What exactly is Zumba?
Its a 60 minute aerobic-dance program featuring a variety of rhythms from from all over Latin America. You'll get a taste of everything- merengue, salsa, flamenco, samba, tango, reggae, cumbia, calypso, latin hip hop, even Middle Eastern belly dancing.
It's different. It's easy. It's effective. And most of all it is fun to do!
What is a class like?
First you warm up for about 15 minutes with toning exercies that work all the major muscle groups. Then for the next 40 minutes you try out all different kinds of Latin dancing with a touch of cardio and aerobics to them. You change rhythms every five minutes and at the end cooldown for five minutes.
What are the benefits?
Zumba burns about 454 calories per hour. It is a great cardio workout with moderate impact. You work out all kinds of muscles and work on speeding up your heartrate. Lots of the moves focus on the waist and hips, such as the belly dancing. Others like the hip-hop routines focus on arms and legs. You're constantly moving and having tons of fun. Zumba combines high energy motivating music with unique moves and combinations that allow the Zumba participants to dance away their worries. It is based on the principle that a workout should be "FUN AND EASY TO DO" in order for Zumba participants to stick to the Zumba fitness program to achieve long-term health benefits. Zumba is not only great for the body, but is also great for the mind. It is a "feel-happy" workout.
Do I need to know how to dance to take Zumba?
NO! Zumba is centered around basic steps that are mixed in and combined amongst the different routines. Your instructor will break it down for you and show you how to combine the steps.