Zumba: Dance your way to fitness
It’s the 21st century where people are highly conscious about their overall fitness. Wherever you look, you see people fretting about their weight. The fitness industry is making huge sums of money with people taking up gym memberships and personal nutritionists. People aim at having that perfectly toned body. I am sure that all of us envy that girl who looks so perfect all the time in spite of eating so much. But not all of us are born with that kind of body, are we? Some of us need to burn those calories out by hitting the gym or dieting. But that same old monotonous routine becomes boring and irritating when you feel you are not getting anywhere. Why do we make our workout such a big issue? Isn’t it easier to have fun and burn those calories? Well yes, now you can! You can now party yourself into shape! Here comes The Zumba Fitness!
Zumba is a fitness class that combines dance and fitness moves. It is a Latin inspired cardio dance that uses various kinds of music and dance steps choreographed by the instructor. It uses variety of dance styles including salsa, hip-hop, mambo, jazz, country, pop, etc. Zumba also adapts various martial arts moves, sqats and lunges which make it effective for strength training too. It uses interval training between slow and fast music which makes the workout even more effective.
It was created in the mid-‘90s by Alberto “Beto” Perez, a Colombian dancer and choreographer. According to Perez, he had once forgotten to carry his regular aerobics music at home and so he picked up some salsa and meringue tapes and started playing them. That was the first ever time he taught Zumba and now he is known all around the world as the founder of Zumba.
Zumba is now performed in over 185 countries and in thousand of gyms. Gyms all around the world now have separate Zumba classes. There are various types of Zumba Classes such as Zumba Fitness, Zumba Toning, Aqua Zumba, Zumba Gold, Zumba Kids, etc. It is mostly a 60 minutes class which starts with a warm-up and then proceeds to intervals of faster and slower tempos and ends with a cool-down and stretch. The number of calories burnt during the class depends on how much energy one puts in to how the tempo of the music goes. A research says that Zumba can burn 600-1000 calories an hour.
One should get himself/herself checked as some people have heart or lung problems. So it’s best to get a medical clearance before starting the class. One can wear anything comfortable and breathable for the class preferably sweat pants, t-shirts, tracks or anything that is stretchable. It’s best to wear supportive fitness shows that can make your feet move easily.
Zumba is a great way to release stress and enjoy what is being done. It never gets boring as the routine changes from time to time and the atmosphere turns into a dance floor. Anyone from a kid to a 70 year old adult can do the Zumba. There is nothing to be shy of and it is not necessary to be a good dancer to join this class. Even on the days you are off mood to work out, you can just get caught up in the music and the moves. For those who would wish to have fun and simultaneously lose weight, Zumba is the thing for you!
To Join a Class, visit: http://www.zumba.com/en-US/
