“Dancing is my passion. It makes me feel alive and connected to my body. I have been dancing since I was a kid. I have been salsa dancing since I was in my 20’s. I’m in my 40’s now. During my 20’s and 30’s I was out dancing 5 nights a week, and took classes and workshops on the weekends. Life slowed down after having my daughter. Salsa dancing got cut back to once a week. I started doing Zumba 4x/week about 6 years ago to fill the void.
About 2.5 years ago I injured my ankle, then developed knee pain. My ankle took over a year to heal. My knee pain continued to get worse. I had to give up salsa and Zumba for several months. I had always been able to take my body for granted, but after this injury, I felt very vulnerable and afraid of re-injury.
I started physical therapy at SOL about 1.5 years ago to address my ongoing knee pain. My DPT brought me to the Piedmont location and I saw a woman working out with kettlebells. I was intrigued and impressed at how strong this woman was. I signed up for kettlebell classes. Within a few months I was working with a trainer 1:1 because I wanted a regimen geared towards my personal needs.
My SOL Trainer kind of inherited me. I’ve been training with him for almost a year now. We’re a good match.
Goals: When I initially came to SOL, my goal was to be able to reduce my knee pain. SOL has really worked with me in teaching me to stay off knees by using my butt muscles. In addition to reducing my knee pain, the best pay off ever—a tighter butt! Since then, I have been working on developing overall strength and balance.
Until I started training with SOL, I hadn’t developed both upper and lower body strength. All those dead lifts, swings, Turkish gets-ups and squats have given me some nice muscle definition, too. My husband keeps asking me to help him move and carry heavy objects now that I’ve gotten so much stronger. I laugh and tell him that my muscles are purely for looks, but it is very empowering to know that you are physically strong and fit.
Regimen: I continue Zumba 3 to 4 times a week. I take dance classes 1 to 2 times a week, when time permits. I continue to train with SOL two times per week. As I’ve gotten older, I realize how important adding strength training is to an overall fitness program.
The best part of my workouts with SOL is that it varies from day to day and week to week, with some basics: warm up on the rowing machine, stretching, rolling. SOL may set up stations for me, where I do swings, dead lifts, spins or planks, and get ups. These exercises are very intense, involving several reps and a short recovery time between each set.
After I am done I feel like I’ve really accomplished something. SOL is very good about checking in with me about soreness or pain from the previous workout, and adjusts my workouts accordingly. I look forward to using the foam roller at the end of each workout.
Insights: I have learned a lot from SOL. My Trainer is very particular about proper form so I don’t injure myself. Even as I go through my day, I hear his voice in my head telling me to get my hands off my hips, stand up straight, pull my shoulders back. I have incorporated some of the stretching routines into my Zumba workouts and learned not to load my knees as much by modifying some of the movements. Overall, I feel stronger, more fit. My balance and coordination have improved, too. People in my Zumba class keep asking me what I’m doing. I tell them I’m working out at SOL.”
