There I was sitting with the other soccer moms, when the conversation turned to “Zumba”. “Zumba is so much fun!” “Where do you Zumba?” “I Zumba when my son is in school” “I Zumba at naptime”. Now I sat there thinking “What the hell is Zumba??” What baby bubble do I live in? Being determined to find out, I of coursed turned to my best friend “Google” to get some answers.
Turns out Zumba is a Latin-inspired, calorie-burning workout, more accurately described as a fitness party. As I kept searching I found a bunch of Zumba classes offered in Singapore, however I convinced myself that I could not schedule a time to go, so this Zumba craze would just have to pass me by.
One week later, in an effort to sign-up my son for some acrobatic classes, I stumbled upon a Zumba class across the street from my house on Thursday nights at 7:30. Thursday #1 – My friend’s Baby Sprinkle that I was organizing, so I couldn’t make it. Thursday #2 – Friend’s expatriating back to the USA, Mom’s Night Out, so once again I couldn’t make it.
Now it was Thursday #3. NO MORE EXCUSES. I even convinced one of my friends to go with me (otherwise I might not have made it). After the kids went to bed, I dusted off my workout clothes and headed off to Zumba.
We were the first people to arrive, so we had some time to talk to the instructor. She informed us that the class had been going on for about a year!! God I really do live in a bubble. She said that she went to Brazil for a special training class to be certified as a Zumba instructor.
Slowly as the 7:30 hour drew near, more people began to trickle in. Time to start. The Zumba class lasted for one hour. The cost was $15 for the class (no need to sign up for a package). This was a high-paced class which incorporated a variety of moves and music including meringue, mambo, salsa, martial arts, samba, hip-hop and some belly dance. We did a number of different squats, lunges and turns. We also worked our arms and hips.
Our instructor was quite animated and did a good job of motivating all 12 of us ladies to move our lazy butts. Honestly, I felt like I was back at cheerleading camp trying to learn a new routine and keep up with the all the new dance moves.
Zumba was non-stop. I would like to say the hour went by quick, but it didn’t. It was definitely a work-out and not a “party” as advertised. By the end of the hour we were all sweating and definitely danced off a bunch of calories.
The real question is, would I Zumba again? Yes.
Was it better than going to the gym? Hell yeah!
Was it a Zumba Party? Not really, although I did mention to my friend that we should have had a few drinks before the class to get into the dancing mood. 😉
If you want to find a Zumba dance fitness-party™ in your area, just go to www.zumba.com or www.meetup.com/zumba-friends.
Good luck “partying yourself into shape”!
