Cheerleading Forever!

Cheer Fitness Workouts – Success with Soreness!

When I first began to put together the content for a workout specifically designed for cheerleaders, I was excited about the opportunity to try it out myself and write about my experience. After doing yesterday’s lower body and core workout, I’m sore, tired and hoping that that upper body plan is a bit more forgiving.

Former cheer gym owner and personal trainer/Achieve Fitness Center owner, Vince Pannozzo, designed several different workout plans for cheerleaders. (This is also the man who trained Anna Nicole Smith in her Playboy days so I will do whatever he tells me to if it will make me look more like a pin-up!) Considering I am no longer the 4’11″, 86 pound tumbler I was many years ago, I opted opt out of the “flyer” program and focused on the plan designed for the taller girls..those of us in the back row and the foundation for all stunting.  The “base” fitness routine includes plyometrics, cardio and weight training intended to improve strength, coordination and overall body tone. I figured I’d give it a try thinking that I’m a gym regular and also a certified dance fitness instructor. No problem, right?  WRONG.

Warming up with walking lunges was a breeze and considering I somewhat enjoy these, I was happy to do a couple of laps. However, lower body is always my least favorite area to work out so when the little wooden box was wheeled out, I knew I was in trouble! I HATE JUMP SQUATS! I know that they are one of the best exercises for your lower half, but they are so tiring and once I start to lose it, I’m done. On set three of these brutal exercises, I tagged out, walked to the leg press and left set four guiltily hanging over my head like the pink elephant in the room hoping my trainer wouldn’t notice I bailed out early. After squats, leg presses, leg curls and leg extensions, it was time for the CORE!

Ab exercises have never bothered me and with the definition in my stomach decreasing rapidly thanks to finishing half eaten Happy Meals, I am all too motivated to do what is necessary to tighten it back up! Hanging knee lifts are great…you can feel them working instantaneously and for some reason, the “hanging” part makes me feel a little leaner. “V-Up’s” were next and although somewhat awkward to do, are another great waistline whittler! Bicycle kicks, “Superman” flys, a handful of ball exercises and a quick demonstration on the Ab Solo (the latest ball throwing ab machine) completed my workout when I heard, “Now on to cardio!”

Cardio? Now? My legs felt like Jell-O and my abs were on fire! Apparently it is always best to do cardio after your workout which means that I have been doing this wrong for years! I hopped up on the step mill/Gauntlet, the rotating stair machine from Hell, thinking I was going to do 30 minutes but pushed the emergency STOP button after 15! I was exhausted and even tuning into SportsCenter didn’t take my mind of the fact that I was beat! The David Beckham highlights couldn’t even keep me on that machine! I’m feeling the pain today which means I did something right although I’m a bit disappointed in myself knowing that I only gave about 75% effort. Clearly I need to step it up before next week’s upper body workout or find an hour long Beckham bio to keep me in shape !

Jammin’ with Jenny –

My Workout Playlist!

Music is my key to a successful workout! I have pulled into the gym parking lot only to turn around and drive back home when I realize I have forgotten my iPod. I have left group fitness classes early when the playlist seems more suited for a wedding or “YMCA” is the instructor favorite! Without a steady hip hop beat, an interesting remix of my favorite 80′s tunes or a heart pounding country/rock montage, I just can’t get motivated. For those of you that share this similar philosophy, I have compiled a list of my all time favorite workout songs, taken straight off my “Fun Girl Music” and “Workout 6″ playlists!  These are the songs that get me going and keep me motivated through my entire workout! I start off with more hip hop and switch to rock mid-way through! Download and enjoy!

1. “Shake It” by Metro Station: Great warm up song that I can’t help but want to dance to while I’m doing my walking lunges! Also, the lead singer is Miley Cyrus’ brother which is intriguing to me!

1. “In the Ay-er” by  Flo Rida: I love the exaggeration of the word “air” and the creative ways he rhymes to it!

1. “Beware of the Dog” by Jamelia: Mixed in with an old Depeche Mode Song, this is the mantra for every girl every played by a guy! Song of strength!

1. “Bottoms Up” by  Keke Palmer: This is the song that keeps me going when I want to jump off the treadmill. Great dance beat and I love to sing out, “I’m bossy” or “SWAGGER” when she breaks it down!

1. “Easy” by Paula DeAnda and Lil Wayne – This is the perfect girly jam with my favorite rapper, Weezy, mixed in. Half dance/pop song and half gangsta – gotta love it!

1. “Low” by Flo Rida – I know this song is played out but how can you not want to get low when you hear the “apple bottom jeans” lyric.

1. “Get Like Me (Stuntin’ is a Habit) – David Banner featuring Chris Brown – I don’t know what it is about this song…maybe the “Chevy with the butterfly doors” combined with Chris Brown’s smooth R&B sound…makes me want to “lean wit it.”

1. “Lollipop” remix by Lil Wayne featuring Kanye West – Don’t get this confused with the radio version…this one has a better beat and is much more creative lyrically with “..tell the girl like Doritos, its nach-o cheese.”

1. “Cyclone” by Baby Bash and T-Pain – This is more what I lift weights to but is great for any girl who likes to dance!

1. “Fighter” by Christina Aguilera – This is such a great song for any girl who is going though a rough time in her life. I know that I hit the punching bag a bit harder when I hear this song!

1. “Get Up” by Ciara – I can’t help but dance when I hear the theme song from my favorite movie Step-Up. Great for walking lunges!

1. “City 2 City” by Kottonmouth Kings – This is the transition song from hip hop to rock since it’s a good mix of both! It re-energizes me midway through my workout!

1. “Down with the Sickness” by Disturbed - I don’t even think I’ve listen to this entire song..I simply listen to it for the intro and the “Oh wha ah ah ah.”

1. “Fuel” by Metallica – If this doesn’t increase your heart rate, nothing will!

1. “The Diary of Jane” and “So Cold” by Breaking Benjamin – Two songs from a band that keep me going when I want to do 2 sets instead of 3!

1. “Damn Regret” and “Face Down” by The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus – Another “two-fer” special off my playlist…maybe its because the first year I was a teacher, these guys went to my school or maybe because they are the “hometown heroes” in the city I live…whatever it is, these songs are deeply personal to me and they give me strength!

1. “Thunderstruck” by AC/DC - This song brings back great memories of cheering for high school basketball!

1. “Eight Second Ride” by Jake Owen – This is a country song but makes me feel like a tough chick!

1. “Kerosene and Lead” by Miranda Lambert - Another country song but so great!

1. “Fake It” by Seether – Learned a great dance to this song in Dance Trance. Starting to cool it down a bit now….

1. “Tainted Love” by Soft Cell – No one can resist the little “bah bah” beat in this song!

1. “She Bop” by Cyndi Lauper – Yes I picked this song because it’s off one of my favorite movies, The Goonies.

I confess…I have a slight addiction to being tan! Having been raised on the beaches of Florida with a surfboard under one arm and a fishing pole in the other, I grew accustomed to having a year round golden glow. I have fond memories of spending my high school and college years on a board in the ocean, lying out on the beach or on a wakeboard behind our boat. My fair skinned Irish mother actually tried to convince me in college that the “browning rays” didn’t come out until 4pm in an attempt to keep me out of the sun. When “Jenny Corace” was called out for the indoor tanning package prize from my dorm at FSU, my roommates just laughed! I didn’t need it – I was already damaging my skin by spending countless hours at the beach and in the saltwater! Tanning took a backseat to the real world as I got older until I discovered “turbo tanning beds” and the Mystic Tan. Despite having several moles removed and starting off last fall with 16 stitches in my back and stomach, I still yearn to be tan!

After having a conversation with the high school cheerleader who works at the local tanning salon, I am shocked to discover that former beach bunnies and college co-eds are not the only ones who frequent the fake bake palace. There are women in their 60′s who want to be bronze beauties and sadly, girls in elementary school who are also trying to be tan. Many of these girls are cheerleaders who feel that they look better in their competition uniforms with a darker skin pigment. I understand that being a little darker hides cellulite, makes you appear thinner and looks better in pictures for the ever important world of My Space. (I admit it – my default picture was taken after spending the day at the beach.) Are elementary aged girls already concerned with these issues too? I guess I would be considered ignorant if I wasn’t already aware of this. I vividly recall going to the tanning salon and waiting behind a local high school cheerleader who was bargaining with the clerk about “trading time” from her mother’s account to her younger sister’s account. This was the first time that I was aware that it was even legal for preteens and elementary school aged children to tan. Apparently, with a parental release form, anything is possible.

After googling “cheerleading and tanning,” the very first sight that popped up was Varsity.com, the cheer industry’s powerhouse that owns EVERYTHING from NCA to uniforms. Obviously, the golden glow is heavily promoted in the cheer world! Although they offered sunless tanning solutions, I still felt it odd that an organization that deals primarily with young girls would emphasize the importance of being tan. To their credit, Varsity did stress that spray tans were the safer solution, however with the cost of one spray tan being $30 versus an unlimited tanning membership costing the same amount per month, it is easy to see why so many young girls favor the salon. Mystic Tan, marketed as the Official Tan of the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders and Jessica Simpson, is my sunless tan of choice. After getting a “wrist slap” from my dermatologist, I started visiting the spray tan booth more frequently and ignored the spray tan smell in exchange for healthier skin. This was a short lived experience however as my bank account could no longer afford my tanning quick fix. I understand the need to be tan, really I do, but is it worth it and at what cost?

My heart sank to my stomach as I clicked on the link entitled, “TANOREXIC Young Mother Dies of Skin Cancer.” I read the article about this young woman who died after years of tanning that started at the age of 14. The picture of her one year old daughter, who is now motherless because of a need to be tan, brought tears to my eyes. It reminds me of the time a mother stopped me in grocery store and said that she wanted to thank me. I was puzzled until she explained that her daughter heard me tell a group of girls at dance practice that I would not be visiting tanning beds anymore, favoring my Mystic Tan, after having several stitches removed earlier in that day from precancerous mole removal. She went on to explain that she really was grateful that someone changed her daughter’s opinion of fake tanning and sincerely hoped that I would continue to promote my favorite tanning sunless cream (Jergens) because it could potentially be saving the lives of many young girls.

I sit here now with a guilty conscious knowing that I have wasted more time at the beach and tanning parlor since that time than I have in a spray tan booth. I feel even worse thinking that I was looking forward to teaching my children how to surf this weekend knowing that I would be much tanner by Sunday afternoon. The “Saltwater Cowgirls” mother-daughter summer surf camp is now looking less appealing especially after a stranger remarked on how my children and I looked like the “picture perfect beach family with our healthy tans and blonde hair.” Although I have laughed and related to Kelly Ripa’s jokes about being a “tanorexic,” I suddenly feel the need to rekindle my relationship with Mystic Tan, call my dermatologist and step up on my soap box once again!