All Zumba Not Created Equal?

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sallyaj
sallyaj Posts: 207 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I went to a very disappointing Zumba class last night. We may as well have been sitting in chairs. No rumba, no cha cha, no bollywood, caribbean, or african dance moves. It was all just one long variation on grape vines and arm waving. And we were asked to use hand weights, which IMO can really screw up your shoulder if not controlled movements.

I guess I have been spoiled by my great Tues/Thurs instructor. When I leave her class, my hair is dripping with sweat and I can wring out my clothes. And she incorporates music from all over the world. She is a professional dancer, so her choreography can be complex, but she has good form and breaks it down, so you pick it up quickly. And each week she adds to the week before. In her class I feel I'm actually learning to dance and burning calories.

What is your Zumba class like?

Replies

  • reneelee
    reneelee Posts: 877 Member
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    I love my Zumba it last an hour, but I'm having so much fun sweating that it feels like 30 minutes.
  • sallyaj
    sallyaj Posts: 207 Member
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    I agree! It really is fun. It doesn't feel like something I "have to do".

    Do you get to learn actual dance steps? Like, I had heard of the merengue, but never knew how to do it until now. We also learn some hip-hop, which is fun.
  • Natz_20
    Natz_20 Posts: 62 Member
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    Hey!!

    I do zumba on tues and thurs and i love my class we incorporate all types of dance from latin america to bhangra dancing and you really do come out the class with your clothes dripping with sweat!!

    It sounds like the other class you went to had a teacher that didnt really know what to do and had no structure to it?? perhaps she used to be an aerobics teacher which is why there is so many step movements in it?

    Natz

    ps please feel free to add me :smile: x

    14696887.png
  • thelovelyLIZ
    thelovelyLIZ Posts: 1,227 Member
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    I had a good friend who did free Zumba classes for her friends to test out new routines, and I LOVED her class. She's a trained actor and dancer, so she obviously has a lot of experience doing things like that. I loved her zumba class. I've been to others though, and I'm like "The hell is this?" Even the official zumba videos I just get bored during, and still feel like I'm working out. I think she spoiled zumba for me.
  • eagle_01
    eagle_01 Posts: 94
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    Had a very boring Tuesday evening class, which i ditched. got the dvd set and have more fun doing it at home! the instructor didn't show us half of the moves on the dvd.
  • carrieann1967
    carrieann1967 Posts: 45 Member
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    I totally agree with you sallyaj, I go to a couple of classes where I have to travel a distance because she is so good and like your instructor, she is a dancer and makes it interesting but do-able. And you REALLY know you've been to a class.

    I've tried a few classes run by different people nearer to home, but they do not compare and felt they were trying to do too complicated steps or they were like aerobics with no core movement. The quality of the classes are just not consistant and you really have to shop around and look for a class that suits you. I've took friends to my classes and they preferred the ones they already go to. Each to their own.

    I'm going to stick with the distance classes and top it up with the wii zumba.
  • terrig0585
    terrig0585 Posts: 14
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    I also bought the DVD's and love them. I've never been to a class in person but I turn up the volume and dance around my living room. So much fun!
  • jellybaby84
    jellybaby84 Posts: 583 Member
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    I only go if there are absolutely no other classes on at the time I can make it to the gym. The reason being they are usually very like you describe and barely get my heart rate up at all.

    I have been to one good one and it was a totally different experience. Still not intense but definitely fun.

    They are definitely not all equal.

    I think the problem is the instrutors don't have to be properly trained dancers, just take a short course (as short as 2 days I think). SO it makes sense that some will be awful and some fantastic.
  • zumbamum229
    zumbamum229 Posts: 5
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    I'm a Zumba instructor, who has my licenses to teach Zumba, Zumba Gold (for beginners and seniors), Zumbatomic (kids), AquaZumba, Zumba Toning, and Zumba Gold-Toning. We are taught the rhythms, drilled on them, and trained how to format a class using the variety of rhythms/music and incorporating both dance and fitness moves. I am NOT a dancer, and to be honest, I've met dancers who think this is just natural for them, and there is something lacking in their classes. Any Zumba Fitness class should be fun, as well as a workout.

    It sounds like the original poster had an instructor who 1. isn't a trained/licensed instructor (you'd be amazed at how many people take a CLASS, think "I can do this." and then market themselves as Zumba instructors), 2. just isn't prepared to teach class, If this was a "regular" Zumba class, NO weights should be used. Only a Zumba Toning instructor should be teaching using weights or toning sticks.

    To answer the topic question, no, not all Zumba is created equal. Instructors are allowed to add their own flair to each song and class. I can't samba, but I'll work the crud out of you with merengue, reggaeton, salsa, cha-cha, and cumbia. The best thing I can advise, if you question the instructor you are taking from, look them up on zumba.com. If that person has been trained and is current with their license, they will be there.

    Anyone can contact me if they have any questions! It was Zumba Fitness that gave me a very different life!
  • HeatherR930
    HeatherR930 Posts: 214 Member
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    Yes, you are correct...all Zumba is definitely not created equal! I've worked out with a bunch of different instructors whom I didn't fall in love with for different reasons. I found the perfect one & refuse to go to anyone else! There should definitely be a variety of dances. We do every style each class! The variety keeps it interesting, & I think your body would get used to doing grapevines for an hour & probably wouldn't burn as much!! I'm glad you have a really good instructor too, though. Once you have a really good one, you realize how spoiled you are when you go to someone else!! ;)
  • carrieann1967
    carrieann1967 Posts: 45 Member
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    Can you report an instructor for using the weights if they are not trained to do so, but are trained to do the basics? I went to one class and they were doing MJ's Thriller which didn't do anything for me, then she got us using the sticks. I walked out as I didn't get anything from the class.
    I'm a Zumba instructor, who has my licenses to teach Zumba, Zumba Gold (for beginners and seniors), Zumbatomic (kids), AquaZumba, Zumba Toning, and Zumba Gold-Toning. We are taught the rhythms, drilled on them, and trained how to format a class using the variety of rhythms/music and incorporating both dance and fitness moves. I am NOT a dancer, and to be honest, I've met dancers who think this is just natural for them, and there is something lacking in their classes. Any Zumba Fitness class should be fun, as well as a workout.

    It sounds like the original poster had an instructor who 1. isn't a trained/licensed instructor (you'd be amazed at how many people take a CLASS, think "I can do this." and then market themselves as Zumba instructors), 2. just isn't prepared to teach class, If this was a "regular" Zumba class, NO weights should be used. Only a Zumba Toning instructor should be teaching using weights or toning sticks.

    To answer the topic question, no, not all Zumba is created equal. Instructors are allowed to add their own flair to each song and class. I can't samba, but I'll work the crud out of you with merengue, reggaeton, salsa, cha-cha, and cumbia. The best thing I can advise, if you question the instructor you are taking from, look them up on zumba.com. If that person has been trained and is current with their license, they will be there.

    Anyone can contact me if they have any questions! It was Zumba Fitness that gave me a very different life!
  • cryspetstalerson
    cryspetstalerson Posts: 147
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    I was visiting family in Phoenix when I went to my first Zumba class. It was very challenging, but very fun and rewarding. Then I started Zumba where I live, and the instructor was newer. Her classes were cheaper than most though, so I went to her, and when she first started out , her classes were extremely slow paced. I stopped going for a while, mainly because of this, but then I went back last week, and it seems that she has gotten the swing of things. Now the classes are very rewarding and fun!!! Maybe this Zumba instructor is newer.
  • nothingisred
    nothingisred Posts: 292
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    I agree with you completely!

    My regular instructor has definitely spoiled me for all others, and I'm so loyal to her now that I've switched gyms just so that I can go to more of her classes each week. Like your regular instructor, she has a dance background, impeccable form and does a VERY high intensity workout. She incorporates a lot of different styles and a lot of moves beyond the basics and you definitely feel like you're learning to dance, she teaches the moves very well too, she always goes through the basic moves at the beginning of a class and demonstrates anything more advances before the song, but gives simpler options too if you find it too for people who might find it too difficult.

    I have had some really bad substitutes when she's been away, they've been very low intensity, not at all interactive, barely spoke to the class or demonstrated anything and had bad form. One was so bad I felt that I was being taught by someone who was dancing in their living room!!
  • angelzoya519
    angelzoya519 Posts: 80
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    I have not done zumba in other than in my house but have not been able to do it b/c I let a so called friend borrow it b/c I had the Zumba for the wii and let her borrow it and of course I never got it back. I miss it b/c I got into it right after I broke my foot and It was great to do. I sweated like a dog . I am thinking of going out and buying once more but NEVER gonna let someone borrow it again.
    I was gonna go to a class but I'm afraid to do it b/c of my weight. hence why I did it in my house. Can't wait till tax time so I can go back out and buy it again.

    :smile:
  • mrsheavy
    mrsheavy Posts: 33 Member
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    i zumba (in the UK) 2-3 times a week and im far too scared to try another class! I LOVE my instructor.. shes a teeny brazilian woman who can wind and grind like theres no tomorrow and shimmys and shakes with no effort... we do a lot of the zumba stuff that you can find on the DVDs/Wii etc plus some that i think she has choreographed. She Went to USA last year for a big zumba convention thing - and she is now talking of making one of our classes a zumba toning one. She is briliant and i am exhaisted by the end of the class.. there is literally no second to stop. She doesnt teach the steps as such (although if there is something she thinks is particularly complicated then she will break it down) she just dances after dance after dance and says if you cant do the step then just freestyle - which is so much fun and no newbies feel pressured to be able to coordinate etc! Her husband always comes along and takes money etc and now he has started taking 3 or 4 of the routines on and teaching us... hes brilliant - such a big guy and puts on a belly dancing skirt haha! Its such a laugh :D
  • kingbohdi
    kingbohdi Posts: 1
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    I am a Zumba Instructor and I am sorry to hear that.. I know if you were my student, I would want to know what you like and DO NOT LIKE>>> As an Instructor I know it is hard to please everyone BUT It should be a party fun class not just Grapevines!!!!!

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