For those who know me really well, knew this post was going to come eventually..... I AM OBSESSED!!!!! Senior year of High School I made friends with a girl named Kelsey, she had just moved up from Arizona (where she had lived all her life, so Seattle Area was quite a shock to her) About two and a half months into the school year we realized that our life's pretty much consisted of going to school going home doing homework and the occasional girl or movie nights- we NEEDED to get out and do something more with our lives. So I started looking around at what kind of activities were going on around the community that wouldn't cost a lot of money. There was a recently opened dance studio in town that was offering a free ZUMBA class on your first visit. We thought- what do we have to loose. We went and got hooked. Before we knew it we were going two times a week!!!!! As we were getting closer to summer I realized that I really do love ZUMBA and I didn't want to ever stop! So I looked into getting certified. July 22 2012 I flew down to Boise, ID stayed a few days with family and embarked on a 10 hour class of non-stop ZUMBA-ING by the end of that exhilarating and exhausting day I walked into the front door of my aunts house beaming smile and certificate in hand.
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I went home and taught a few classes here and there and then when I got to BYU-Idaho I auditioned to be a ZUMBA instructor on campus. I was so nervous!!!!! (OK I wont go into great detail about this but here is the funny story. When I auditioned they told me I would hear back with in a week if I got the position. I didn't hear back and got really discouraged. But tried to move on from that. The following Wednesday I went to bed around 10 pm and at 10:48 I got a phone call from an anonymous number, I was really contemplating not answering but I had a feeling that I should. Turns out, I had the job all along, they LOVED me when I auditioned, they had my email wrong and was emailing the wrong email the whole time giving me the logistics That night I was actually scheduled to teach a class, and ton of people showed up but ME! So then she ran home found my application and called me immedietly. I now teach every Wednesday 7-7:50 pm and then every other Saturday from 10-11 am :)
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So some of you may be asking what is ZUMBA- well it's pretty much an aerobic style of dancing. It is typically a 50-60 minute class where you get an interval workout (you bring your heart rate up high, then down and up high then down, you do toning and make sure you get a really good warm up in the beginning and stretch at the end) where you use all different styles of dance, usually it will have a Latin base (because that's where it originated from) but you also use hip hop, jazz, country, swing, waltz, ballet and so much more. ZUMBA is an exercise that anyone can do, you just have to be willing to let loose and have fun!!!!! ( I can promise you that when I started I never thought this would be something I would love because I am just not one to shake my booty and wiggle my hips in front of other people, but when you allow yourself to get into it, you really do have a lot of fun. I never have seen myself as a good dance or pretty- but when I do ZUMBA I feel like I can dance and I feel BEAUTIFUL!!!!! No joke, and I hear that from other women all the time. I also hear from women all the time about their amazing weight loss journey through ZUMBA- I personally lost 18 pounds from ZUMBA this last summer :) The philosophy of ZUMBA is Forget the workout join the party!
Benefit's from 1 hour of ZUMBA:
1. You will burn somewhere around 400-600 calories in just 1 hour of dancing!!!!!
2. ZUMBA is sneaky- you will be working muscles without even realizing it. Like waving your arms in the air- who would have though that it works your biceps, and if you just turn your arm down just a little bit you are now working your triceps. Or you are doing a slow shimmy to the side- did you realize you just did squats and worked your abs???? You wouldn't even realize any of this because you are too busy having fun dancing! Really you are getting a FULL body workout without even knowing- see totally sneaky!!!!!
3. The ZUMBA environment was created to be fun and inviting for EVERYONE, and when you are exercise while having fun- MAJOR EMOTIONAL BOOST!!!!!
4. ZUMBA instructors are trained to use as little words as possible to explain their moves, they have been taught to clap or use hand motions to direct you. This may be a little hard to pick up on first but slowly and surely you brain will start picking up on these moves and you will become more confident in following any instructor as well as in your own dancing abilities. This technique was designed to make the students less dependent on the instructor and more on their own amazing abilities.
5. "ZUMBA is considered a weight-bearing activity, like walking or running, which helps maintain and improve bone density. ZUMBA also includes warm-ups and cool-downs which help with flexibility, an important ingredient in injury prevention. Finally, ZUMBA dances provide intervals of intensity throughout the class time, which is an effective way to challenge muscles, build strength and increase endurance." (taken from livestrong.com)
These are really just a few of the many benefits of ZUMBA- but inst that enough to totally get you excited to join a class????
Benefit's from 1 hour of ZUMBA:
1. You will burn somewhere around 400-600 calories in just 1 hour of dancing!!!!!
2. ZUMBA is sneaky- you will be working muscles without even realizing it. Like waving your arms in the air- who would have though that it works your biceps, and if you just turn your arm down just a little bit you are now working your triceps. Or you are doing a slow shimmy to the side- did you realize you just did squats and worked your abs???? You wouldn't even realize any of this because you are too busy having fun dancing! Really you are getting a FULL body workout without even knowing- see totally sneaky!!!!!
3. The ZUMBA environment was created to be fun and inviting for EVERYONE, and when you are exercise while having fun- MAJOR EMOTIONAL BOOST!!!!!
4. ZUMBA instructors are trained to use as little words as possible to explain their moves, they have been taught to clap or use hand motions to direct you. This may be a little hard to pick up on first but slowly and surely you brain will start picking up on these moves and you will become more confident in following any instructor as well as in your own dancing abilities. This technique was designed to make the students less dependent on the instructor and more on their own amazing abilities.
5. "ZUMBA is considered a weight-bearing activity, like walking or running, which helps maintain and improve bone density. ZUMBA also includes warm-ups and cool-downs which help with flexibility, an important ingredient in injury prevention. Finally, ZUMBA dances provide intervals of intensity throughout the class time, which is an effective way to challenge muscles, build strength and increase endurance." (taken from livestrong.com)
These are really just a few of the many benefits of ZUMBA- but inst that enough to totally get you excited to join a class????
These pictures make me laugh, and you know what even for an instructor like me, and someone who has been doing ZUMBA for a year- this is probably still true. but HEY at least you can get a good laugh at it. PLUS when you laugh while your heart is pumping and you are doing intense cardio it works your ABS like none other. No joke- I have a 4 pack just from doing ZUMBA yells and laughing so hard at myself. This post was really just to inform you of a fun new work out that you could try. Really many women go into ZUMBA not expecting a good workout, come out thinking that was SO MUCH FUN and then wake up the next day and you can feel every muscle that you worked out. I hope that you will try ZUMBA and that you will love it just as much as I have :)
