Daily Archives: September 9, 2009

Tips for Stretching with a Foam Roller

As a Stanford employee we have the luxury of being part of the BeWell Initiative, which basically pays us to get and stay in shape, exercise regularly and eat right. On top of that, I recently got a free 1 hour personal training session! I know that I have never been one to do yoga or stretch quite as much as I need to (and the enthusiasm of my Zumba classes always makes us want to do another fun cardio song instead of an extra stretching cooldown). I decided to ask my personal trainer to give me some advice for stretching for the unenthusiastic stretcher, so if you are like me and have a slight aversion to prolonged periods of reaching for your toes, then the foam roller is for you!

Here are some tips from my personal trainer for my new foam rolling stretching sessions (and oh, it feels so good! Lillian may have made a stretcher out of me yet!)

Foam Roller Program for Alena Groopman.

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

It felt great to be back teaching after the Zumba Convention and I really worked on applying the new tips and advice I picked up from the workshops and breakout sessions.

Here’s the playlist from last night, where I really tried to work in some classic oldies with some new numbers to keep it fresh and fun:

Low by Flo Rida (Warm Up – thank you Gina and Tanya!)
Funkette (Warm Up)
Bandolero (Merengue)
Chiquilla Brazil Version (Cumbia)
Caliente (Soca)
Boro Boro (Belly Dance)
Los Campeones De La Salsa (Salsa)
La Batidora (Reggaeton)
Traigo Una Pena (Cha Cha)
Don’t Stop (Samba/Batucada)
Mi Gente (Salsaton)
Batuka Bum Bum (Cumbia)
Que Te Pica (Reggaeton)
Nunca Te Decides (Calypso)
Zumbalicious (Salsaton)
Halo by Beyonce (Cool Down)

And my classes can start to see some exciting new stuff soon!

Also, for those of you who are interested in taking your Zumba skills to the next level, I will be going to the Zumba Basics 1 Training in Fremont, CA with Roger Yamat on Sunday, September 28th – I’ve finally convinced my cousin that she needs to do Zumba so I’m going with her…and any of you who are interested!

Zumba love,
Alena

Zumba Convention 2009!

Good morning!

I recently returned Monday from my very first ZUMBA CONVENTION and it was incredible! I don’t think that words can do the convention justice so please enjoy watching this video from the convention:

Official Zumbathon 2009 Video!

I learned some exciting new dance moves and met some wonderful fellow Zumba Instructors from around the world! I can’t wait to start adding some new flavor to my classes!

Zumba love,
Alena