In the last few years, exercise has been taken from its easy and free original form and been converted into something costly. With gym memberships, $80 pilates classes and being told that to be fit you need to buy a $30 protein powder or an $800 treadmill. This belief discourages people from trying to get into shape. So, to break the stigma that exercise needs to be expensive, I did the “Rasputin,” “Just Dance” for free on YouTube for two weeks as a free guided exercise. These are my notes on how the activity went on a day-to-day basis.
Day 1: When I finished the dance I was a little winded and tired. My dance moves were pretty messy and I did not know the dance well. My knees were a little sore by the end too.
Day 2: Today was the same as the day before but I knew the dance better and was more prepared for what was to come. My knees did not hurt at all after but during the dance, they kept cracking.
Day 3: The dance felt pretty easy today. I was still slightly out of breath by the end, but it was not difficult by any means.
Day 4: Today I felt like I danced well, I knew the moves before they were on the screen and I did not feel exasperated after.
Day 5: By now I basically know the dance by heart and it does not wind me at all. The dance is feeling way easier.
Day 6: Today I drove 14 hours to the mountains in Montana and doing this dance was a great way to stretch and exercise a little bit after a long day in the car.
Day 7: With one week of this dance down it feels pretty simple and only winds me a little bit now. The elevation here in the Mountains is much higher and with the thinner air the dance feels more difficult again, but I still have it memorized which makes it easier.
Day 8: The dance is still very simple and just makes me a tad bit winded. My legs were sore today because I had already been skiing all day so the constant Russian dancing hurt my legs.
Day 9: Today was easier than yesterday. My legs were sore from the day before, but the dance did not take my breath away as much because I’ve adjusted to the altitude.
Day 10: Today the dance felt easy, my legs did not hurt at all and I did not struggle to catch my breath. Overall, the dance did not even feel like exercise.
Day 11: For today, I danced in the morning and I think that made it feel more difficult. My knees kept cracking and afterward I had to catch my breath.
Day 12: Today when I did the dance, I almost did not even need to watch the screen because I had retained the movements. It was easy to do and hardly took any effort.
Day 13: Today I did a 14-hour drive back home and I did the dance when I got home. It was a great way to burn off all the energy I stored while sitting in the car. The dance felt super easy today probably because it was easier to breathe with the lower elevation.
Day 14: I now have the whole dance memorized and doing it is not strenuous at all. It’s actually the opposite and is extremely easy.
Doing this exercise activity every day proved to be easy, entertaining and a great use of my time. It was free and still gave me a guided light workout proving staying fit does not need to be a costly experience and it can be cheap and it can still be productive.
