Dear Hip Hop Hot Ones,

A quick, but powerful thought for the day that a friend sent in recently:

When you have nothing left to burn.....set yourself on fire.

A few weeks into the Get Fit Challenge for some and a years into a lifetime of workouts for others but we all face the same challenges. The degree of the challenge may differ but strategies that work have everything in common. Intensity is the key to fitness and weight loss/management whether the change sought is large or small.

Intensity. What do you mean exactly. Well since I am waiting to hop on a connecting flight right now I will keep it short... and ultra intense. When we work our bodies as hard as possible for between 20 and 45 minutes, we maximize results, minimize injury and do not trigger stress hormones that will come if one goes much longer than an hour. (Stress hormones that by the way enhance fat retention and susceptibility to illness) So tonight at class I want ALL you have. Leave it on the floor. When we cool down, it is because by that point in the class you should have given yourself a run for your money.

The beauty is that YOU are in control of the level of intensity that will be reached. And you can almost always reach deep and find a bit more to give, a little more will power to exert. Give yourself your best in the short time we get to spend dancing together instead of a lukewarm hour or two on a treadmill and your goals will be in sight sooner rather than later.

Can't wait to see you tonight---got held up in a bison traffic jam, but made it to the plane on time.

xo

Angel