dreams

Kya main kahoon kya mere paas pun mein tha

What can I say about what I have?

Ranjish ka chala tha untha jo khaab ka

The feeling in my dreams, stung so badly

To phirta hoon main London, Paris, New York, Alai, San Francisco

So I roam in London, Paris, New York, Alai, San Francisco

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco

Dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco



Lamha lamha armaanon ki famaayish thi

Every moment I had the wish to see my dreams come true

Lamha lamha jo ladki aasmayee thi

Every moment she took over me

Apne karam gir gir pe mujhpe barsa tha

When she dropped and rained on to me

Apne karam barsa to tab main tarsa tha

When she rained I became desperate

Phir soona huwa manzar mera

Then suddenly I was alone

Woh mera sanam dilbar mera

My lover

Phir tor gaya mujhe chor gaya

Broke me and left me

Pichle mahine ki chhabbis ko

On the twenty-sixth of the previous month

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco

Dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco



Woh haseena woh neelam pari

Kargayee kaisi jadoogari

Neend in aankho se chheenli

Dil mein bechaniyian hai bhari

Main bechaara hoon aawara woh lo samjhaoon mein ab kis kis ko

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco

Dil mein mere hai dard-e-disco

Dard-e-disco, dard-e-disco

How fun and silly is that? I recommend the movie if you like melodrama, romance, glitter and lots of dance numbers.

After the workouts, I indulged in a little romantic comedy, Bollywood style with Honeymoon Travels Pvt.ltd. (Indian Cinema / Bollywood Movie / Hindi Film Comedy DVD) .

Six couples in different stages of their relationships are off on their Honeymoon trips on a tour bus. From a reluctant and sobbing bride and her clueless mate, to a freshly married mid-life couple,to a seemingly perfect pair who have been together since childhood, we learn their stories and empathize with them while also enjoying the film's lighter moments and song and dance numbers.

All in all I spent a very pleasant evening. Do you ever do themed workouts?

Memories of gym class = yikes!

Coming to enjoy exercise (yep, it's still coming) hasn't been easy. When I was a little girl, I was not a natural athlete. In fact, I was not particularly coordinated. As an imaginative only child, I liked to make up pretend games and play with my dolls and stuffed animals, which was only semi-physical. In kindergarten, I had open heart surgery, so by the time I got to elementary gym class, I wasn't supposed to run or swim any laps. Plus, I had no desire to anyway. Gym class was a terror for me. Let me count the whys. :)

Our grade school gym teacher was a particularly unsympathetic lady with dyed frizzy red hair, and if memory serves, zip up jumpsuits. We all thought that she was OLD (I think she may have been in her sixties) and she certainly never participated in any of the activities except to yell at us and blow her whistle. Our gym games were always team sports. I was no asset to the teams. I was afraid of the ball. It seemed like the game we played most often was the dreaded prisoner Dodge Ball. We were a co-ed gym class, and when we were older and the girls were starting to develop, the boys would chuck the ball at your boobs as hard as they could. I would purposely get hit ASAP so I could sit out the rest of the game. Luckily, we only had gym class weekly in those days, or who knows how much I'd be shelling out for therapy today.

A more positive grade school experience was Baby Ballet. It was taught by Miss Diane, who told us to "fly through the air like Peter Pan!" It was fun, and I got to wear a tutu at our school recital. Although, I didn't get the pink one. My mom was just not pushy enough when the costumes were handed out. I ended up with blue, but my mom or grandma sewed pink roses on the skirt to make me feel better. Naturally, I wanted to be a ballerina when I grew up.

Unfortunately, there was no ballet in Junior high gym. In fact, my misery was enhanced by our stunningly horrible gym uniforms and school issue swim suits. The uniforms were some kind of knit polyester one piece. The t-shirt top bore horizontal stripes in shades of blue, blousing into navy blue stretch shorts. These shorts were not joking about being short. Then, I had the chic accompanying knee high white sweat socks and white tennies. None of these items enhanced my chubby self. Our swim suits were blue and would have been modest, except the top part had a way of working down and falling off the slimmer girls. Thankfully, our class was all girl by then or all this would have been even more mortifying.

Did I mention that I had first hour gym? This meant that you could ensure that you would be either sweaty and nasty or wet and flat haired in time for your next class and the rest of your day.

In Junior high, there was no "i" in "team." We laid off the dodge ball, but I found something new to hate and fear: softball. What a nightmare! Yes, I was the last person picked for the team. Yes, I spent time in the outfield, because I couldn't hit and I couldn't catch. The worst, though, was trying to bat and failing, with all eyes on me. Basketball wasn't much better. I was one of the shortest players, in addition to being one of the worst. So, for reasons that I still don't understand, I, as a small girl, was sometimes called on to try to make a shot. As a penalty for the other team, I imagine. I don't remember ever making it. Cue the violins!

Gym was one long list of couldn'ts. I wasn't able to climb a rope, jump off the diving board, climb with those pegs or anything else really. The only thing that I could kind of do was spike a volley ball. It was a time of humiliation, and I never thought that exercise could be fun. The one thing that I liked to do out of school was go on walks.

As an adult, I learned that there was so much more to exercise than what gym class had offered. As a college freshman, I took a ballet class in the summer and found out something. I am flexible! I could do a turnout and put my leg straight up the wall. Working hard, I could really give it my all and I had physical skills that not everyone had. This was news to me. Workouts could be personal. They could be what you like and if others judged you, it wasn't important.

Since then, I have learned the pleasure of yoga, belly dancing and burlesque dancing, and of the satisfying results gained from aerobics and stationary biking. As I approach fifty, I become more open to more physical things. Why have I never tried tennis, swimming, or ballroom dancing? Why shouldn't I hula hoop, jump rope, ice skate or go bowling? Who cares if I can't do it well? So what if I look silly? I want to be able to enjoy the capability and potential of my body while I've still got it to use. I hear by promise to try some new things and pursue the one I like best before spring!

My healthy lifestyle anchor: a stationary bike!

My bike and my dog Zoe

Programming the bike for my workout

Yes, it's a Schwinn 140

Gratuitous photo of Zoe and Jack begging for treats after my workout

Six days a week I ride my stationary bike, a Schwinn 140. Yesterday, I finally moved up to peddling for an hour. I feel proud of this, because when I began, I think around the end of June, it was a struggle for me to finish 20 minutes. I seriously sounded like an obscene phone call. I was also afraid of breaking into a sweat and getting my heart pounding, because I thought that I might have a heart attack. I've found that hasn't happened.

Here is a little bike background. My husband and I wanted to get a stationary bike that we could both use. He was the driving force behind us choosing one, because he began to change his lifestyle for the healthier months before I did. He did some research and we settled on the Schwinn 140 Upright Exercise Bike   .

It can hold someone 300 lbs, so I felt confident that I wouldn't break it and we read somewhere that it was appropriate for people 5' tall and up and was adjustable. So, we ordered it from Amazon, on sale and with free shipping. Kristian had to put it together, which was not fun, but it was worth it. One important caution however, if you are petite. I'm 5' 2" with very short legs and it was a struggle for me to reach the peddles. This was very frustrating and upsetting for me, but Kristian took it to a machine shop at our church (who knew?) and they bored an extra hole in the pole that raises and lowers the seat, so that my little legs could peddle. :) The other problem that I had at first, and sometimes still, is that the seat hurts my bottom. It is oversized, but it can be pretty uncomfortable. I think I've toughened up, because it's less trouble now. Those things aside, I'm very happy with this bike.

I like that the bike keeps track of calories burned and miles covered. It tells you how fast you are peddling as you ride ( I'm not sure if it's counting revolutions or what, but if my number gets to a certain range when I'm going to it, I'm happy).  Now that I'm working out for an hour, I'm up to 16 ish miles and 450 + calories burned during that time. The bike has different levels; I think that it goes up to 16. I'm now on 10. It also has different pre-programmed courses and circuits, which I rotate through.

The best time for me to workout is right after work before Kristian gets home. Then I can turn up some music and go to town. My dog Jack sometimes thinks that I'm playing with him and tries to grab the pedal as I turn it, but he tires of that pretty quickly. I find I put more effort in if I bike to music early in the evening. If I do it later at night, Kristian and I will watch a DVD together like The Closer: The Complete Second Season,

NCIS Naval Criminal Investigative Service - The Complete Third Season or All Creatures Great & Small - The Complete Series 3 Collection.

I called this an anchor for me because if I'm not losing weight as quickly as I should or I feel like I'm losing motivation or eating more than I should, I do my workout and think that I'm doing what I should. If I do it, I will eventually lose more weight. I want to keep this up and add in some hula hooping, yoga and some weight bearing exercise.

Me, I want a hula hoop!

I saw a weighted hula hoop in an old Weight Watchers magazine and now I want one! It looks like a fun way to work out, and I want to slim down my waist. As I mentioned, I am super happy with my breast reduction, but I'm no longer the hour glass that I was. I'd like a more defined waistline and I hear that hooping is a great way to get one. At $42.00, I find this pretty expensive, but it's a one shot cost, so I'm willing. We just paid some huge vet bills this last week (with a sad outcome), so I'll be putting off the purchase for a little bit.

Confession: I've never been able to keep a hula hoop going. They dropped immediately to the floor. But, I've read that the heavy hoops are much easier to keep up. Also, read that it's a back and forth motion originating from the feet, which I certainly wasn't doing before. I was trying a round and round hip motion. On a scary note, I saw in the Amazon reviews that these hoops bruise you until you get used to them. Oh, goody. Yet, I'm still rarin' to go. You can file this in the "youthful folly" type exercise that I want to try out in spite of my age, along with jump rope and roller blading (break out the pads and pillows!)

Anybody have any hooping advice?

For fun, let me acquaint you with burlesque beauty Lula Houp-Garou, who hoops in her acts. Read more about her at: her homepage .

Image from Vaudezilla

Her take off on Tippi Hedren in The Birds is awesome.

My desired hoop: Weighted Sports Hula Hoop for Weight Loss - Acu Hoop 5 lb. Boxed