Friday, February 13, 2009

Zumba

I know I've mentioned Zumba quite a bit. Probably a bit of overkill, I know. But I do love it. My friend Melanie asked me about it and I realized everyone might not know exactly what Zumba is. And since I think everyone should be enjoying Zumba as much as I do...straight from the Zumba website:

Zumba® fuses hypnotic Latin rhythms and easy to follow moves to create a dynamic fitness program that will blow you away. Our goal is simple: We want you to want to work out, to love working out, to get hooked. Zumba® Fanatics achieve long term benefits while experiencing an absolute blast in one exhilarating hour of caloric-burning, body-energizing, awe-inspiring movements meant to engage and captivate for life!

My instructor mixes original Zumba music with top 40 songs. There's a routine for each song and they're pretty easy to learn. You can make it as hard or as easy as you want. It burns a lot of calories, too. The first time I went I felt silly doing some of the moves. I think I laughed my way through the whole workout. But the more I went the more comfortable I felt, the more I put into and the more fun I had.

I now hear songs on the radio and start doing the workout routines in my head. :)

I'm curious what other's classes are like. I actually take classes from two different instructors. The one who teaches the mix of Zumba and top 40 music is really high-energy. She's really into Zumba, and you can feel that. It's a great workout, high-impact and everyone has a lot of fun. The other instruct just does Zumba music and it's more low-key, low-impact. Still a good workout, but not quite as fun as the other.

To be honest, I can't say I've noticed amazing results from Zumba. (I also do kickboxing and work out with weights.) But I'm pretty sure that's because of my Dr. Pepper habit and sweet tooth rather the workout. And no, Diet Dr. Pepper is not the same. :)

So, do you Zumba? Do you like it? If you haven't taken a Zumba class yet, are you going to try it out?

2 comments:

Missy said...

So sad. My class was full when I got there this morning. But, she throws in a lot of hip hop too.

Susie said...

I was just commenting to my friend yesterday that you can't just call a class a Zumba class because you are playing the Zumba music- you gotta do it full out. I'm encouraged that there is a class out there that actually does fit the description- I have two weeks left of this one and I"m out. Plus, I can't move in like I should in a 2 in. square- we're like sardines in the studio!

Whew. Thanks for letting me vent- even though I'm sure that's not what you were looking for!