Addicted to Zumba?

[Mara]

anyone else totally loving the Zumba craze?? i take it at 3 gyms 4-5 days a week and sometimes more. we have favorite instructors and choreography routines, to the point where we'll walk out of the class if it's not a good teacher. it's huge here but i hear it hasn't reached all areas of the US yet...when i started i didn't even know how to shake my hips (yes i'm half latin!)...but now i am a hip and shoulder shimmying pro. two of my friends are instructors and one of my new pals is a master instructor (teaches other instructors).

don't know what it is? http://www.zumba.com

i'd love to hear from other Zumbaholics, where you take it, what your fave songs are, etc!!

 

[DivaDiamond007]

I''m going to have to check out the link since I''m in the midwest and we always seem to be the last to find out about things.

 

[fieryred33143]

OMG I love zumba! I can''t do it anymore because it gets a little too intense but what a workout and its so much fun. We have classes at the gym at work. The first instructor was ok but the new one is awesome.

My favorite songs to be honest are any salsa songs she plays because my salsa dancing skills

plus since the music is a little slower, the workout becomes more intense so I feel like I burn a lot more. With the faster songs we''re just moving around a lot which is what I do at home LOL

 

[Clairitek]

That looks like so much fun! They offer it at my gym at the moment. Maybe I''ll check it out. I''m terribly uncoordinated so it takes me FOREVER to catch on to dance routines. The workout looks like it would be a GREAT waist trimmer for my wedding gown!

 

[shimmer]

I am super uncoordinated as well, would I be totally lost trying this out? It looks like so much fun!

 

[onedrop]

I LOVE Zumba! I'd heard about it years ago from a friend who took it at Bally's. Then I finally tried it myself several months ago, and I really enjoy it. You work up quite a sweat, which is a pleasant surprise!! I am switching over to Spinning right now just to break up the routine, but I plan to start Zumba again in the Spring.

shimmer: you don't need to be a dancer or coordinated at all. The main object is to have fun and move!

ETA: Mara, I forgot to answer your questions! I take my Zumba class at my local community center twice a week. My favorite song is "Chiquita." Well at least that is what I call it. LOL I don't know the actual name. What's funny is that I was at a happy hour at a Mexican place at the end of the summer and I swear they had the Zumba soundtrack in the background, because I kept saying "that's a song from Zumba class!"

 

[WishfulThinking]

I''ve never heard of this, but it sounds great! Thanks for the heads up for those of us not in the know.

 

[Mara]

onedrop, you probably mean Chiquilla... hehee. I like that one too. I love the Reggaeton music...but I also love traditional Salsa. I finally learned how to do the Samba feet...it took me a long time..but thanks to Zumba I know can do basic steps of Samba, Salsa, Merengue, Cumbia. It's sooo fun. There is a great song called I Love Salsa by N'Klabe that we do a routine to right now.

I actually found a ton of my instructors songs on iTunes and downloaded them to my iPod...I have about 60 songs on there that are used in one or another Zumba class I have taken. When I can't get to a class I Actually do the choreographed routines at home, it's hilarious. My neighbor came home the other day (She takes Zumba with me 2x a week) and was like...did I see you Zumba'ing in the living room the other day. I was all HECK YA!

As for coordination, I was HORRIBLE when I started. As in...'this girl can't really be latin at all' horrible... I was so embarassed standing next to some of the gals who take the classes who are sooo rythmic. And my fave instructor used to be a hip hop dancer so she really adds a ton of attitude to her songs, so it takes a while to get the 'attitude'...nevermind just the basic steps. But now it's awesome, I just kept going. You can tell people feel silly doing it when they don't know the moves or how to shake it but over time you just loosen up and let it go.

Plus seriously, it's FUN. As in...you want to do it all the time and it's not really a workout fun. Everyone should DEF try it if your gym offers it... but I have to say that it really does depend on the instructor and the music. I have taken a lot of classes, and some of them are really bad. Just because someone has an 'instructor' next to their name does not mean they should be teaching Zumba. A lot of instructors actually used to teach dance or Jazzercise and it shows. I have had one who does SWING in her classes, I am like WHAT part of this is LATIN CARDIO DANCE?? Zumba Snob...yep that's me. If I take a Zumba class I want Zumba, not swing or foxtrot...I can take that elsewhere.

Anyway, YES for anyone who hasn't tried it, you def should....it's so funny how addicted people become. I see the same people in classes all over the BayArea just on different days! Oh and someone mentioned waist trimmer, yes it can be a great weight loss tool, one of my friends lost something like 50 lbs over 9 months with Zumba....you can burn a ton of cals...my friend wears her HRM sometimes and it registers about 500-700 cals per hour, just depending on the day.

 

[steph72276]

Yea! Thanks for the link. I wanted to try it out and it says the gym Adam and I are looking at joining has classes.

 

[SarFarSuperstar]

Count me in! I''ve been rumpshaking with Zumba since September and I''m hooked. There are two other girls in my class and one of them will text me before class to remind me- she is hardcore! I go once a week, but I looking to ramp it up in the new year. My gym offers it 5 days a week.

My faves are the Chiquilla and the one where you look like you''re about to do the Cotton-Eyed Joe- what''s that one called?

I love the instructor I see on Wednesdays- Dee rocks! She downloads current songs for the warm up- recent faves include "Just Dance" and "Put a Ring on it" Beyonce.

Zumba''s great because I love dancing, but I am NOT good at it and I hate dancing at clubs- too much of a meat market vibe. I want to shake my moneymaker in peace!

 

[BeachRunner]

I''ve always wanted to try Zumba as I''ve only heard GREAT things about it!! I am a regular at the gym, and find myself bored a lot of the time. I have a co-worker who swears by Zumba. She''s lost over 25 pounds and LOVES it, she even wants to become an instructor! Maybe that will be my New Year''s Resolution, TRY ZUMBA!

 

[WishfulThinking]

I am so into hearing about all of this! I just emailed Wifey with a link to the website and I''m like "PLEASE can we do this when we move to CA this summer?!?!" She might think I am nuts, but she was recently talking about how it would be fun to take a hip-hop class, and I think she will like this even better because the music is so much more her style. We could do it together!

I am all enthusiastic now, haha.

 

[onedrop]

Mara: thanks for correcting the name of the song for me and for letting me know I can get the songs on iTunes! I just downloaded Chiquilla and this Calypso song that I also like. This thread is making me want to go back to Zumba! I need to find a class that doesn''t conflict with my Spinning class.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

My neighbor tried to get me to go with her. Makes me nervous. I feel like I would make a fool out of myself!!!

 

[ladyciel]

I haven''t had a chance to try a class, but they look fun! Has anyone tried the dvds?

 

[Mara]

Tacori..just go!! There will probably be like 1/2 of the people who will know what they are doing and the rest won't but don't worry... honestly it's tough to feel like you are making a fool out of yourself for the first SIX MONTHS like I felt like...but now I just love it. And it's fun if you go with friends... because at least then you have a buddy who is laughing with you not at you...hahah.

onedrop...I think I have that calypso song.. some of my favorites are Transalicious, Que Te Mueve, I Love Salsa, Cachondea, The Anthem and Krazy (both by Pitbull) and Muevelo. I have a huge list hehee...all of those are on iTunes btw.

I have not tried the DVD's. The classes are awesome, because you really get the vibe from everyone else. It's a really electrifying experience...sounds silly but it's SO much better at the classes with lots of people. One of my classes gets about 150 people...it's huge! This was a big Zumbafest I went to in November, it was crazy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InxUPAlwVyY

 

[Lorelei]

LOL! I bet that stuff would put my back out!!!

Looks great fun though!

 

[Elmorton]

I heart Zumba, but I couldn''t fit it in my schedule this semester

I take it at the Y and love it - there''s people who go every week and some are really good, but most are just as lousy as a first timer, haha - but it''s an AMAZING workout and really fun.

 

[Dancing Fire]

Mara
i told you to stop sampling all those cupcakes. sooner or later them cupcakes will show up on the scale.

 

[vespergirl]

Hey Mara! I just joined the Y yesterday (I''ve put on a few holiday pounds, ugh) and I''m taking my first Zumba class tomorrow - I can''t wait after reading these posts!

 

[iheartscience]

This looks so fun! I checked my local Y and it looks like they only have 2 classes a week, but there are more at other Y''s. I might have to join just to do this class. I love classes like this!

 

[Elmorton]

So, after reading this thread, I thought "Hey! I should go to Zumba again!" - the next morning, I get the paper and on the front page, in the "Try Something New!" feature that they''re doing for the new year, there''s a huge article with photos. Great...if the class wasn''t packed already, it is now!! I think I''m going to wait a few weeks

 

[SarFarSuperstar]

I zumba''d Friday night and Saturday morning and was totally whipped. It is a great workout and tons of fun. I did notice the class was a bit more packed than usual- I am selfishly hoping that the New Year Resolutions fade fast or at least decide that they''d rather yoga their way to a better body.

 

[vespergirl]

I just took my first class, and I loved it! I normally hate aerobics-type classes (I''d rather just gor for a run or lift some weights) but this was so much fun, and I can''t believe what a good workout I got - it''s so fast paced, I felt like I had just gotten back from a 4-mile run.

My New Year''s resolution is to take a class 5 days a week at the Y (Mon - Fri) and this will be my Mon. class - I will definitely go back next week. Thanks for the recommendation!

 

[Mara]

awww I'm so happy to see new Zumba lovers hehee. It is definitely a good workout...and it's so fun. There was a huge article about Zumba in the Fitness mag and it said basically when you take the WORK out of the workout and make it FUN then people are far more likely to stick with it. The YouTube videos are fun to watch but there is nothing like being in that room with the loud music playing and the energy running through it. It's more like a really energetic dance class than a workout.

I hope everyone has the opportunity to experience an amazing Zumba class (because not all of them are excellent unfortunately).

Also there are so many instructors here that you can take diff classes and not get BORED like if you just had one place to go. I am sure it's a FAD just like kickboxing or jazzercise was but I hope it sticks around for a while because it really is the best thing I have ever found that I am excited to go do. It helps that I have actually turned out 2-3 friends to it, so we go together or we meet up there at the diff gyms, and also I have made new friends through Zumba so now I have even more people in common. For example, this Friday there is a huge Zumba Jam at a big gym in the South Bay with my favorite instructor and it's sold out. It will be crazy, but we are so excited...I know about 10 people that are going.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 1/7/2009 10:30:11 AM
Author: Mara
awww I''m so happy to see new Zumba lovers hehee. It is definitely a good workout...and it''s so fun. There was a huge article about Zumba in the Fitness mag and it said basically when you take the WORK out of the workout and make it FUN then people are far more likely to stick with it. The YouTube videos are fun to watch but there is nothing like being in that room with the loud music playing and the energy running through it. It''s more like a really energetic dance class than a workout.

I think that is why I stuck with Step for so many years. Maybe I will try it since you probably can tone down the jumping.

 

[ladyciel]

I''m going to my first zumba class in 2 hours! I found out it''s one of the classes the student rec center is offering this semester, so I decided I had to give it a try. The first week is free for anyone who wants to go (first come first serve), and after that you have to sign up and pay for the rest of the semester. If I decide to sign up it will only be an hour once a week, but that''d be better than the zilch exercise I''ve been getting lately. Two of my friends are going too, so we might end up doing it all together. I hope it''s fun!

 

[onedrop]

Date: 1/7/2009 5:05:21 PM
Author: ladyciel
I''m going to my first zumba class in 2 hours! I found out it''s one of the classes the student rec center is offering this semester, so I decided I had to give it a try. The first week is free for anyone who wants to go (first come first serve), and after that you have to sign up and pay for the rest of the semester. If I decide to sign up it will only be an hour once a week, but that''d be better than the zilch exercise I''ve been getting lately. Two of my friends are going too, so we might end up doing it all together. I hope it''s fun!

Great news! I am sure you''ll enjoy it. And the fact that your friends are going is a bonus!! Come back and tell us your experience.

 

[Smurfysmiles]

i just got a new dance workout video today and it was so hardcore i only made it through the first section lol
but at the end is a zumba workout which ive never tried, i hope its fun!

 

[ladyciel]

Date: 1/7/2009 7:50:49 PM
Author: onedrop

Date: 1/7/2009 5:05:21 PM

Author: ladyciel

I''m going to my first zumba class in 2 hours! I found out it''s one of the classes the student rec center is offering this semester, so I decided I had to give it a try. The first week is free for anyone who wants to go (first come first serve), and after that you have to sign up and pay for the rest of the semester. If I decide to sign up it will only be an hour once a week, but that''d be better than the zilch exercise I''ve been getting lately. Two of my friends are going too, so we might end up doing it all together. I hope it''s fun!

Great news! I am sure you''ll enjoy it. And the fact that your friends are going is a bonus!! Come back and tell us your experience.

Well, I went to my first class and I LOVED it! It was RIDICULOUSLY crowded, though, so it was pretty hard to see the instructor a lot of the time. Despite that, my friends and I managed to follow along decently well, and it didn''t really matter if we weren''t getting the exact moves right. We were still moving frantically in our efforts to keep up.

By the end of the class I could really feel my obliques from all the turning and hip action. Oh, and I was DRENCHED with sweat. Definitely a quality workout, but lots of fun!! Today I just have that good tired muscle feeling over my entire body. Now I have to see if I can find the spare cash to afford the class for the semester.