Zumba for out of shape people?

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  • Crystalball78
    Crystalball78 Posts: 72
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    I have been going to Zumba classes for the past 3 weeks.
    It's the best work out I have ever had. I'm well over 200lbs
    and when I first went I didn't get the steps right away. But like
    my instructor always says, If you can't get the move just keep
    shaking. Give it a try

    Good Luck!
  • LanderRose81
    LanderRose81 Posts: 237 Member
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    I have recently gotten into Zumba as well. I have to say it is completely addictive! I have been to probably five or six classes in as many weeks and it is amazing. There is a very wide range of ages as well as sizes there. There was an eight year old at class last night dancing right next to a fifty year old. It was great. My first class I went to - I was nervous of course. There were probably 25 people there and I'm thinking - I will look so stupid! But I gave it a try and the hour FLEW by! I had a blast and laughed and smiled the whole time. I butchered most of the steps at first but the instructors are great there. As they tell us - "There are NO rules!" And if you can't get a step right - make up your own! (Which I frequently do! - Even doing the hula in one class to my friend's amusement). They are also really great about making sure you know that if you cannot physically do a move then to modify it so it works for you; even going as far as to show lower impact moves. I look forward to class every week - I know I am walking into a place where the music will be blaring, we will be sweating and EVERYONE will be having a great time! Who says exercise can't be fun? I would recommend Zumba to anybody! I have even taken my eleven year old daughter to a class.
  • laceyslady
    laceyslady Posts: 88 Member
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    Its worth going to the classes. no one will be watching you, they are all watching the instructer and trying to get the steps themselves.
    It's so much fun. I go 3 to 4 xs a week since Jan and love it! lost 20lbs. now adding weights with Zumba Tonnig.Try it you won't be sorry. Just have fun!:flowerforyou:
  • lensgirl82
    lensgirl82 Posts: 21
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    Zumba is very addictive and for anybody of any size. its easy to make it work for you. plus its so much fun, you will forget your working out :)
  • engineman312
    engineman312 Posts: 3,450 Member
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    everyone is out of shape. thats why they have gyms.
  • TinkrBelz
    TinkrBelz Posts: 888 Member
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    I am a Zumba teacher. I can not say this for all teachers, but for my class, I design it in a way that my skinny 20 year old girls, my obese girls, my older women can all get a good workout.

    So, at first, you will be lost. But do not worry...all of us were lost the first few times. Then as you get more comfortable with the moves, you will get a better workout. You will feel more comfortable shaking your hips, shaking your shoulders, popping your butt....you will get a better workout with each class that you attend. Warning though, the first class that I ever took, my face got so red!! I had no clue that my face could turn that color!! haha!

    But, I have all size girls in my class. And do think think because your are out of shape or big that you can get it....my big women are so awesome, and their butts look so good dancing. I really love watching them have a great time and getting a good workout!

    One more thing. Not all of us dance the same, so do not compare yourself to the other girls or the teacher. Dance your style!!
  • has001
    has001 Posts: 29 Member
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    I love Zumba! The class I attend regularly has a lady who is almost 80 yrs old in it, and she does great keeping up to the best of her ability. She is inspiring to me and motivates me to keep moving and give it my all! I recently just started going about 6 wks ago, and I'm addicted! I love all the different types of music too! ( and shaking my booty! lol) Give it a try I think youll love it!
  • jstout913
    jstout913 Posts: 10 Member
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    One of my closest friends is a Zumba instructor, he says there are people of every size and fitness level that do it. I haven't tried it yet, but I hear he does a great job.
  • Kerri_is_so_very
    Kerri_is_so_very Posts: 1,005 Member
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    In my Zumba class there are teenage girls all the way up to women in their 60's, 70's and even had a 80 yo in one class. I can assure you they are of every size, shape and ability. Even a few guys pop in now and then. Our instructors are great about showing you moderated moves to high intensity and their motto is "we don't care what you shake as long as you are shaking". There is no pressure and the goal at every class is to have fun. If you are still uncertain, find some videos on youtube and try it at home. Once you get down the basic moves it is pretty simple to introduce new ones. Find the right class/instructor that fits your needs as some classes are high intensity (though you can modify very easily) and have fun!!
  • Kerri_is_so_very
    Kerri_is_so_very Posts: 1,005 Member
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    There was an eight year old at class last night dancing right next to a fifty year old. It was great.

    This was my class last week. The 8 year old was our instructor's granddaughter....yes, my instructor is a GRANDMOTHER!!!! And she's got the moves let me tell you!
  • CoryIda
    CoryIda Posts: 7,887 Member
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    I weighed around 250 pounds when I started doing Zumba.

    It's a lot of fun and a fantastic workout - if there are things you can't do because of your weight (some of the jumping, for instance), modify it to something you CAN do - as long as you keep moving, that's all that matters.
  • Seesaa
    Seesaa Posts: 451
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    The thing about Zumba is that YOU make it what you need it to be. You raise or lower the intensity to what you can handle. If you have a good instructor they will tell you that. I started ZUMBA 4 weeks ago and am addicted! I go at least 4x week cuz it is so much fun! Do I always get the steps right? Not hardly! Can I always keep up? Rarely! But I am getting better. We have some very large people in our class, and some very small people, and lots of in-between. Give it a try and don't be self-conscious. The first class will be hard, but don't give up! It is so much fun!

    what she said, I am 400+ and love zumba, you do what you can and you have fun lookin a fool doing it with a bunch of other people who are having fun. It is the best hour you can spend doing something really lol
  • wildcata77
    wildcata77 Posts: 660
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    So, at first, you will be lost. But do not worry...all of us were lost the first few times. Then as you get more comfortable with the moves, you will get a better workout. You will feel more comfortable shaking your hips, shaking your shoulders, popping your butt....you will get a better workout with each class that you attend. Warning though, the first class that I ever took, my face got so red!! I had no clue that my face could turn that color!! haha!




    Agreed...I take my class at a wellness center and despite my size and age, I am neither the biggest or oldest person in the class. I have a dance background, so it's actually easier for me to get some of the turns and more difficult combinations better, but I struggle with the pace and the in-between steps. I'm just too out of shape for my body to move that fast! Despite that, I love going, it's fun, no one judges others, and if I get winded I just sit one song out to go refill my water bottle or I just kind of cha-cha in place for a few bars.

    Hope you enjoy! Also, I burn close to 1000 in a one hour class. AWESOME. Only swimming gives me the same calorie burn.
  • JoannaLouden
    JoannaLouden Posts: 70 Member
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    Okay so I went tonight! Didn't know anybody there (would prob be more fun with a friend).

    The teacher seemed nice and the people too, I didn't feel like anyone was judging me for being so out of step. It is a WORKOUT, I had to kind of "cha cha" in place or not do the arms through a lot because I could tell my heart rate was very high. Still I didn't sit out any and made it through the whole thing. If they gave out an award for "sweatiest person" I would have won! My bangs were plastered to my face by the end. :laugh:

    Like they say on Pinterest "If you still look cute at the end you didn't work hard enough!" :blushing:

    Plan on going back next week and have a friend coming too!

    BTW---do you all wear a heart rate monitor or something? How do I know how many calories I burned?
  • CoryIda
    CoryIda Posts: 7,887 Member
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    Okay so I went tonight! Didn't know anybody there (would prob be more fun with a friend).

    The teacher seemed nice and the people too, I didn't feel like anyone was judging me for being so out of step. It is a WORKOUT, I had to kind of "cha cha" in place or not do the arms through a lot because I could tell my heart rate was very high. Still I didn't sit out any and made it through the whole thing. If they gave out an award for "sweatiest person" I would have won! My bangs were plastered to my face by the end. :laugh:

    Like they say on Pinterest "If you still look cute at the end you didn't work hard enough!" :blushing:

    Plan on going back next week and have a friend coming too!

    BTW---do you all wear a heart rate monitor or something? How do I know how many calories I burned?
    I am so proud of you for going!

    I am typically drenched in sweat after Zumba, so don't feel bad at all about being all sweaty.

    A HRM is the most accurate way to know your calorie burn, but you can also get a fairly good estimate here:
    http://www.zumbacalories.com/
  • xoeva
    xoeva Posts: 209 Member
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    I'm asking for a friend... :laugh:

    Zumba interests me, it looks fun. I'd like to go try a class BUT am afraid that I'll get there and be the only out of shape person.

    Plus, can I even DO zumba? I mean if I go and it is too much for me, what do you do? Just walk in place to keep your heart rate up but not overdo yourself?

    Don't get me wrong I'm not afraid to sweat and work hard. I just know that if I tried to do an hour of Zumba like you see on tv, it would be too hard on my body and my heart rate would be TOO high. So what do you do?
    I just took my first Zumba class on Friday...it was amazing...great music and no counting (like in aerobics classes) nothing about fat burning or muscles or nothing...it was all about fun, the instructor I had is great and other friends tell me their instructors are great too...it was more of a dance class, free style, than an actual exercise class..after each song (5-6 min) there was clapping and a little break to get a sip of water....AND I was soooo surprised I was the youngest there (and I'm 43!!! but maybe it was just that particular class. All shapes and sizes, lots of smiles and in general great. Go for it
  • Val_91
    Val_91 Posts: 36
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    The thing about Zumba is that YOU make it what you need it to be. You raise or lower the intensity to what you can handle. If you have a good instructor they will tell you that. I started ZUMBA 4 weeks ago and am addicted! I go at least 4x week cuz it is so much fun! Do I always get the steps right? Not hardly! Can I always keep up? Rarely! But I am getting better. We have some very large people in our class, and some very small people, and lots of in-between. Give it a try and don't be self-conscious. The first class will be hard, but don't give up! It is so much fun!

    what she said, I am 400+ and love zumba, you do what you can and you have fun lookin a fool doing it with a bunch of other people who are having fun. It is the best hour you can spend doing something really lol

    Thanks for replying because I'm around 400 pounds and I'm thinking about trying this but I wasn't sure if I'd be able to do it. I'm super self-conscious so... haha.
  • ReneeIngram11
    ReneeIngram11 Posts: 6
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    I agree with you zumba is a best exercise for any types of weight loss with maintain your fitness.
  • angeeang1
    angeeang1 Posts: 5 Member
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    Girl... When I started going to the gym, I was WAY out of shape... I started going to a class where there were only like 5 people and they were ALL in shape and REGULARS! I felt WAY out of place... I just kept going and now, I'm in shape AND I'm a regular! Just stay with it! People will respect that you're making a change! :wink:
  • ChrisK7265
    ChrisK7265 Posts: 21
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    Okay so I went tonight! Didn't know anybody there (would prob be more fun with a friend).

    The teacher seemed nice and the people too, I didn't feel like anyone was judging me for being so out of step. It is a WORKOUT, I had to kind of "cha cha" in place or not do the arms through a lot because I could tell my heart rate was very high. Still I didn't sit out any and made it through the whole thing. If they gave out an award for "sweatiest person" I would have won! My bangs were plastered to my face by the end. :laugh:

    Like they say on Pinterest "If you still look cute at the end you didn't work hard enough!" :blushing:

    Plan on going back next week and have a friend coming too!

    BTW---do you all wear a heart rate monitor or something? How do I know how many calories I burned?

    GOOD FOR YOU!!!

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