You too could be this cool...

I love to exercise. Over the past year, physical activity has become a major part of my lifestyle. It keeps me sane, balanced and healthy. All that said, I do find my routine getting a little stale these days; there’s only so much elliptical and free weights that one can withstand before the enthusiasm begins to fade. This probably explains why I add so many random activities to my daily life (I.e. swing dance, boxing, volleyball, etc.) One thing is certain, I need to feel challenged or entertained in whatever I do.

As a means of spicing up my exercise regime, I have been searching for a collection of good cardio aerobics DVDs to try at home. Because my day-to-day is so unpredictable, it’s far easier to exercise in the comfort of my own abode rather than heading off to an overpriced gym where I’d have to wait for equipment or be at the mercy of a class schedule. This being said, I have been hunting around on the internet and exercise forums to see what goodies I could find. Most women seemed to praise a series called “Turbo Jam” and assured me that it would get my heart rate up and help me get past my exercise lethargy. I took their word for it and ordered myself two sets of DVDs from Amazon; they arrived in less than a week.

After reading the back covers of both DVDs, I opted to try one called the “Turbo Jam Cardio Party”. The name should have tipped me off because I literally put myself through 40-minutes of absolute CHEESE. You know when people try too hard to be cool? Picture a set of ten fraternityesque aerobics addicts or “jammers” (groans). I realize that these people have to be high energy to try to motivate viewers, but these people take ridiculous to a whole new level. The workout is decent, don’t get me wrong, but I certainly don’t need to hear people shouting, whooping and hollering every five seconds. This just in…it’s "not" a party, no matter how you try to sell it. Even more annoying was the fact that the instructor felt comfortable enough to start singing along with the early 90s mix that was playing throughout the workout.

What truly sets this exercise program apart from others I have tried, is the amount of awkward dance breaks that are thrown in to transition between moves. I wiggled, I shook, I gyrated and I “housed it” (WTF?) as the phony peroxide blonde barked, “Just let yourself go and get funky fresh?” I was just praying that hubby wouldn’t come down into the basement to find me in my “funky fresh” state.

Turbo Jam gets my vote for the most annoying aerobics workout ever introduced to mankind. This being said, I did manage to work up a good sweat and I will probably try the other DVDs. I also have to admit that I got an amazing abdominal workout from the amount of laughing that I was doing, both at my expense and at the instructor and her caffeine-jacked groupies.

Party on folks, party on!