What is Zumba?
Zumba is a Latin-inspired dance workout. It has grown in popular over the past several years, through classes offered by zumba certified instructors and then DVDs. I first heard about zumba through a friend who liked to do zumba DVDs at home.
My thoughts on zumba
So first off I want to say that dancing is a great cardio activity. When you are dancing to music and have a good time, you might not even remember you are burning calories! However for me I have mixed opinions about zumba. Doing zumba in my opinion boils down to your needs, if you want to learn it in a class or an at home method like DVD.
My experience with zumba
I took a community four week Zumba class last fall. If you’ve read my blogs, you know I like to try out workout classes at community centers because they are inexpensive. This class came to about $10 a session which is average in my area. Another aspect of the class I liked was the music. I enjoy listening to music while exercising, and the music provided was upbeat and new to me. I also liked that the class size was small, making our group tight-knit and easy to interact with each other.
However, what I didn’t like about my class was the instructors approach to teaching. The Zumba moves seem to be unspecific and almost random. The teacher didn’t show us the moves or steps which made the workout confusing at times. Most workout classes I have taken had some specific instruction for the participants. With this instructor, I spent more time trying to mirror what she was doing than actually doing the moves.
What I would recommend
If you want to take a class, find a recommendation from a friend who has had an instructor they like. Maybe a community center would let you watch a class prior to signing up so you can see if it looks like it will be the right fit for you. Also, some dance studios let you a try out a class for free prior to signing up. If you don’t want to bother with a class, try checking out a Zumba DVD from the library or seeing if a friend has one. Doing that may help you decide if you would like to pursue learning Zumba or not.
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