Double the Fun

I normally take a double lesson on Friday night which just shows that we don’t have much of a social life. Then again, I don’t work so Friday doesn’t carry that same “weekend start” cache that it would otherwise.

It is all about balance. The more dances you try to do, the more time you need to work on all of them and three lessons a week seems like a good pace and, fortunately, I can still afford that. I decided to double up on one day because I really don’t want to spend every night going to the studio. I’ve done something similar in the past and it really didn’t work out. I need nights to call my own.

But there is something coming up that will be taking the instructors away on a Friday so we had to shuffle things up. If I wasn’t three weeks out from a Showcase, I might have just let things slide but it is kind of hard to lose that much practice time when the Showcase is just around the corner.

The upshot is that tonight is one of the days where a lesson got moved meaning I’ve got double lessons tonight and on Friday night.

To be honest, I’m not entirely sure that the double lessons are the best idea. There is a clear benefit to having more time. It also gives a little extra flexibility. PJ typically has a plan but if I get stuck somewhere, we can call an audible and spend some extra time there. Friday night is also typically not crowded so it works out nicely for the smooth dances that take up a lot of floor.

But it is also quite a bit of work and it is revealing that I’ve been a little lax in my cardio. I do a lot of strength training but I figured I’d get my cardio on dance lessons. While that is certainly true, it seems like I’m going to need to do something else outside of the dance lessons because doing rounds can wear me out.

And since PJ likes to start with one (as a nice warm up), it can turn a double lesson into a real grind. On the surface, it doesn’t seem like a lot. You do a smooth round and that is four dances at 1-2 minutes per dance. A rhythm round is five dances at the same 1-2 minutes per dance. In terms of actual time, it doesn’t sound like a lot. When you dance full out (you can’t half-a** a round), it becomes a lot of work.

Anyway, guess I shouldn’t really complain. I did sign up for this after all.