Thread: Zumba!

A freind of mine told me she was going to take a Zumba class tonight. I had never heard of it before. Turns out it's a Latin-y Fusion-y aerobic dance class.

Terrible wide legged "hip lifts" (to typical Shakira) in the beginning of this video but man.. it looks like a riot. Check out the guys in the back, too... partway through.. they're a hoot. They do about three songs in this clip.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf0q6qtThF4"]YouTube - ZUMBA!!!!![/ame]

Has anyone tried a class? If so, what did you think? I think I need to find one locally. Could be a new favorite workout.

It's a fresh flavor to jazzercise. And a new version of aerobics. I took an introductory class. Hardly any of the moves were broken down. It was a follow the bouncing butt workout. I had to modify many of the movies due to an old knee injury. Anyone know if it is true that in order to become an instructor you just have to pay the $300 fee and take a 4 hr workshop? That seems sketchy to me.

Nilaja

wow, what a cardio workout. It made my legs hurt just watching them. Looks like alot of fun.

One of the park districts I work at had me attend an introductory class because they wanted to certify all their instructors in it. I felt the same way you did Nilaja, hardly any moves were broken down at all, it was just the new aerobics craze. It may just have been the instructor, but it was like they assumed you know half the moves because they are dance moves.
They were also proclaiming that there were bd moves in there, but there
definately were not!
Since it was the new thing, the intro classes were packed, and with no explaination people were running into each other everywhere. Not very safe.

They have since started weekly classes.
I've been told that they want you to buy the $40 Video set that explains the
moves and gives you stuff to do at home if you plan on taking the regular classes. At least there, they give the students a "monthly routine" that they do for the whole month, with the same music and they change it every month.
But no, they don't give you or sell you the music.
I've actually gained students from it!! They've tried it and tell me that they
didn't like how it was structured, it felt "crazy" and it was way too high impact than what they were told.
So I guess it's just a matter of someone's preference, but it didn't hurt my feelings that I got students because of it : )

I was going to try it, but none of their class times were convenient for me. I've seen other videos that look a bit different, but if this one's the norm I'm better off not doing it 'cos the knees won't take it!

Man! That instructor looks like she's on speed or something! She's good, though! I bet she could dance to just about anything.

I bought the original set of videos. It did include a "how to do the moves" video for the various steps. The "bellydancing" portions were pretty funny, but it was certainly a high-energy workout.

The thing I liked LEAST about it was the way the instructor, Beto, walked around dancing flirtatiously with the women on the video. It was just... icky!!

The thing I liked BEST about it was the super-catchy music!

Zumba is the rage when I live. They offer it at alot of gyms. I don't know if bellydance moves are part of the routine in other places where Zumba is taught, but they include them in the routine here.
As far as I'm concerned, ANYTHING that even vaguely sounds like Regaetton or uses Regaetton music is on my $hit list. No matter how good it is for my health.

Regards
Priscilla

Originally Posted by shanna

A freind of mine told me she was going to take a Zumba class tonight. I had never heard of it before. Turns out it's a Latin-y Fusion-y aerobic dance class.

Terrible wide legged "hip lifts" (to typical Shakira) in the beginning of this video but man.. it looks like a riot. Check out the guys in the back, too... partway through.. they're a hoot. They do about three songs in this clip.

YouTube - ZUMBA!!!!!

Has anyone tried a class? If so, what did you think? I think I need to find one locally. Could be a new favorite workout.

It's crazy hot (popular) where I teach. Several of my dance students also take Zumba once or twice a week. Based on what they shared with me, it seems like the main benefits are the cardio workout and water loss from sweating so much. One of the younger gals loves it and said it helped her impress her Latin friends when they went out clubbing. It is really hard on her knees though which worries me a lot. ,f::

I've taken one class where I teach, didn't impress me with the cardio benefits, but the instructor was very good and taught safely, she's also trained to teach group fitness which didn't hurt!

I took the certification and so I'm qualified to teach it!

It's undeniably a lot of cheesy fun, and compared to Les Mills' BodyJam ( which I'm also certified in) much less structured. It's a lot less threatening and stressful for some members to come to Zumba because it's like a spontaneous Latin dance party in the gym... cueing is kind of loose, and so is the choreography!
My BJ training was three intense days and I had to present two tracks for grading AND send in a video for ( a very ruthless) assesment after the fact, and Zumba was a day of learning basic Latin dance patterns, with no specific grading of instructors. There's a nice support system in place for instructors ( music, DVDs, class locators, etc) but it's left fairly loose.
Personally, I had a lot of fun but I'm not interested in teaching it yet. I like the structure and choreography of the LMI stuff better, but I have a sinking feeling that Zumba will edge out Jam at my club since a very popular instructor ( also a good friend) is starting to replace her Jam class with Zumba, and all the "ladies" just follow her...
Oh, and the instructors get to structure their classes but the styles are: mambo, soca, cumbia ( where we San Antonio folk decided that the steps were just WRONG), merengue, salsa, "flamenco", "bellydance", hip-hop, reggaeton, samba.
The music is great.

Can you imagine if you only had to take a 3 hr bellydance certification workshop and then you would be certified to teach bellydance to the masses at fitness clubs all over the nation? Why does this work for Zumba?

Nilaja

Theesfield, I think I paid $200-ish, maybe less? And it was an all-day workshop: 9 -6 p.m., so I don't want to give the wrong impression. True, I was surprised at how "easy"it was to pass compared to my LMI experience, but as I said, the class is structured to appear loose and spontaneous. I suspect that inexperienced instructors won't be able to keep a class together for long. Someone who's used to freestyle cardio/Latin choreography will be just fine.

A training like this is also good for maintaining your CEUs and what-not. To teach in a gym you'd probably have to be AFAA/ACE certified anyway, so you wouldn't be a complete yahoo. And many fitness programs do just a weekend-long/day-long certification process...

I think it looks fun and a good work out. Nothing more or less. But if that was a unique choreo in that clip - bohring. Probably some teachers are really good and others arent.

I like Shakira so that would be okay with me music wise. Not running out to find a class, however.

Well I just did a private lesson with two of my regular students who were raving about how much fun they are having taking Zumba classes, and back in my memory I thought "wasn't there a thread on Bhuz on that?"

They sold me on the idea of giving it a try for a fun aerobic workout. I've been feeling like I need something outside of teaching bellydance classes that feels different anyway. To me it seems like the kind of thing where the instructor doesn't exactly expect all students to follow every last move, just sort of an inspiration to keep moving to the music, fun and frolic, etc. so as long as you don't feel obligated to do everything full out, it should be safe, no?

If this thread is still going by next weekend, I'll report on my experience.

Lilladancer, you're exactly right about the feel of a Zumba class, and that's why it's such a phenomenon. I'm just not that into it but the non-threatening party feel of it is what keeps Zumba fanatics coming back for more, I understand. I'd love to know how your experience was!

I tried my first Zumba class last night. I'm fighting a cold right now so I should probably try it again when I'm feeling better. I enjoyed it. I did sweat a lot and felt my heart rate increase to an aerobic level. There were very few breaks so my heart rate stayed up for at least 45 minutes. The teacher was very high energy (like an aerobics instructor) and didn't slow down to explain moves. She taught various levels of each combo...the "spicy" version was the most difficult (and most like the "real" dance move as I've seen them done in competition).

The only drawbacks involved the amount of bouncing (hard on my old knees) and difficulty with choosing the right shoe. I wore tennis shoes for the arch support and to absorb the shock from bouncing but found it very difficult to pivot or turn on the heavily waxed wood floor. Other people wore dance shoes which allowed them to turn more easily but they complained of knee and back pain (probably from the bouncing). The young, fit people didn't complain at all (of course!). An older couple was completely confused and the gentleman almost ran into me several times. When people began to tire, they were unable to keep up with the complicated footwork and some even stumbled a little.

I enjoyed the music though and the various combos. I remembered some things from ballroom class but a lot of it was just a fusion of various styles (including some jazz and hip hop style moves). I guess the teacher usually puts in some "belly dance" moves too but she didn't do that while I was there. I wonder why? ,r:; ..l;,

I would probably take another Zumba class in the future but wouldn't be able to do it every week because of my knees. I found it much more interesting than regular aerobics. ..g.:

I'm bumping up this thread because I just got back from my first Zumba class! The local YMCA is offering it for free (to members) twice a week, both times that are convenient for me - how could I resist? I've been trying to do cardio 3 times a week anyway, so I figured it'd at least be a nice change of pace from the incline treadmill and the elliptical.

The good: I really, really enjoyed the class. It's extremely high energy, the music is fun and loud (we warmed up to Tarkan's Simarik and I nearly fell over when I heard the synthesizer intro!), and the teacher was very motivating and enthusiastic. You did need a lot of stamina to keep up, and I saw more than a few people just plain out stop a few times. It's a heck of a workout - I talked to the instructor a little after class, and she told me she had a participant last week wearing a calorie counter. At the end of the class she'd burned 920 calories! There were some belly dance moves in my class - a hip shimmy, shoulder shimmy, hip twist/lift and kind of an ommi. Because the instructor kept the energy level so high, I never looked at the clock or got bored at all. In fact, the hour went by faster than I ever imagined.

The bad: The posture kills me. Lots of booty out, super wide legs and hip-hop slouched shoulders. I looked pretty stiff doing some of the moves with a lifted chest and elbows towards the back of the room. I also modified some of the movements for my own personal comfort - I simply could not shimmy with my legs wide apart, really bent knees and a completely untucked pelvis. I knew it would just kill my lower back. I found myself looking around at some of the other participants and hoping they had the number of a good chiropractor. I think I'll do fine with it, because I have a strong core and excellent body awareness, but would be worried about someone less fit being able to do the movements safely. It is *very* high impact - I think I'm going to get myself some split sole dance sneakers, because as another poster mentioned, regular athletic shoes are too stiff for all the footwork you have to do. Luckily, the class is being taught in a studio with a sprung wood floor, so hopefully that will help our knees.

We did fairly long combinations to 5 or 6 songs, and I was glad for my choreo background as I was able to follow along much better than a lot of the participants. There's no breakdown, it's just follow the bouncing butt, and like Liladancer said you're not really expected to get it all right. The point is just to get your heart rate up and keep it there. It was so funny watching everyone try to shoulder shimmy - we work on that in my classes for *weeks* and many students never loosen up enough to get a real shimmy going.

The class was packed, on a Tuesday morning at 11am. I've heard that the 6:30pm Friday class is even crazier, with something like 70 people in it. So yes, it's VERY popular. The instructor did tell me she had no prior dance or physical fitness training (although she said being Puerto Rican helped her with the Latin moves), but she has been teaching Zumba for 1 1/2 years. The YMCA is sending a couple more instructors to get certified ASAP to meet the demand for classes.

So I guess to sum up, I really liked the class as an extremely fun workout for someone who is physically fit and wants to sweat like crazy. But it's certainly no place to learn dance technique, and I'd warn anyone who's not used to a lot of physical activity against it.

Originally Posted by shimarella

My BJ training was three intense days

BJ training!..l;, ..l;,

Originally Posted by bananarchy

BJ training!..l;, ..l;,

Thank god I wasn't the only one who saw that and had gutter-brain!!

Originally Posted by gwyncara

Thank god I wasn't the only one who saw that and had gutter-brain!!

Oh . . . .w.:

I get it . . . now.

Deborah
(who's gutter-brain musta been turned off today . . . )

Originally Posted by laura 2

We did fairly long combinations to 5 or 6 songs, and I was glad for my choreo background as I was able to follow along much better than a lot of the participants. There's no breakdown, it's just follow the bouncing butt, and like Liladancer said you're not really expected to get it all right. The point is just to get your heart rate up and keep it there. It was so funny watching everyone try to shoulder shimmy - we work on that in my classes for *weeks* and many students never loosen up enough to get a real shimmy going.

The class was packed, on a Tuesday morning at 11am. I've heard that the 6:30pm Friday class is even crazier, with something like 70 people in it. So yes, it's VERY popular. The instructor did tell me she had no prior dance or physical fitness training (although she said being Puerto Rican helped her with the Latin moves), but she has been teaching Zumba for 1 1/2 years. The YMCA is sending a couple more instructors to get certified ASAP to meet the demand for classes.

So I guess to sum up, I really liked the class as an extremely fun workout for someone who is physically fit and wants to sweat like crazy. But it's certainly no place to learn dance technique, and I'd warn anyone who's not used to a lot of physical activity against it.

Completely different from where I took it, the teacher here taught much more slowly. I'd love to take the class you describe!

It's funny that this thread got bumped because I started taking classes in January and I love it. I'm only able to do Saturday mornings and the occasional Thursday lunchtime but that's enough since I do other stuff M-F anyway.

What a kick ass workout.

Seems Zumba has some teaching "issues" though. Anyone can do it. No prior experience necessary. Just take a workshop and voila. Yer certified. Maybe not the best thing... Looking around the class I take, some people are gonna hurt themselves if they're not careful. heh. Luckily the instructor I have has an extensive fitness background so we're all good.. but in the wrong hands... I worry.

Interesting to hear about others' experiences. I like it a lot -- it's fun, and the music is kickin'. I'm even starting to appreciate reggaeeton! But I wish the instructors I've had (three so far) were more careful about cueing and more organized in general. With such high-energy movement and so many new people piling into classes, it would be really helpful to have better traffic/crowd control.

BTW, if anyone is looking for Zumba safe shoes, I really like the Nike Shox. Supportive, lightweight and NO tread on the aerobic dance version .... so they're great for pivoting.

Nike Shox - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Thanks for the recommendation, Shanna -- I've been looking for a pair of "danceable" sneakers since actual dance sneakers aren't doing it for me. I'll have to check these out.

I went to my gym last night and saw that they are about to start offering Zumba classes. They are having a Zumba "party" this Saturday with some guy from Miami who is supposed to be a Zumba "expert." It costs $10 to attend the party while everything at the gym is generally included in the membership fee so I'm assuming they brought in the expert to create interest in the classes which will be taught by a local instructor. I might try it out someday if I get a chance.

I also just got into zumba and love it. I get to listen to music from my childhood and burn calories at the same time. Plus the instructors taught by following the bouncing butt so the participants are able to really feel the music's rhythm. Our teachers did not dance like the posted clip of zumba but used more traditional movements.

Originally Posted by laura 2

There were some belly dance moves in my class - a hip shimmy, shoulder shimmy, hip twist/lift and kind of an ommi.

Just wanted to point out that these moves are not unique to belly dance. For example, there are shimmies in afro-Caribbean/latin dancing. Here's an example of a powerful shoulder shimmy by a Rumba dancer. (and note this is not the westernized rumba from those ballroom shows. This is the real thing).

[ame=http://youtube.com/watch?v=JO2Wk0r9wac]YouTube - Cuban Rumba - professional dancers in Havana,Vancouver[/ame]

I finally tried it Friday afternoon. It was definitely a workout! I was covered in sweat halfway through! I see what you mean about needing a special shoe. I wore regular running shoes and the treads kept catching on the spongey floor with all the fast transitions! Another girl in the class complained later about how fast it moves. I probalby would have been lost myself without all the years of dance classes!

I did zumba once. I was a really good workout... LOTS of sweat, but there were 90 other people in this BIG room, and the instruction was along the lines of "follow the bouncing butt". We would "learn" a dance combination for one style (hip hop, reggaeton, bollywood, and salsa) and would repeat the combo. These combo instructions were shouted out via microphone by an enthusiastic, out of breath instructor over the booming music... couldn't discern what she was saying some of the time. After learning all of the combos for the day, we would be cued to do the combos randomly during the music. It was pretty fun and a good workout, but very hectic. It was so loud, there were WAY too many people there, and there was no break down or safety and posture discussion for any of the dancing. It was really high impact and I had trouble with my knees, so had to change it up a bit. Needless to say, I did not come back after that.