Aqua Zumba

tetracat

Who's all licensed for Aqua? I just was offered a job for the summer to teach Aqua, but I'd have to go get licensed first. I've actually never been to an aqua class, so I suppose I was just wondering how hard is it for the instructor? I'd assume that you have to do the moves slowly and hold them longer since you are in the air and not the water? (sorry my question sounds dumb when I read it aloud to myself!)

msshiraz

Without a doubt, it is the hardest format of Zumba to teach. The elements of a pool environment are what you need to prepare for. While a lot of people will get licensed in this, many quickly discover its not for them.
Pool environments- heat, intense heat often, and humidity. Chemicals from pool. Slick conditions in the pool area. Completely different class prep for songs. Songs are done at a half tempo, often with moves that seem unnatural on deck because you are teaching to water resistance.

I teach 3-4 Aqua Zumba classes every week, at times I question my sanity! Its brutal, you have to prepare physically at least 12 hours in advance. This requires major hydration, almost to the point of being "too much" to take. Getting enough sleep, and also mentally although its a form of Zumba, and the classes love it, its very hard on the instructor. It takes months to prepare, I took training in Sept 2011, and didn't start teaching til last June.
I would suggest also you take a look at the Zumba forum page, you can look up Aqua Zumba as topic, tons of info/tips on there (and yeah you'll see me there, I frequent that forum- often)

Hope this helps!