What's your opinion on Zumba?

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Joisgettingfit
Joisgettingfit Posts: 160 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
There's a class on at 8pm tonight and I'm tempted to ring the gym and book myself in if there are any spaces. I feel like exercising but I don't know if I can be arsed with a 60-90 minute gym workout. On the Walmart calculator it said i'd burn about 429 calories for the 45 minute workout, so I'm pretty tempted to try it.

However the last time I did a dance type exercise class it was just a complete disaster/rather boring. It was salsa arobics and I was there with my sister and it just seemed like everyone else knew the moves and we were there literally stepping on each others toes.
I've heard Zumba is quite fun and energetic so I am prepared to give it a go but I would love to hear what other people think of it.
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Replies

  • vaughny
    vaughny Posts: 145
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    i like it and i don't know all the moves i have been a few times at my gym. the first time you go you aren't going to know the moves just go and have fun stay in the back that is what I do
  • onewarmmomma
    onewarmmomma Posts: 222 Member
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    I do Zumba almost every day and LOVE LOVE LOVE it! It's easy to pick up on, and doesn't feel like "work."
  • jodibelle
    jodibelle Posts: 79 Member
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    I love it! The first class will be the hardest and you will feel a bit uncoordinated, but keep at it and you will get it!
  • Gennawest
    Gennawest Posts: 171
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    Zumba is cool. It is suppose to be a cardio workout, not a dance routine. Even if you dont know all of the moves the best thing you can do is keep moving. I use to LOVE Zumba, but once I started doing more high impact cardio classes Zumba isnt nearly intense as I am use to now. Like mentioned above, it is fun- and makes you feel like you are not working. Give it a chance. Most people really love it. It has the ability to transform your mind about working out.
  • misscfe
    misscfe Posts: 295 Member
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    I typically don't like classes but I started taking Zumba a few weeks ago and love it. I would go and try it out a couple times. The instructors where I go tell you to just have fun and to keep moving. If you don't know the step just keep moving. Go and Have fun! :)
  • morganhccstudent724
    morganhccstudent724 Posts: 1,261 Member
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    I have Zumbaed for almost 4 years and I teach a couple nights a week. No one knows the steps the first couple times you go but keep going and you should catch on pretty quickly. My best advice....Keep moving...and smile!!!! Go...HAVE FUN :-)
  • bcattoes
    bcattoes Posts: 17,299 Member
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    Personally, I can't say enough good things about Zumba. I am in my 50's and have done some form of exercise most of my life. But I've never enjoyed any of them half as much as l do Zumba. Zumba is so FUN!! And after doing 50-60 min workouts 6 days a week (most weeks) for 6 months I still enjoy it. I have never been able to say that about any other workout.
  • Joisgettingfit
    Joisgettingfit Posts: 160 Member
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    I'm probably the most uncoordinated person in the world. I really want to try it put though to see what all the fuss is about.
  • mmyers51309
    mmyers51309 Posts: 3
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    I love it. The gym I attend have classes all the time, but I mostly attend the Friday evening and Saturday morning classes. If I don't workout a day I will also attend the Sunday afternoon class. You are right it burns a lot of calories and there is a lot of sweating going on, but the class is so much fun. You are working out, but really don't feel you are working out. The music is excellent. It is one of the best cardio workouts I have ever done and enjoyed. And I never got into aerobics. I always thought is was boring, so this is an excellent change for me. I think Zumba (and two other classes I take is one of the reasons why I have not gain weight. But I use exercise as an excuse to eat something that I shouldn't. And that is changing this week -- making better choices for myself.
  • Painten
    Painten Posts: 499 Member
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    I go once a week every week. She introduces new moves every couple of weeks so every couple of weeks everyone in the room is out of step as we are all learning something new. It's good workout, and although i'm a little slower than a lot of the others to pick it up i manage to keep going. Some days i enjoy it and some days i don't. It depends on my mood. I go more because it burns a load of calories for me and i don't have a gym membership. My sister using my hrm only burned around 350 cals. I burn around 750. Each week it gets less and less.
  • misscfe
    misscfe Posts: 295 Member
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    BTW, if it is a 60 minute class I wouldn't be surprised if you burn more calories then you estimated. I usually burn over 600 in a 60 minute class and if it is one of the harder instructors even more then that.
  • IndigoVA
    IndigoVA Posts: 164 Member
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    I absolutely love Zumba! I tend to burn about 500-600 calories per hour long class. I will say that you have to go to several classes and learn the steps before you can really get into it enough to burn a significant number of calories. Also, different instructors teach very different classes. Some are very low impact and teach it more like a dance class, while others are very high impact and leave you gasping for breath. So if you don't like the first class you take, you might want to try it again with a different instructor.
  • dragonladywendy
    dragonladywendy Posts: 71
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    If you are a little uncertain, the wii zumba game is a great introduction to classes. It goes through the basic steps and then moves on to the routines - so if you do go tonight, but get home feeling peeved that it was too hard to 'get' straight away - that is always a good option. I picked it up relatively easily and remember, all walks of life go and not everyone knows all the steps all of the time! Hope you have fun - I miss it so much.
  • MsRobin_TheSequel
    MsRobin_TheSequel Posts: 127 Member
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    DO IT !!!

    With that said, a lot depends on your instructor and the type of music he/she plays. Hopefully you jive with both. The moves are hard and it does take several sessions to be comfortable with both the upper and lower body moving the way they should. So I wouldn't stress about nailing it the first time! Not gonna happen.

    Definitely go as close to the FRONT of the class as possible. That's where all the "groupies" hang and you can follow them the times you can't see the instructor. And usually that's where the music is blasting, feeling the beat will help you as well.

    As long as you're moving, you'll be sweating! The first time I did Zumba I could barely walk up the stairs to bed! A good instructor varies their routines so one class you might be focusing on legs, another abs, etc.

    Missing my Zumba! My fav instructor stopped doing the local circuit because she's opening up her own place this summer. Wish she'd hurry the ef up!!!
  • AHealthierRhonda
    AHealthierRhonda Posts: 881 Member
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    I absolutely LOVE ZUMBA!!!!!!! First few classes are harder because you are trying to learn the moves, all instructors are different. It really is a terrific burn and so much fun!!!!!!!!! I highly recommend going a few times before you make a judgement on it!
  • BigBoneSista
    BigBoneSista Posts: 2,389 Member
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    There's a class on at 8pm tonight and I'm tempted to ring the gym and book myself in if there are any spaces. I feel like exercising but I don't know if I can be arsed with a 60-90 minute gym workout. On the Walmart calculator it said i'd burn about 429 calories for the 45 minute workout, so I'm pretty tempted to try it.

    However the last time I did a dance type exercise class it was just a complete disaster/rather boring. It was salsa arobics and I was there with my sister and it just seemed like everyone else knew the moves and we were there literally stepping on each others toes.
    I've heard Zumba is quite fun and energetic so I am prepared to give it a go but I would love to hear what other people think of it.

    Well if you think about it when would you ever go into a dance class knowing the moves off the jump? It takes time to learn thats why most instructor keep the same routine for a month or so.

    Like anything you will get out of it what you put in to it. If you go in thinking I don't know the moves therefore I will fail...well thats what will happen because there is no way you will get it all in one class...not even in two for the most part.

    Just go into the class saying no matter how many times I stumble...turn wrong...can't get on beat....I'm ok. Laugh at yourself because its not that serious. Most of the people around you were stumbling as well in the beginning.

    The most important part is to just keep moving and keep that heart rate up.

    Sign up early for that class because some classes book up quick.

    ENJOY!! :flowerforyou:
  • totustuusmaria
    totustuusmaria Posts: 182 Member
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    You should do it!

    I love zumba.

    Zumba really depends a lot on the instructor. There can be latino music, bollywood music, hip-hop, country... it is usually very modern songs though. The music really depends on what the class would probably be into and the instructors' tastes. It is fun and can be very simple. Some steps might throw you a bit, but what I love about zumba is if you don't know the move... just MOVE... do something similar... it doesn't matter. There are people of every shape and fitness level enjoying it and no one is doing the routine perfect. The first time isn't going to be perfect for you, but just do what feels good and looks to be working that same area. But it isn't difficult. The routines usually rely on the same moves repetitively within a song. So by the end of the song you will usually have grasped the move. Every time you go it becomes more enjoyable because you stop watching the instructor and you begin to learn the steps and are paying more attention to the beat and rhythm and your body . You can burn a lot with it! Give it a shot!
  • Joisgettingfit
    Joisgettingfit Posts: 160 Member
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    Right I'm going to book myself in for a class :D for those of you who do Zumba how has it helped towards weight loss/inches lost?
  • srb1990
    srb1990 Posts: 37
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    I do Zumba almost every day and LOVE LOVE LOVE it! It's easy to pick up on, and doesn't feel like "work."

    i agree zumba is amazin and you will feel it and its fun aswell so it wont seem like a chore :D
  • totustuusmaria
    totustuusmaria Posts: 182 Member
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    Well these last two weeks it has been my primary cardio, and I have lost about 5-7 lbs. I've lost about 5 inches. I am heavier though (225, 5'6) so it probably comes off me more quickly anyway, but that is how the cookie has been crumbling. It has been a great workout. I am always sweating a ton and as I am doing it I take in my whole recommended daily in take of water.

    I've just went through routines on youtube (choreographed to songs I liked) and made four different playlists of 60-70 minute "classes". By going through I made sure the routines were manageable and challenging for me at the same time. I hook the laptop up to the big tv and let the playlist run. + this is free. It makes it really enjoyable for me. The routines I do, for the most part, are very high impact with a lot of jumping and squatting. I can really tell my leg muscles are getting so much stronger and I've lost two inches there.

    P.S. Glad you are going to go for it! Hope you have fun! If you don't like it try another instructor, zumba for kinect/wii, or do the youtube thing as you might find with specific music you like/a different instructor you might LOVE it if you don't fall in love the first couple times @ the class.

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