Tag Archives: Fitness

My First Time…at Xoticy

Leave a reply

On July 16 around 3 pm, my cherry was popped. No, not that one; I’m still holding out. The popped cherry was me FINALLY attending one of Monica Wilson’s Xoticy classes. Well…more like 3 back to back classes.

I was first introduced to Xoticy in early 2015 through an Instagram post by Jessica of J’Samone’s Stiletto Dance Experience. Of course I had to go check out the Xoticy IG page…followed by the YouTube channel. I can’t tell you which video made me want to try it out, but as a woman who likes being barefoot equally as she likes her high heels, I was down.

Fast forward to July 2016, I’d been on the fence about attending because I was supposed to leave for a work trip the Sunday after, but once my trip was pushed back, I registered and decided to go big or go home by signing up for all three classes. Even though I’ve been in and out of heels dance classes over the past year, I was nervous. You’d think I’d be less nervous as I’m barefoot with or without socks when I’m not at work, but I had butterflies. Although I’d mentioned the class, I didn’t invite my girls to come along because I felt it was something I needed to experience at least once by myself so that I could see behind the insecurities and get in my sexy.

20160716_170107-01

Monica broke the ice at the start of class. I thought she was taller than she actually is, but because her hair is the definition of hair growth goals and her personality is larger than life – full of truth, realness, and a passion for empowering women to do sexy their way – you really couldn’t tell…unless you asked to take a photo with her and stood 6 feet tall.

Each class had different choreography with the first two classes being completely new dances. In class one, I was still kind of shy and nervous about really putting all my personality into it. By class two and three, I couldn’t care less because I was there for me. It wasn’t about learning moves I could do to dance for a guy. It wasn’t an experience I signed up for just to talk about it on social media. It was about me continuing the journey of discovering and defining my sexy. It’s easy to get caught up in the game of what do you need to change about yourself to be sexy – lose weight, straighten your kinky and coily hair, keep your face beat – but if you’re doing it to get someone’s attention – your motives are wrong. Throughout the classes, Monica would consistently remind us to throw out what we think is sexy, forget about the inner Beyonce and just do you. That was needed and appreciated. My alter ego Ari Bamboo had the time of her life Saturday and I recommend other women check out her tour or classes in Atlanta if you’re interested.

Abs and Barres

Leave a reply

BarreCode

My 25th year of life was a decline in working out to say the least. I didn’t run much and actually reneged on running my first marathon. Even when purchasing Groupons and specials for Bikram yoga, the only yoga I practice, I didn’t go the entire month. All of that laziest resulted in me gaining a good 20 pounds, 12 of which I still have to lose before I am back to my normal weight. The goal is to lose 22 pounds, but first, let me lose these last 12.

On Saturday, I attended my first barre class at The Barre Code. In addition to running track, I was also a dancer and cheerleader as a child, and after hearing great things about barre classes, I thought I’d give it a try. Plus, Facebook grabbed my attention with an ad that said that 11/21 was the day the studio closest to me would offer free classes to the public.

As I write this, I am sore. My abs is where I feel it most, but it is a full body workout. I attended the Barre Code Basics class, which would be considered strength training. Despite knowing that I need to incorporate strength training in my routine rather than just running, it’s difficult for me to stay motivated to lift weights. However, the Barre Code class incorporated exercises that involved utilizing your own body weight as well as the barre and between the instructor and other students, I kept going.

Here’s a short breakdown of what Barre Code included in just 50 minutes: warm up, ab & core work, lower body, and arms. From various exercises on the floor to using the barre as a dancer would to work the hips, buns, and thighs (which are a blessing and a curse to me), we kept our body guessing throughout the class. Also, there are modifications for a good amount of the exercises, so you can tailor the workout to your current abilities.

After surviving my first class and feeling the fruits of my workout the day after, I plan to attend more classes. I want to run a marathon in 2016, so I could see this being a cross training workout if I don’t feel up to yoga. If you have a barre studio in your area, check it out. As I continue my fit thick journey, I’ll keep y’all posted as to what’s working for me.