Zumba-tastic!

Yesterday, a friend and I decided to both try our very first Zumba class together.  For those who don't know (and if you don't, I think you might have been living under a rock) Zumba is a fitness class that combines latin and hip hop type dance moves for a big calories burn.

I've heard lots of people rave about how much fun it is, and how effective its been in their weight loss.  It was something that I always wanted to try, but just never really got around to finding a studio in whatever city I was in.  Well, being in NYC for a while it just made sense for me to take advantage!

My friend said that she had attempted to take a class at the Alvin Ailey Extension but it had filled up, so we decided to give it another try.

They offer two Zumba classes back to back on Sunday mornings, so we decided to go ahead and try for the early class in the hopes that if we couldn't get in the first one, we could take the second class.  There was a substitute instructor, so it wasn't as packed as it normally is.  We had no problem getting into the first class.  I bought an introductory 2 class package for $25 since it was my first time at the studio.  I think they are normally around $20/class (although you can buy multi class packages and it makes it cheaper).

I wore my heart rate monitor during the class and I'm so glad I did!  Holy.  Crap.  I BURNED SOME CALORIES!  The class was about an hour with a 5-10 minute cool down.  In the hour class, I burned almost 800 calories!  My heart rate hit levels that it only ever hits when I'm running!  I got my ass handed to me!  I dripped in sweat (tip: bright a hand towel to wipe down quickly between songs.  I sweated so much it stung my eyes.) I can safely say, it's a great work out!

The instructor was pretty good, but I can see how if you got a not-so-great instructor, how it wouldn't be a good experience.  Our instructor had a few combinations that were a bit overly complicated, and she didn't ever really say what she was doing.  Those are my only two complaints.  But, I think that she did a good job of trying to walk the room and correct people if they weren't doing particular moves correctly (so that the right muscles were being worked).  But, it's a great judgment free zone.  If you aren't a great dancer?  So what!  Not a skinny minny?  So what!  You can still get a great workout.  Also, it's for people of all ages.  We were probably the same age of the vast majority of the people in there, but there were quite a few people significantly old.

I am definitely going to try Zumba again! (I have that second class I have to use before I leave NYC!)  I think I might try and do it whenever I can on the road.  It might be a good addition to my running.  It will change up my routine, give me a great workout, and it definitely worked some muscles that I don't use all the time.

I personally loved going with a friend.  It was fun to be able to look over at someone I knew and be able to laugh when I felt silly, mostly because I couldn't get a particular combination correct.

If you are looking for a great workout and to have some fun, you should definitely find a Zumba class near you!