Getting Bhangra With It

If you're following my fitness regimen, you know I've been mixing it up a bit and adding some new elements like circuit training (a little kickboxing and jog intervals) and building up strength with intermediate yoga. I'm trying to fit in hikes twice a week, once on a weekday after work and again on the weekend. Still looking for ideas to spice up workouts and keep it fun - any ideas, post them here!

Yesterday, my husband called me at work to deliver the good news that a package was waiting for me. That helped brighten my day a bit until I could get home (an hour and a half late). Got to love thoughtful husbands. I'm trying out some new DVDs for home, for those days when I don't have a moment for exercise until evening. My latest find is something I've been guiltily curious to try for a while, ever since watching India's version of MTV on one of the 10,000 cable channels offered by Comcast.

Enter Bollywood Bhangra dancing ~
Hemalayaa's DVDs make a lot of Top 10 lists for fitness. She's fun and sexy and her body isn't covered in thick muscles, but it's strong and lean. My fitness goals aren't geared towards marathons at this moment, and I have no intention of entering a body builder contest any time in the future. My body is small and built more like a yogini, but I am working on burning off some body fat and need to add more intensive Zone 2 exercise if I want to have super-slim thighs like Hemalayaa. Bollywood Dance Workouts is actually a bundle of three of her top DVDs - Bollywood Burn, Bollywood Booty and The Bollywood Dance Workout. I found a great deal on Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Hemalayaa-Bollywood-Dance-Workouts/dp/B001V7YZBG/ref=pd_cp_d_2

After grocery shopping and buying eleven 29-oz cans of Libby's Pure Pumpkin and making my Extra Pumpkiny Turkey Chili, I popped in the Bollywood Booty DVD. Don was on his netbook in the recliner when I showed up in the living room, and stated he was on his way to bed. Thirty minutes later, he was still commenting on how fast the Bollywood dancers were shaking their booty. Ladies, this is just as much fun for the men as it is for us. To watch, that is ;)

The DVD starts out with a short intro of the basic moves that are combined in the workout/dance and warms up with them, quickly building up to a fast-paced workout. I was actually having a lot of fun, even when I messed up a move. It tends to mess up your rhythm if you miss a move, but you will slip into it easily enough the next time the move repeats. It's distinctly Bollywood, but more sexy than hokey. The grins are there, but they're flirty and Hemalayaa makes you laugh when she says you can't help but smile when doing something called the Butt Monster. What I particularly liked is that the video features three females of various athletic body types, from slim to curvy but fit. The DVD also has bonus tracks from two other fitness gurus in Acacia's line and a warm-up by Hemalayaa which is actually a traditional spiritual dance. Overall, 45 minutes of Bollywood Booty burned 157 calories, 51% of which was fat. That's quite good for my size. It should burn even more next time when I am more prepared for all the moves. Can't wait to try the other DVDs now! Buy this one tonight, right after you get the ingredients for my chili.

Extra Pumpkiny Turkey Chili

1 small onion, diced
16 oz diced tomatoes
1/2 lb lean ground turkey
15.5 oz can chili beans
1 1/2 tb chili powder
1 jalapeño, minced
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp garlic, minced
3/4 cup pure pumpkin purée

Sauté onion and jalapeño in a large pot; brown turkey meat. Add remaining ingredients and heat through until thickened. Season well with freshly cracked pepper and salt.

Nutritional data - 1/2 cup serving: 96 kcal; 2.3g fat; 19mg cholesterol; 268mg sodium; 11 g carbs; 4g fiber; 8g protein