I went once and stayed! Reasons to love Zumba

Zumba!

Just the sound of this word makes me smile. My feet begin to move and my heart beats a little faster. It sounds a little exotic, yet familiar, kind of energetic, and definitely fun. What is zumba? It’s sort of dancing combined with aerobic. There’s also singing involved, clapping, jumping, shaking booties and lots of laughter.

According to the official Zumba site www.zumba.com it’s “Pretty much the most awesome workout ever. Dance to great music, with great people, and burn a ton of calories without even realizing it”. I couldn’t agree more! Zumba was created by Colombian dancer and cyclist/choreographer Alberto Perez a.k.a. “Beto” “Power Pedal”, in the nineties. This exercise fitness program includes cardio, muscle conditioning, balance, and naturally lots of fun. It’s created for everybody and every body, at every age (there are Zumba classes for kids, for beginners, for seniors, even Zumba in the water – AquaZumba).

All of this above should be enough reason to go and try Zumba – I did and I’m not planning to stop. Here’s why:

1. Perfect cardio workout. For one hour you get to sweat, move your whole body to a certain rhythm, once faster, once slower (so interval workout is also included) plus it’s way more entertaining than typical cardio exercise. Lets face it, running or biking in the gym is pretty boring, there’s not much interaction with other people. Also once you get tired, it’s sometimes hard to continue on, unless you’re really focused on your goal. In Zumba it’s all about having good time and fun, great cardio is sort of a side effect. How cool is that?

2. Great way to lose weight. During one Zumba class you can burn between 500 and 1000 calories! It all depends on intensity of the class and your own output but hey, remember you’re doing it in a total fun atmosphere with no pressure whatsoever? I know people who lost dozens of kilos thanks to Zumba. It doesn’t happen in one week, takes months even a year, but trust me, you will find it very easy to come to classes. It’s also known that while you come to Zumba, you gain less kilos during pregnancy (oh yes, you can do Zumba while being pregnant). How awesome is that? (Note: always consult with the doctor about doing any sports during pregnancy).

3. If you like to dance, you’re gonna enjoy coming to Zumba. I don’t remember being on a dancing party for a long time, and I absolutely love to dance. Taking part in Zumba classes is like going out for a party where you can dance and dance and dance… It even feels like party, the lights are sort of out, music is loud and the songs… you’re just gonna love the songs! In Zumba you find elements of salsa, r’n’b, mambo, flamenco, hip hop… and so on. For me it’s like going out on a latino party everytime I go to the gym.

4. Boost of good mood and energy. Just like with any kind of sport activity also during Zumba workout your body releases endorphins. They make you feel kinda happy and relaxed. Plus there is this fun factor I keep talking about. It’s all about having a good time.

And I am a total supporter of spending your life trying to have as much of a good time as possible 🙂