I took my first Zumba class the other day.

What is Zumba, you ask? My definition of Zumba is that it is a mixture of Latin moves, hip-hop, and a touch of belly dancing. For a more formal definition, check out the Wikipedia site.

The Zumba exercises were more low-impact, yet high-energy, and they didn't affect my bad knee, which was very important to me! There were a lot of side-to-side movements and lots of hip shaking. The music had a Latin and club feel and pumped out infectious beats that made me want to keep moving, even after the hour was over!

Now, I can't say that I got the hip shaking down to an art, but this exercise class was fun... and a great workout! You don't need a dance background for Zumba; there were a mixture of levels in this class. However, I think it always helps having a little bit of coordination! Even the not-so-coordinated folks had a great time, even if that was from laughing at themselves trying to wiggle their hips. I admit I was part of the laughing-at-themselves group from time to time, but I think my years of dance instruction from years past helped give some appearance of Latin smoothness (or at least in my mind)!

The studio claims a Zumba class can burn up to 500-700 calories. I don't know how many calories I burned, and honestly I don't really care. I went to this class to try something new, and I had a blast. I've been itching to dance again - in a formal class environment as opposed to at home with the blinds shut - and Zumba provided that fix. I'd like to go back for more classes.

Here's a video giving you a sample of one of the Zumba dances. (If you're reading this in a feedreader or email, you may need to click through to view it.)

Originally posted 2008-06-02 08:00:24. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

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