ZUMBA!

vanillavixxen

Hey peeps, mostly purely out of curiosity, who has taken Zumba classes or tried the DVDs?
As an instructor, I'd love to know what you think of the program (positive or negative)
Have you seen results?
What songs or routines do you find the most challenging or most fun?
What do you enjoy most about group fitness if you DO indeed take classes?
Do you have a favourite instructor? If so, what qualities do you love most about them?

Thanks in advance!!

freyaheart

I take classes at my gym and I love them. My instructor is really great and I have a lot of fun! I also have a Zumba game for the Wii that I tried before taking classes and never picked up again but now that I am doing really good in class I may try it again.

donna710

I love Zumba! I've been taking classes for over a year now and have lost 7 lbs. I know that's not alot but being "older", I find it difficult to lose weight but my pants are fitting better. I love the cardio workouts and the routines geared towards legs, arms and abs. I do better in a class than on my own and Zumba is the only workout that I've kept with and I really work up a sweat. My instructor is so positive and upbeat. She has a Facebook page with class reminders and positive/encouraging posts.

dwh77tx

I am a ZUMBA addict!! I only take classes though. I have met lots of great people through it. I tried a DVD once and it just wasn't the same. I need the LOUD music and other people there to motivate me!

waldo521

HI!

I've taken classes at my gym, and I LOVE IT! I even made up a schedule for myself last week to tell me which location has Zumba at what time and this tells me which route to drive home from work so I can stop on the way. Sometimes the steps are a bit intimidating (I have no grace!), and you can definitely tell who the "regulars" are, but you do the best you can and still sweat your butt off while having FUN. Sometimes classes are too crowded for my liking, but if this class gets me to MOVE IT, I'm all for it!

I have not taken the class enough to see results, but I am finding that I get the hang of the moves more quickly than I did my first few classes. I have no idea which routines are the most challenging, because there is something about every class that trips me up a bit at first, but the Latin moves are more difficult (at my weight, this body doesn't move quite like the Instructors' bodies do) and there's that whole coordination thing, but if it's fun, I'll try it and keep coming back!

Instructors MUST engage with their class. I've been to a class where the instructor says nothing but "step right...step left..." and that's just boring. I need some "whoo!" and "work it" tossed in there with some excitement.

Michelle

edack72

I take Zumba once in a while at my gym and have done the Wi Fit zumba video too. Its rough on my knees but I do enjoy it. I love everything by Pitbull especially Pause !!!! Most instructors that I have had are all really good I especially like it when they take some time to go over dance steps that are complicated which in my case is everything hahahah

yaseyuku

Just started it last week through youtube videos and love it. It's one of my favourite exercises.

I'm moving in two months and joining a gym and plan on doing zumba classes there.

meredithkrueger

I have been doing Zumba for about 2 years. Classes at my church and also DVD's. I LOVE it!! I do not like the twisting motions in some of the moves so I alter them slightly so my knees won't hurt. I also do Jillian Michaels DVD's and so the Zumba is a nice break and a fun way to get those Cardio minutes in.

operation_cute

I have zumba on xbox kinect, and I use it at least 4-5 times per week! It's the workout I look forward to most I'm planning on attending some at the Y soon too, but for now the game is awesome The more up beat the song the better, especially anything that gets those hips moving :happy: I do have a little trouble with some of the more cordinated moves haha :laugh: but having fun all the same

ParrosFan

I love Zumba, started classes at the beginning of the year. I take 2 a week. The one gal is ok, I like her routines but she is so quiet that you can't hear her cues above the music, even while wearing a mic. She also isn't very exciting, throwing an "awesome" or "good job" out there occasionally.

I LOVE LOVE LOVE the other instructor. She is amazing. Very energetic, you can hear her, she invites students up to the platform with her, lots of whooping and hollering, she comes out on the floor and does the moves with you, calls you out by name and says good job or whatever. She is very involved in her classes.

Have DVDs but never tried them yet, I do so much better in classes. Its hard tho when the classes are so crowded at times.

Sparlingo

Hey peeps, mostly purely out of curiosity, who has taken Zumba classes or tried the DVDs?
As an instructor, I'd love to know what you think of the program (positive or negative)
Have you seen results?
What songs or routines do you find the most challenging or most fun?
What do you enjoy most about group fitness if you DO indeed take classes?
Do you have a favourite instructor? If so, what qualities do you love most about them?

Thanks in advance!!

Instructor makes all the difference in the world. I take three classes a week, and the Monday class is *just* bearable... worth going to, but she's so slow compared to my other two instructors. There is one who is my favourite - so cardio focused and fun! I would follow her to the ends of the earth.

But mostly, I just addicted to Zumba .

Happy2Shop21

I love doing the Zumba Activate DVD at home. I have 0% dance skills, so I find doing at home in the comfort of my living room on my own is better for me than going to a gym. It’s a great workout and I enjoy doing it.

bongochick45

I love Zumba. I have doing it on and off for 2 years. I don't know if I really have any results from it but it's fun as all get out. I've done the gym classes and I have the DVDs. I would say the best instructor I had was good because she really made it her own. She used a variety of music and did simple routines that everyone could follow. My favorite routine would be the ones where she would incorporate weights and hip hop moves. Love love love!

pkbryant28

I love Zumba and I love love love my instructor. I have Zumba on DVD and I could go to my school rec center for free to take classes but nope I drive across town and pay $5 per class just to take with my instructor, she is the bomb.com! She loves what she does and that comes through to us. Her routines are intense and I walk out of every classes dripping wet. She continuously is changing her routine (introducing 1 or 2 new songs each week) so it never gets boring. If anyone is in Mobile, AL let me know and I will pass her info along to you. Now with all that being said, I am in school and depending on my semester school load will sometimes have to miss her classes, like tonight I start back Summer semester and I will have to miss Zumba for the next month. I have seriously attempted to schedule my school classes around my Zumba classes but it does not always work out. :-(

Alissakae

I started going to Zumba when I joined a gym in August. The first time I was in misery thinking the hour would NEVER end - but I also weighed 70 pounds more than I do now and had not been very active for a while. It didn't take long for me to LOVE the class, especially with my favorite instructor. She is energetic and does a pretty tough workout, but took the time with me after my first class to show me how to make some moves lower impact and has been very welcoming and encouraging to me from the very first day. It was so nice to feel wanted there even though I was at least twice the size of anyone else in the class and old enough to be the mother of most of the students AND the instructor. She knows and uses the names of people in the class and has a genuine interest in her students. This makes her really stand out as an instructor.

Raynne413

I love Zumba! I have been to classes, used the games on the Kinect, and right now I'm using clips on YouTube for my classes. I love the music the most. It's just fun. What I DON'T like, a lot of times, is the fact that a lot of the instructors ONLY do pretty high impact routines. I'm not overweight, but I have plantar's fasciitis in both feet, and have a bad ankle (two severe sprains just 2 years apart), so I just can't do CONSTANT high impact, but I don't want to do the Gold classes either.

mlcantwell

I've been taking zumba classes 3 days a week for the last couple weeks, no real visible results yet but I feel more confident about my fitness and energetic. I love the classes, they almost don't feel like exercise! I have had 4 instructors so far, all good, just a little different.

jazpurita

I have zumba tonight!!! I love the class atmosphere although recently one of the instructors has been killing my vibe with her attitude towards our class she is more particular about doing the moves exactly like her I am paying for the classes to enjoy myself not to have her giving me dirty looks when I do the wrong step but besides that I LOVE zumba I even bought it for my wii

kimmie185

I love Zumba a lot but had to quit doing it at the gym because it's so popular and when it gets crowded you don't have a lot of room to move around. I used to do most of my cardio through Zumba.

I play the Zumba RUSH on my Kinect at home and still have lots of fun.

vanillavixxen

These are all such great, detailed and awesome replies - wow!!! You guys really love your zumba too

amyk0202

I love Zumba. I do the classes at the local Y. I have 2 Y's close to me & I usually pick the instructor that does more of a "dance" routine than a "fitness" routine if that makes sense. I like the high energy of the classes--loud music & hollering .

cheshirequeen

i lost 70 pounds(baby weight plus another 20 pounds) doing zumba. i did the dvds and then the gym. i love the group zumba class because ive met so many nice people we actually account for each other and our workouts and also we take up half the room in some of our classes. we take 3-4 classes a week. our instructors are nuts, in a good way. she just lets loose and makes the rest of us let loose. she messes up sometimes and she laughs at herself which causes us to laugh at ourselves. shes great. i love the dancing zumba that's high impact. the next day im always sore, and i love it.

mystikalbeanz

I have zumba core for the xbox kinect and love it! I really got into it this last month and do it 4-5 times a week for anywhere from 45 mins to 1 1/2hrs. I seriously LOVE it and i believe im addicted to it! I love all the songs and dances although some are a little challenging! So far i have lost 3-4 pounds and a few inches off my abdomen, legs, and arms! I also started using weighted gloves to add more resistance and make my workout more intense! I think if your really bust your butt and eat well you will get results! It took 4-5 wks for my body to adjust and the scale to move!


Edit. Typo

GCAsMom

I just started Zumba a few months ago and it's been the best thing in my weight loss journey I could've done. I'm very, very thankful for it. It's crazy fun. The instructor is awesome. She takes time after class if you have trouble with any moves and goes to any new people during the routine to personally walk them through the steps.

I've seen a substantial improvement in my fitness and I believe Zumba's been pivotal in me breaking into Onederland. I'm definitely addicted.

mkakids

I go to 4 to 5 zumba classes per week. I love them, but the instructor can make or break the class. My personal preference is zumba toning, but regular zumba is fun too.

I prefer classes with easy to follow steps, and a lot of "exercises" thrown in (squats, high knees, lunges, etc...) because I burn a lot more calories (hrm).

I started in january and have lost 20lbs and 1 pant size!

Guamybear

I preferred the WII over live class.. My instructor pretty much did the same thing over and over there wasn't much variation. The Wii also offered more modern music.

vanillavixxen

Awesome, thank you all for your input! I love hearing your experiences

Hollyhobby22

I have zumba for the wii and i love it.

jellybaby84

Sorry to go against hte positive vibe but I'm assuming you want a range of responses.

Personally, I can't see any good in Zumba at all.

I've tried 4 different instructors in 3 different locations because I was so excited when I first heard about it and because so many poeple have said how good it is.

I found 2 of the classes a lot of fun but the routines were simple and I wasn't tired or breathless by the end of the class.
I found the other 2 classes excrutiatingly dull. The choreography was embarrassingly basic and when one woman told us we were going to 'cool down' I was still waiting to warm up and had my jumper on!

I've heard that the instructors vary much more than other classes ebcause the training course is so short? So some will be amazing dancers and others will just have taken this specific training and not actually have any talent. Don't know if that's true though.

I think perhaps Zumba is a good way for older or less fit people to get into exercise but if you are relatively fit then it isn't going to provide you witha challenge.

I think Body Jam is a better dance workout but even that isn't a workout when you compare it to other fitness classes. How they can say things like Zumba and Bodyjam can burn as many calories as Spinning or Body Attack I really don't know!

If you enjoy dance then I think you're better off at an actual dance class and not trying to make it a work out when it isn't

amez1974

I went to one evening class at our Rec Center and it was to crowded, because it was so popular. They were even doing it in the "big" gym area.

I'm trying another one in about an hour-it's brand new to the Rec. Zumba and Shred-hopefully it won't be to crowded and I can get a feel for it.

fannyfrost

I have Zumba dance for the Xbox and I love it.

I also joined a new gym recently just to take classes. I love Zumba, it is a fun vigorous workout. Every instructor is different, but really its a bit of a fast dance class.

FYI, I also take kickbox and lift.