Zumba

“Ditch the Workout – Join the Party”. From the moment of its inception 12 years ago, Zumba has taken the world by storm with its energetic, uplifting and most importantly, FUN exercise format. Created by Beto Perez in Colombia by happenstance (he forgot his traditional aerobics music for a class he was to teach and had to improvise with what he had and Zumba was born). Zumba focuses on the music, which drives the movements rather than the movements done with background music to keep the tempo. This music, which is Latin and Internationally inspired beats gives these classes the big dance party feel. Another difference? It’s got a worldwide cult following of Zumba enthusiasts of ALL ages and abilities (they offer Zumba GOLD for seniors, Zumba Kids and even Zumba Aqua). A great place to give a Zumba class a try is Ethos Fitness. They offer a big variety of Zumbe classes including: Learn Zumba, Zumba in the Curcuit and Zumba Toning.

The first questions or comments I get, as a Zumba instructor is “Do you need a dance background; I can’t keep a rhythm; I have two left feet”, and so on. All I ever say is if you like the music and don’t take yourself too seriously you will have a blast and can burn a load of calories without knowing it. If you’re new to Zumba, I would recommend trying a class or two to get an idea if this form of cardio exercise is for you. Every Zumba instructor is different – ranging from the VERY dancey to others that have less dance and more traditional movements. Most facilities and private instructors SHOULD offer a free trial class. I would also suggest that you try a full session (6 -10 classes to really get a feel for it). This is a great form of exercise to do with friends and will leave you feeling happy and invigorated. In fact, you may feel like your back in your 20’s, in your clubbing days – minus the awful alcohol/late night aftereffects.