No one is ever going to mistake me for some sort of exercise guru.
But I am passionate enough about a few ways of moving that I study and read about them. Sometimes in lieu of actually doing them. But I’m getting better at that.
I am weird in that I love core work. Love it. I don’t even have to psych myself up to do it. And I suppose this is good, because regular practice of something like Pilates or the floor warm-ups for ballet/modern dance helps every other activity that I ever do. Having a strong core helps me avoid back problems and injuries that happen when you are using other muscles to do what the stomach muscles are supposed to do. The Pilates Body is my core work Bible.
The Complete Tap Dictionary and The Dancer Prepares: Modern Dance for Beginners are two of my old textbooks from when I took a college level tap class (OMG) and my first modern class ever (up until then, it had been only ballet and tap). I still refer to them occasionally for technique, and I am sure that I’ll especially be using the tap book a lot when Tammy’s knee heals and we celebrate by taking some classes.
Running is the activity that I read about the most. Running books are super inspirational, even though most of them often have me snorting and saying, “I will never do that.” Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running is more my speed. It’s still inspiring, but it doesn’t have any of this run-in-Antarctica or run-naked-in-death-valley nonsense.
And finally, The BalleCore(r) Workout. I am talking myself (with a little nudge from my boss, who loves it) into starting Pure Barre classes soon. So I checked this book out from the library again and have been practicing so that I don’t injure myself during my public debut when I get all competitive about it.
What exercise do you love/not-hate? Do you read about it, too?
M. Suzanne Terry 
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