Zumba!

In an interesting turn of events, I am following in the footsteps of Jordan Sparks.

Since Spring Quarter (April) I have been taking Zumba classes on and off, at least once a week.

I started because I was curious and heard a lot about this fun form of exercise, while never trying it myself, save for one RA In Service, where we danced to about three songs to "stress relieve". But the small taste of upbeat music and dance moves that were simple enough to follow was enough to make me try a second time.

I paid a cheap $13 for 8 classes at SU's gym, and the instructor was really nice, and at the very least, when I was trying to be healthy but falling off the wagon at the same time, this provided me at least one chance a week to go to the gym.

The things I like about Zumba:
-It's one hour of cardio. Plain and simple.
- It's easy; and even though it involves "dancing", you don't have to be a good dancer. You just have to move.
- The music. Most of it is Latin or Middle Eastern inspired, and it's all modern sounding. Except the one song I danced to today, that reminded me of being in Grease.
- If you find the right places, it's not too expensive.
- I know I'm getting a good workout because I sweat a ton. There's no set amount that one person can say they burned, but on average it's about 500-800 an hour.
- The hour spent in a zumba class goes by faster than one on the elliptical.

I chose the above video to show you what zumba is like because it demonstrates how there is an instructor and you follow along, plus it shows a lot of the same basic moves you use over and over in many different songs. Unlike the above class, though, most of the ones I have been to, the instructor does not talk a lot, they just gesture with hands and legs, and that's how you know what to change what you are doing.

Oh and the instructors sometimes wear Zumba pants where tassels hang off of them.

Bringing it all back, Jordin Sparks attributes her weight loss of two dress sizes to eating healthier and taking Zumba. As we all know, because I have documented it here, I am trying to live a healthier lifestyle and lose weight, so this is one stepping stone in the process.