I am writing this while still clad in my sweaty, stinky Zumba clothes because I am just that pumped to write about my experience.
I have been interested in trying Zumba forever, but it wasn’t offered at my old gym. I have also been a little nervous that I would look like an idiot. At my last gym I had to quit going to yoga because I was by far the least yoga-tastic and it was making me feel self-conscious instead of blessed with radiant light. And since I have the grace of one of the dancing hippos in Fantasia, I was even more worried about Zumba. It helps that my new gym seems to attract a wide range of ages, body types and fitness levels. This Zumba class was no exception, and that went a long way towards me having a good time and not worrying about how I look or whether or not I could keep up.
Supposedly you can burn 500 calories in an hour doing Zumba. I believe it, the workout was not easy. After 10 minutes I was sweating so much I was sure that at least half an hour had passed. Also, the instructor had more energy in that hour than I probably expend in 24 hours, which was even more awe-inspiring when she said that this was the third Zumba class she taught today.
I have been sick this week so I can’t wait to go next week with full lung capacity. I kept up the best I could, which at times meant more or less just tapping my feet and shaking my ass, but that that’s still a better work out than sitting on the couch watching Lifetime Christmas movies. And the booty-shaking parts are fun, Lord knows I have the ass to work it. I say try it and have fun! It’s a great way to mix it up if you’re bored of your regular workout routine.
4 replies on “We Try It: Zumba”
I am going to my first Zumba class this Sunday, and am super-excited about it. I’m pretty clutzy, but there are a few friends of mine in the class, so it should work out fine.
I was just at Zumba last night! It’s so much fun, and I can’t believe how energetic the instructors have to be. I definitely agree about how it’s good for everyone- at my class there were people in high school and seniors!
Do you have any guys in your Zumba class? My class is all women (not on purpose), so I was wondering if any guys actually do Zumba.
I’ve had a few guys in my Zumba classes – the makeup of my classes tend to shift every quarter because the class schedule changes, but most of the time there’s one steadfast guy who comes regularly, and that’s been my experience in undergrad as well, one or two regulars. I definitely notice a much broader age range in Zumba classes than in any of the other exercise classes I do, and that’s one of the things I really like about it.
I sometimes feel like I’m a Zumba-vangelist – I love it so much and try to get all of my friends to try it. I started doing it my junior year of college; my school was small and the gym offered one yoga class and one Zumba class, and while I was super-clumsy and terrible the first few times I did it, I quickly fell in love with it.
I think it works out my brain too – I don’t know about you, but when I started doing it I was really slow at learning the dance steps, but I’ve found that I pick up new routines somewhat easily now (it’s been 3 years) and I learn the moves in other exercise classes like TurboKick much more quickly too.