I’ll admit it. I don’t do enough cardio. I love yoga, and I try to start my day by doing a session from one of my DVDs. I savor the slow stretching and deep breathing, which help me to feel calm and focused as I start my morning. Yoga may not get me dripping in sweat the way a dance routine or a step class does, but I live in the city, so I walk everywhere I go. I live in a 5th-floor walk-up apartment. I probably get a decent amount of exercise by doing that. I eat a balanced diet and my weight is considered healthy for someone my height. My heart has to be in pretty good shape, right?
When I heard about Cuerpaso, an exercise program that involves Latin-American dance moves and soccer drills, I was curious. I had begun to feel bored with my yoga DVDs, and I was finding myself sleeping late more mornings than I was exercising before going to work. I knew I couldn’t get into that habit; I had to shake up my routine! So I decided to give Cuerpaso a try.
That whole getting enough cardio and being in good shape thing? I couldn’t have been more wrong.
I test-drove the Cuerpaso DVD at home, after forcing myself out of bed extra-early one morning. I had been hearing about the program in different magazines and websites, and apparently it was the hot new workout. Between yawns, I popped the DVD into my laptop. OK, I thought. Let’s see what this is all about.
Wow. Within ten minutes, I was dripping in sweat, gasping for breath and pausing the DVD for sips of water. Cuerpaso combines aerobic and anaerobic movements – translation: jumping toe touches and rotating squats, while holding onto a soccer ball to work the core of your body. The program is designed to condition your core, as well as your legs, helping you strengthen as well as tone.
Led by Tadeo, the founder of the Cuerpaso program, with two women also performing the workout behind him, the DVD routine plunges right into the exercises. The warm-up itself is a challenge, and I began to wonder exactly how out of shape I was until Tadeo said it was probably the hardest warm-up to do in New York.
The DVD is easy to follow, and Tadeo is an encouraging leader, often mentioning the physical and mental benefits of the Cuerpaso workout. One of the women is a Broadway dancer, and when I wasn’t envying her washboard abs, I was noticing how perfectly she executed every step. The other woman wasn’t quite as skilled at the routine, which was reassuring for a newcomer like me. But I didn’t feel frustrated when I couldn’t keep up with them; Tadeo’s encouragement helped me keep going. He also frequently reminded me to smile (which was a little hard to do when I could barely breathe!)
After finishing the routine (and drinking two more glasses of water), I noticed I felt more energized and even more cheerful. I was very sore for the next few days and had to stretch my legs a lot, but it was a good feeling, and I found myself looking forward to the next time I could do the workout, which was something I hadn’t thought in a long time about my other exercise DVDs. I even found myself wondering if the Cuerpaso routine would help me lose a few of my “winter-weight” pounds before a friend’s wedding this summer.
I recommend Cuerpaso to anyone hoping to lose a few pounds, shake up their exercise routine or just have fun while getting some cardio. Tadeo encourages people trying Cuerpaso to “shatter their plateau” and I’m happy to say the workout did exactly that for me. Just remember to stretch when you’re done!
