Can-Fit-Pro Certification C - Goal 1 Completed!

Ladies n' Gentleman I've officially completed the Can-Fit-Pro Certification C - CPR training on June 25th 2010 with Ona McDonald. It was great!

It was hands on and she was very informed on the subject. We discussed the situations in which CPR may be required such as:

• Choking
• Heart Attack and signs of a heart attack
• Stroke and signs of a stroke
• Unconsciousness
• Life threatening Diseases such as Diabetes

I also learnt that certain groups have higher chance of getting a heart attack such as:

• African American / Latin Groups
• Experiencing High Stress (lets say while watching FIFA soccer match, or Road Rage etc..)
• High Blood Pressure
• If you have a disease such as Diabetes
• Inactivity
• Inflamed Arteries
• Smoking
• Alcohol Consumption
• Drug Use
• Over exertion
• Stroke

If you remember any others you can add a comment on that

We did a lot of partnering up which was fun too. Like

• Doing 100 or more chest compressions to that John Travolta Staying Alive Song.
• We did mouth to mouth on crash test dummies for CPR practice
• We had to pretend that we were getting our partner to chuck out the food they just choked on
• Then she gave us real life scenarios to play out and use what we learnt like (car crash, baby choking, unconscious adult)

It was fun! She is a great teacher!

Even thought I had to drive more than 1hr to get there from Mississauga, Ontario to Unionville, it was worth it. I worked out in the gym a little bit before class and checked out Markville mall and did some shopping for some new Nike's. I'll tell you about those later.

So one goal down and 2 more to go. I gotta do my Zumba Gold training in July in Oakville Ontario, and then Zumba Basic 1 Training in Toronto at the Can-Fit-Pro Conference. I gotta make sure to bring some money so I can buy stuff while I'm there. See yas! Chao!

Can-Fit-Pro Certification C - CPR Status

Hey guys. So I called the toll free number on my confirmation page today and found that I wasn't supposed to receive anything in the mail after all. And to top it all off, I found that I don't have to take the exam. I just go to the course which is 5 hrs in length and I receive my certification after that. Badda Bing Badda Boom! Awesome! It's this friday in Markham so I'll let you know how it goes!

Zumba Gold Training July 18th - Sold Out!

Awesome! It's sold out..and do you know I just booked my spot last Thursday? I'm so happy about this. I was reading on the http://www.zumba.com/ website that if they don't get enough people, they would notify you a couple days before. So because it's sold out that means it's on baby!

I'll be Zumba Gold Certified on July 18th 2010 just before my birthday on July 22nd. What a great birthday gift. I'm looking into being able to teach Zumba Gold classes at a facility or something like this. I have some travelling and research to do on this.

Woo hoo! Listen to my play lists and ditch the workout and join the party!

Join Zumba Fan Club in Canada

I just finished making a Zumba fan club page for Canadians to share our thoughts on how this craze has had a positive impact on our lives.

Check it out:
www.facebook.com/pages/Zumba-fans-in-Canada/129461873742888

Renee's Salad Dressing Rocks - Low Carb

I thought it would be fit to take a photo of Renee's Gourmet Salad dressing for you. It's awesome! I never ate a boring salad ever since I started Atkins, or a low carb way of eating using more natural foods.

Doesn't that salad look good? I'll tell you what's in it. Lettuce, cucumber, celery, broccoli, green onions, and a half a clove of garlic finely chopped. Yum! Garden salad sucks...but this rocks!

Add some olives and make it Greek! healthy, Low fat, and tons of rich in nutrients!

Visit my website for other food ideas at www.zumbaworkoutscanada.com/low_carb_eating

Can-Fit-Pro Certification C - Still nothing in mail

I'm a little confused on why I haven't received anything in the mail till now from Can-Fit-Pro for my CPR C certification on June 25th 2010 in Markham, Ontario. I'm expecting course materials for preparation. Maybe they'll mail them to me a few days before the course. I was reading up on it and I'll have an opportunity to take the exam after completing the course right after class I think. It's recommended on the website to take the exam 6 weeks after taking the course because it's 3hrs long. Wow!@ Reminds me of College again...

I'm hoping to take awesome notes and be very attentive during class and I just might give it a shot over class. As long as I understand the content, that's what's most important. It's pretty practical so we'll see about that.

Some Zumba fitness clubs require this in order to work for them such as Goodlife Fitness. I think this will be a good asset to go on my resume. I have to update that: I'm a belly dancing web designer who designs fashion clothing and loves to teach zumba fitness classes. That's me;)

I'll keep yawl up to date.
check out my site for video tutorials and info on how to find an instructor in your area: www.zumbaworkoutscanada.com

Zumba Inspired MP3 Playlists

Omg..today I had a blast listening to music practically all day. It was awesome to listen to full songs without having to pay. If I want to buy them I'll go to my iTunes and get it. Hope you like them as much as I do. I constructed four playlists today with the following themes:

• Zumba Latin Theme
• Reggae Riddim/ Calypso Theme
• Dance Theme
• Arabic Belly Dancing Theme

Feel free to comment on the one that got you moving more.

I also joined facebook today so look me up as faridadancer, and you can find all my playlists there as well. Posting them on my blog gets bulky..maybe I should customize the skin to make it more feasible. www.playlist.com is awesome - look me up same ID as my facebook

Farida Dancer takes the Zumba Gold

I did it! I registered for Oakville's Zumba Gold Training. I don't know why I didn't consider this sooner because this will allow me to become a certified member even faster. Before I was just seeing it as that I would probably not be teaching Zumba Gold classes instead of looking at it as getting on the official ZIN network much faster.

Guess what! Did some shopping today for some Zumbawear at www.zumba.com and bought their new bubble shirt and a few other things. I'm proud to wear that Zumba logo so I even bought the coin bag for $5 bucks. Shipping to canada was 20 bucks anyway so it wouldn't have made a difference in the shipping cost anyway. So far I purchased 2 tops and a pair of hot pink Zumba capris tights. I really want the shoes too but on their website they only have it available in a size 6 and I'd need a 7.5. OMG guys, this is really happening! I'm feeling scared and excited at the same time.

See ya next post!

Low Carb Seafood Power Breakfast

Hey guys, get a load of this low carb breakfast with seafood. Did you ever think that these ingredients can go together?

This meal will keep your blood sugar at a steady level to decrease the occurrence of cravings. All ingredients in this meal have low glycemic index's. So it's not about keeping the consumption of low nutrient breads to a minimum, or white sugar...it's about including more fruits, vegetables and natural foods to satisfy your hunger needs. It's better for you and you'll live longer too and look better. Eat a source yogurt 0% as a snack after this or space it out to aid in digestion.

p.s. Eating this way also prevents your chances of getting Diabetes

Visit my website for more instructions on how to make this for your next low carb meal and more on glycemic index's

http://www.zumbaworkoutscanada.com/

Zumba Instructor - Anxiety & Shyness

When I think about finally becomming a Zumba instructor I get a bitter sweet feeling - but mostly sweet. I try to tell myself just to be myself and everything will be great. I have a bubbly personality with a great sense of humor. I love to smile and laugh when granted of course. I'm trying to delay Botox for a long as I can so I think of that sometimes before I smile or laugh ..haha. I'm smiling just thinking about that silly thought;)

The closest I've ever come to interacting with the public was working in an ice cream shop or at Tim hortons. Yes of course I was nervous to say my greeting line " Can I help who's next?". I was great eventually. I smiled and even flirted too. Now that I'm thinking about it..I think it'll be great. I just have to keep reminding myself of that.

Teaching a Zumba Workout Class is kinda like leading an army....the Canadian Army....or Even Marines! It's a life or death scenario - they'll either feel my vibe or they won't and if not we'll all go down. naaaa ..that's a little extreme. Let me try a different analogy.

Teaching a Zumba workout class is like stand up comedy - you gotta impress them because if you don't, they won't come back, and they won't feel the party. Yeah ...that's a good one. So ...2 months and 3 days left or less if I decide to do Gold first to get on that awesome ZIN Network.

I will give it a shot and I will give it my all as soon as I get the chance. I will merengue my brains out!

Chao Bellaz!

Started another Blog - Just an FYI

www.thezumbasoul.wordpress.com

Not Eating Before Zumba Workout

I think I made a huge mistake today in doing interval cardio training on an elliptical climb machine before class today. I burned 300 calories in 20 minutes doing interval training. What I do is raise the meter to 100 which is the highest resistance, and go to level 10 to make a bigger stride. After that I did an hour class of Zumba workout with Jewel. The strange thing was that I didn't really eat much before I went and I didn't have as much energy as I normally do. Maybe it was the eating thing that was the problem. No shake, or meal replacement bar, just water and a bit of fruit. And after I finished the class, I was feeling down, and lazy and worn out. I'm the cause of my own demise I think. And that feeling turned into a bad mood. I mean, isn't working out supposed to release positive endorphins...or maybe only when you give your body what it needs first so it can give you that kind of bonus.

So never again, I will be negligent in fueling my body before an intense Zumba cardio workout.

Lesson learned.

Belly Dancing as a Zumba Instructor

I have a dilemma. I'm shy when presenting myself to a group of people. I require mental preparation and I get butterflies in my stomach. During a Zumba workout session with Liz at Goodlife, we all had to go in a circle and go in the middle and do our own thing. Because I'm not shy during the workout I guess she automatically assumed I wouldn't be for this. Wrong.... She looked at me and said "Just Do" and tried to nudge me...I shook my head like a 6 year old child and gave that shy smile. But the thing was I wanted to go in there, but I didn't know what move I was going to do. I eventually drudged up the courage and went in the middle and did a travelling samba step that I just learnt to do a day ago. It was so weird, because while I was out there, I could swear that 30% of my body felt numb with nervousness. Why the heck do I feel like that. But...

When I'm taking part in a Zumba workout class I feel I'm at the top of the world. I always make sure I get a spot at the front close to the mirror so I make sure I'm doing the right moves. As the positive endorphins flow through my veins, I actually smile and laugh during my workout. Not something I normally do as I'm sweating like a pig! I have to work on fixing the nervousness issue before August 12Th 2010. I was actually surprised to see that some instructors sweat like pigs too, like Cassandra, and Claudia. They don't let it phase them though and they just keep like going like energizer Latin bunnies.

Some instructors have a great sense of humor like Jewel, Liz & Cassandra R. Sometimes it's just enough to feed off the energy of the instructors because Liz H's energy is all you can eat! She has tons of it! It's so great when she gets out the hip scarf in the belly dancing part of the workout. Every body loves the music whether they can shimmy or not. They just want to shake it! Every time I listen to an Arabic song, I imagine the moves that I would instruct my class to do and at the same time not make them too complicated. Maybe I can have levels, that way the more advanced participants can enjoy it more. I would love to be able to provide hip scarves for everyone in my class because I found a great wholesale source for that. Hopefully I'll be able to order a bunch soon. I love moves like:

• Travelling Hip shimmy


• Leg kick hip shimmy


• Shoulder shimmies with back dip


• Leaning dip hip shimmy


• Hip Figure 8's


• Camel walk with scarf

When you're doing these moves, breathe out twice per second so you don't get cramps in your side from lack of oxygen. Don't forget to drink lots of water during your zumba cardio workout.

I have lots of Arabic songs on my ipod so I won't have to use the same songs every time and also what's a must is keeping it SEXY!~

The Zumba Soul website contains awesome resources on how to belly dance and how to do other latin moves that you can take with you to your next zumba session. www.zumbaworkoutscanada.com/how_to_bellydance

Can-Fit-Pro - Certification C Asset

Can-Fit-Pro

Well! By the end of June 2010 I'll be an official member of Can-Fit-Pro Certification C. That means for one full year I'll be certified to perform CPR on adults, and children. The main reason I applied was to qualify for the discount with the Zumba Instructor Training but ended up paying double when I was trying to save money. But you know what? I didn't care. I wanted to get that spot and I had the money and paid for it.

Zumba Basics 1 Training in Toronto August 12th 2010 is still not sold out but I expect it to be. I mean, come on - Toronto? I wouldn't be surprised if it were sold out by the end of the month. How many spots are there anyway? I'm so excited we're going off topic here.

Now, about the Certification C with Can-Fit-Pro - It involves taking a course and and exam. OMG! It only reminds me of my college years again...I'll try not to cram this time and lose sleep the night before. Another benefit of having this certification is that some training facilities require it so you can qualify to work there.

Wish me luck!

I'm looking forward to working at a job I'll actually love!

How to eat Low Carb - Lifestyle Diet

Let's get back on the subject of losing weight. If you were like me I used to weigh 190 lbs and stayed that way for 4 years after I had my first child. I tried diets such as the cabbage diet, and another diet I saw on Oprah that was still packed with carbs - no wonder the cravings never went away.


It wasn't till I met a girl at my work, who tried a lifestyle diet called Atkins. I've been using it's principle with a little bit of my own for about 2 years now and have been able to maintain a weight of 155-160. It's not my goal weight because I didn't take it far enough and kinda lacked a little bit of motivation - I figured it was my little plateau. My goal weight is actually and ideally 130lbs. I'm only 5'1 inches tall so that would be a good size for me. I'm actually using my reason of becoming a Zumba workout class instructor my motivation for that. Hey, I have the energy and the moves but I'd prefer to look the part too;)


I would like to help yawl along in to losing weight like I did so you can increase the quality of your lives. I cooked up a little somethin' somethin' for lunch as a low carb alternative so you can have an idea on how to eat in a better way so you can lose weight easier as you work out. Oh yeah, and exercise is non-negotiable, it will not only speed up your weight loss, but it's really great for your body in reducing major health risks, and you'll be happier and feel less stressed out. Make sure you get an ipod - I mean ...who doesn't love music??? Get some great tunes on your ipod to keep you motivated as you're working out.


Here are step by step photos of a dish I cooked called: Chicken a la veggie











So don't be afraid of taking on a lower carb eating lifestyle change - It's healthy. You'll eat more vegetables, nutrient rich fruits , and healthy proteins. Try to aim for lower fat, lower carb and you'll be on the way so a sexier, hotter, and more confident you;) Watch out world because here you come!



Check out my website for more meal ideas at http://www.zumbaworkoutscanada.com/
Learn to dance, eat, find zumba clothing and where to get your zumba freak on near you

How to Learn Samba Step

The origin of this step comes from Brazil and I learnt to do this step last night. Found an awesome www.youtube.com video and posted it on my website at www.zumbaworkoutscanada.com

This step will get your heart rate up like an intense merenge or salsa step because you're hopping from one foot to another. I was doing this step all wrong before but it was more important to not fall over myself. With my belly dancing background it actually looks pretty good for not much practice. I'll keep practicing it to improve my styling technique.

I'm so looking forward to using this in my next Zumba workout session

Zumba Instructors Still in Demand?

I was surprised to find out today that Zumba instructors are still in demand. There are hundreds of instructors available in Canada but yet they are still in demand. Maybe some of them decided to keep their job as a trainer to a minimum or maybe they acquired a new business venture. I was also told it depends on the instructors time schedule and if they can stick to it for a period of time like 6 months to a year. If most work a 9-5 job it's hard to fit it in after a long days work.

Anyway, I was happy to hear that because 2.5 months from today I'll be one. That day can't come soon enough and I'm gonna be so pumped! I hope to lose another 10lbs by then to look more like the part tee hee hee. I have a lot of energy when I take part in a zumba workout cardio class and I sweat like a pig from my chin to the crack of my bosom haha.

There was a woman in class today that had a pair of zumba cargo pants on. Man I wanna look the part, the tights, top and shoes, and water bottle like a cute little kaleidoscope;)

See ya next class;)

Missing Zumba Basic Training 2

Maybe it's just me but don't you find it's a hell of a time finding when the next Zumba basic training 2 is being held? Maybe there is a mailing list that I'm missing out in being on or something. When I go to www.zumba.com/us/workshops/overview I don't find any instances of another training session being held for that level.

For any of you who don't know, this level focuses on Belly dancing, samba, flamenco, and tango.

Before I continue writing let me double check now: Search completed ...and I got my hopes up for a sec there because when I clicked to search all locations in Canada, the screen only turned up:

• zumba basics 1 training - teach adults at fast pace
• gold training - teach adults and seniors at slower pace

I like zumba because it was designed for all ages - there's even one for kids called zumbatomic.

If anyone can hear me out there why isn't 2 being hosted by anyone...maybe we need to get the big man himself Beto to host that one. But I think you can't host one until you take the course first and who knows when that'll happen.

Hey I'm not too panicked about it because I know the belly dancing part already. I'm okay at doing samba but I haven't got the flick of the hips incorporated with it yet. Flamenco is pretty easy but tango even though it is slow, I get confused over the footwork.

If anyone has news on this training being held, give me a buzz in the comments section on this post. Thanx! Don't forget to check out my website for some cool stuff to experience at The Zumba Soul http://www.zumbaworkoutscanada.com/