Tag Archives: Richard Simmons video

RICHARD SIMMONS SLIMMONS CLOSING

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Good Day Monday. In the spirit of Thanksgiving I feel an over abundance of gratitude. This weekend was a very emotional weekend for me and many others. Richard Simmons Slimmons Studio held it’s last class in Beverly Hills CA. I was lucky enough to be living back in LA to attend the last class. It was such a bitter sweet moment, a reunion and a goodbye; yet for me the connections and friendships will last a lifetime. Richard Simmons himself did not teach the class, and he was missed dearly yet it still was such a beautiful moment, a gathering of people from all ages who are forever connected by Richard Simmons and his message. Love yourself, love others, such a simple yet profound message.

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If you have followed my weight loss blog and journey you know in the beginning in 2013 I was in the Richard Simmons’ HairDo video, and soon after I was a regular and a member at Slimmons Studio in Beverly Hills. I met so many wonderful people through my Slimmons experience, and getting to know Richard Simmons was indeed a high point not only in my weight loss blog and journey but in my life. I made life long friends, I became part of a community where everyone is welcome. We are all on the same path, working towards better health and wellness and Richard Simmons, the Slimmons staff and members of Slimmons welcomed me and everyone with open arms. I felt like family.

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In 2014 I moved to San Francisco, and it was about the same time Richard Simmons decided to take a break from public life. He stopped teaching classes at his studio. I continued to follow my friends online and I followed his Facebook page from afar. Like the rest of the world I was concerned about him. I am so grateful I was back in LA to be at the last class taught before Slimmons closes its doors for good. 

A little back story about my Richard Simmons experience. Way before I ever met him, before my little appearance in his video, and before the classes, I was a dancer who did my Mother’s Sweatin’ to the Oldies tapes with my sister in our living room in Cleveland, Ohio.  I can still do all the routines. My favorite tape was Sweatin’ to the Oldies 2, it had the best music. I dreamed of appearing in one of his videos. ( little did I know that one day I would be in one of his videos).  Every time I hear the song Heatwave, or Shout I bust into a routine and skip through a grapevine, it doesn’t matter where I am or who I am with. 

I am and always will be in awe of Richard Simmons and the whole Slimmons community and I am forever grateful to call myself part of it.  Richard Simmons and his community were the beginning and inspiration that got me rolling on this weight loss journey and blog. The video was in July 2013, the exact week I began my weight loss blog. I almost did not go because I was so embarrassed about my weight. Since that moment I am now at 164 lbs. I am 29 lbs away from goal.  I have learned many lessons along the way, lessons from Richard Simmons and his community.

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I owe so much to Richard Simmons, Slimmons and the friends I met along the way at that little lively Studio in Beverly Hills, CA.  Saturday was a moment of memories, of tears, of people gathering around and dancing to the music. The energy could light up all of Los Angeles. Richard Simmons was not teaching, but the wonderful staff (Sherry, Michelle, and Anne) captured that same spark, that feeling that I kept coming back for. I am alive, and I love life. That is the feeling I got from Slimmons classes. It was not about the size of my thighs, or how my body image felt on that particular day. It was this sensation, you know that magical feeling when the hairs on your arm stand on end? That is what it felt like to dance within the hallowed walls of Slimmons.

It was Magical. 

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I am only half way there but so grateful for the journey. In my head I will always hear Richards words of wisdom:

Drink your water

Move every Day

Watch your portions

Be kind to yourself and to others.

The closing of Slimmons was a reunion, a sad yet joyful reunion. I was just grateful I had the opportunity to be here and share in the moment and memories with the people I now call life long friends. My inspirations, my mentors, my contemporaries, the loves of my life.  People of all ages, we are all connected by Richard Simmons.

I walked away with renewed willpower and inspiration. I am looking into becoming a group exercise instructor myself. It is something I have wanted to do for a long time and Marie a member of Slimmons (and an aerobics instructor) inspired me to go for it. I admit the last few weeks my will lass been at a low. I got sick, I have an injured rotator cuff but reuniting with the Slimmons family was just what I needed to keep going. I am sad it is closing but so grateful for the experience.

I will take this renewed inspiration and move forward. I will try harder, work harder, and be kinder to myself as I am out chasing my goals. I will keep in touch with the lovely souls from Slimmons I call friends, and I will attend classes of those who now teach in the style that captured the world by storm. The eye of that storm as retired yet his influence will go on forever.

Next time you take a sip of your water with lemon, remember Richard Simmons is the straw that stirs the drink. Keep Dancing. You are beautiful. We are family.

Much love and Light to all

Let’s Sweat

We love you Richard Simmons

Love, Rose

BE CURIOUS

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Good Morning to all today. I am on my second cup of coffee, I could not sleep last night. My mind was racing about The Monday Night Mission. My volunteer date is coming up fast, and all I could think about was the little things I want to get done on Sunday, bake some cookies and bag them up and make ham and cheese sandwiches for the hungry. 

I missed yoga yesterday, we are having some minor issues on the home front, but tonight I will be back at it at Yogaworks. I have to lock my cats in the bedroom for the duration of the afternoon, the mortgage inspector is coming again and they have to come in and neither of us will be home. The building manager said they will not enter the bedroom so the cats do not flee out the front door. I hate to lock them up, but I would rather go to work and know they are safe, and hopefully the people coming in will not open the door. They said this is the last time, so I am relieved. With cats it is difficult, because every time you open the door they want to bolt. Curiosity and all, you know what they say about curiosity. I think it is imperative for humans to stay curious, but for cats not so much. I am completely curious about everything, so hopefully my curiosity will not get me into too much trouble. 

I am off for now. Long day and I may meet my friend Francie for coffee after yoga. She is my wonderful friend I met when I did the Richard Simmons video. I am so thankful, I started this project and I am making things happen and meeting some amazing friends along the way. I feel very blessed as I drink my morning coffee. Love and Light to all. 
Namaste’
Rose




HAIR DO RICHARD SIMMONS

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Happy Saturday to all. I am excited the Richard Simmons video is out, It was so much fun. If you look closely you can see me dancing backup with Richard Simmons in the blue tank over his shoulder in the group shots. I got a few seconds of face time. It was the first week of My Change For A Ten and it was a ton of fun. I met some wonderful friends and now I am hooked on Richard Simmons classes. I will forever do the hair do move.  Nothing like Richard Simmons to inspire you to lose weight. 
Namaste’ love and light to all.
Rose

FRIDAY 8/23/2013

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Good morning and Thank Goodness it is Friday. I am so happy the weekend is almost here. I hope everyone is having a wonderful Friday. I am a little sleepy but upbeat at the same time. My thoughts are not quite here for me yet though, so this will be a short and sweet post. I love to write but I have to be clear in my mind and fully awake so sometimes posting at this hour can be challenging.

I think it is time to take some updated full length photos, people are starting to mention I look smaller and I have not had any recent photos since the last Richard Simmons class a few weeks ago. He has been out of town. I will do that soon and post them. I walked into CVS yesterday and the guy who works there said what I am doing is working. That always makes me want to work even harder. Results are not always visible to our own personal reflection of ourselves, but when others take notice you know then you are doing something right. I did take a selfie, to see if my face looks thinner. My Mother objects to it because she thinks it is too revealing, which I find hilarious, sorry Mom.  It is a little blurry but I can totally see my face slimming down.  My face is the first place I show weight loss.



I walk at least five days a week on the treadmill for about 45 minutes to an hour, along with the other things I am doing. Yesterday I did the incline thing that Mike taught me. After speed walking for a half hour, I walked one minute at a time raising each level for each minute until I reached level ten. After I  reached the top I reduced the incline one level at a time until I was back to level with one no incline. It is a major challenge but I did it, and I will continue to add that to my regimen as well as adding a little jogging in between my speed walking. Mike said things are getting too easy and I have to work harder, and he is right. So just when you think you have mastered a movement, you take it up a few notches. Burpees I have not mastered but I am practicing. I will do the video for Melissa at Melissa Bender Fitness but I probably will not have the stomach to watch it. 

I am also super excited that I bought a Groupon for one month unlimited yoga classes at YogaWorks in West Hollywood, thanks to Francie my friend from the Richard Simmons video shoot. It was a steal for $35.00. She sent me the link. I am so happy we have met, we call each other our secret twins since we have so many similarities. This project has introduced me to new friends and I feel completely blessed and grateful.

I have had issues lately with food and my husband. He is on board with everything I am doing, but sometimes he wants things like Pizza and I just do not wish to have anything that may derail me at this point. I am too soon in the game, and I need to keep the momentum going. Pizza I guess is not as fun if you are not sharing it. I am also trying to drink the whey protein shakes I bought for work so I will not get so famished and lightheaded anymore. It is a subtle but important change. I love my hot pink shaker, it is so cute. It has three compartments, one for the powder, one to shake it in, and one for vitamins. I am very excited about it. It is the little things in life as well as the grand that make me happy.



Wishing everyone a Fantastic Friday
Namaste’
Rose



























MASTERING THE ART OF BURPEES

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When you learn something new that is outside your comfort zone, you feel awkward doing it. For me, exercise has always been dance related. When I speed walk I dance in my head to the music I am listening too, everything for me up until this point had a rhythm to it. My heart would follow the beat, and it was seamless and natural for me and I loved it. 

I still love to work out to dance moves or  walking outside or on the treadmill to music, but I have added a lot of new exercise moves to my regimen since I started working out with Mike my trainer and friend. Like I have said before in recent posts, his help is invaluable and I am learning so much. He is really helping me through our weekly workouts. Now, a lot of what I do with him is completely foreign to me, and some things are down right difficult since I have never had arm strength. In the six weeks we have been working out though, I can see significant changes in my form as well as my strength. I am definitely getting better, and that is when he mixes it up and makes it more difficult for me. I love a challenge and I am working really hard, and each week I get a little stronger and more fluid in my movements. I am so grateful for his expertise, assistance, and time.

Burpees feel so awkward to me, and I am yet to master the push up part so I do the burpees without the push up. I do not know what my hang up about this exercise move is, but for some reason I feel like I look completely silly when I do it. My best friend Melissa at Melissa Bender Fitness has asked me to see if Mike would video tape me doing burpees for her website. He loved the idea, me not so much. It looks like we will tape me doing burpees next week. I am going to practice the hell out of them in the week to come. This is an adventure, and sometimes you have to not fear and just do. 

We also worked out a lot with a kettle ball, and a jump rope as well as the machines that are at the park we go to. I can jump rope fast but my endurance is not as good. More things to improve upon. Each week is different and each week I get a little more natural at everything we do, and if I do say so myself I am very proud I have stuck to my regimen thus far. I have a long way to go to my goals, but I am definitely just around the corner to my first ten pound goal. I can tell I am losing inches too.  I feel stronger and I have more energy, and it feels completely wonderful. 

Tonight is yoga with Nicole, and I look forward to it so much. Last week she was explaining the difference between sensation and pain. I still cannot decipher which is which. I also signed up for a Groupon for one month unlimited classes at YogaWorks, thanks to  my friend Francie from the video shoot. She sent me the link and I had just enough time to get the amazing deal. I have to say I am so happy our paths have crossed, she is a fantastic human being and friend. We are both excited that the Richard Simmons video comes out this Friday. We had so much fun dancing in it.

Wishing everyone a wonderful Wednesday full of love and light.
Namaste’
Rose