Harmonixers are joining the Dance Central fitness campaign to work alongside you in using Dance Central and Kinect to reach personal goals. In this series of personal blog posts from Harmonix, we're sharing what our goals are and how we plan on using Dance Central to accomplish them!
I’m Tracy. I’m a senior vice president at Harmonix. I’m the Executive Producer of the Dance Central franchise along with overseeing our Publishing and Production departments at Harmonix. I’m a middle-age mom and wife too, juggling many plates inside and outside of work. I am a lifelong dancer who loves a broad range of dance styles and music. I have found nothing better for my full mind and body workout than dancing. It nourishes my muscles and my soul. Oh - and I hate the gym.
My goal is to increase my cardio exercise weekly, tone up, lose some weight, and start my days with a psychic jolt of dance-infused joy to spread into my work and home life.
I want to keep my body fit enough to dance for decades to come and eventually into old age. It’s my favorite activity. Middle age bodies need regular movement, cardio exercise, toning, healthy food, and a generous dose of positivity in our lives to fight the affects of aging. Sitting in meetings and at my computer needs a counter balance - to stretch and strengthen my joints and muscles while building up a sweat to maintain a healthy heart and a refreshed mind.
I’ll work out to Dance Central 3 on 2-3 mornings a week using Fitness Mode and the playlist creator. I like to create playlists of particular choreographer styles, or find a group of routines that focus on certain muscle groups like “good for your legs and butt,” for instance. Sometimes, I like to focus a playlist just on a bunch of songs I love to sing to while I’m dancing. And sometimes, it’s just time for a super retro flash back - throw me back to high school or college. That can be really fun too.
In addition to DC3 mornings, I’ll be continuing with my dance class I take every Sunday, and my two Pilates classes for toning and building core strength. On weekday mornings that I’m not dancing to DC3, I’ll do a yoga stretch and breath routine on my own. My new weekly routine will get me dancing 3-4 times a week, core strengthening twice a week, and stretching with pranayama once or twice week. I already eat a pretty healthy diet, but I’m going to increase the amount of vegetables, and decrease the amount of wheat, to see if it helps with a little weight loss.
Time is my enemy. There never seems to be enough hours in the day for all that needs to get done at home and at work. Committing to this workout frequency will be challenging but I feel committed to Annette, Jessa, and Christine (our DC3 Fit team) and all of the DC fans. I know that the most fun workout is right in my living room. For me, dancing amazing routines crafted by our talented choreographers to great music I love is fun first and exercise second. When I dance I always feel better psychically and physically, so I’m going to make the time for me, and just do it!! Another challenge for me is travel, which will take me away from my regular routine. When that happens I will need to come up with an alternative plan to keep my body moving and create some joyful spirit to kick me into my day on the road.
I kicked off the New Year dancing for three days straight at a dance retreat. What an incredible way to transition into 2013 and infuse my fitness regime with my love of dance as well. I’m so psyched to dig deeper into the choreography created for DC3 as I get better at the Hard level routines. I’m grateful that I don’t have to go to a gym to workout, but that I can dance just for the fun of it in my living room with the kind of workout I love the best.
Follow us here in the blog through January and February for all things fitness! Share your own fitness goals and tips with us in the official forums, on the Dance Central Facebook Page, or by tweeting @Dance_Central on Twitter using the #DC3Fit hashtag!