Feel the beat

I am part of a new fitness trend, though I don't entirely know what I am doing yet. It's called Drums Alive, and it is basically a workout using a stability ball as a drum. Sounds a little strange I agree, and I was quite skeptical about it at first. Especially when my supervisor at the Y asked me to teach it, but I am always willing to try something new and expand my repertoire, so I jumped in.

The only problem? I had to teach two classes before I actually took the training and learned what I was doing. We had a short meeting one evening to watch videos of Drums Alive, and my supervisor gave us some choreography notes for class. But I still felt very unprepared. The morning of my first class, I had my own exercise ball propped inside an upside down stool, Q's mini drumsticks in hand, and the CD playing from my laptop as I tried to teach myself how to teach other people.

I was kind of hoping no one would show up to the first class, but there they were on the first day. Nine people getting the giant, colorful balls out of the closet. I felt entirely out of my element as I muddled through the first class. The next week, for some reason, I was even shakier, but finally this past weekend, our training took place. For eight hours we listened to the presenter as she described the philosophy and the fundamentals. We also practiced different drills in a large, cold studio until we were tired and hungry.

I wouldn't say I am totally in love with the format, but it is fun and it is unique. It gets my mind working in a different way and challenges me. So that's worth something. And it's worth checking out if you get the chance.

--MM