Guest blogger Georgy Jamieson finds her Latin hips in her local Zumba class
Zumba (available on PS3, Wii and XBox 360) is the latest dance fitness craze. Based on Latin dance moves, it promises fitness, fun and a great night out. I’m not a natural dancer but the beauty of Zumba is that it doesn’t matter! There’s a different routine to each song and the moves range from a basic box-step sequence to the more elaborate Salsa shimmy.
Determined to get fit this year, I thought I’d give Zumba a whirl. My first class started at 7pm and after sorting out my son’s bath, bottle and bed there was no time to have any dinner. During the warm-up I realised this was a grave mistake. I was starving!
Zumba music is an exotic blend of Latin American with a hint of Mexican, a measure of African and a pinch of Bollywood – and the spicy rhythms were making me feel even hungrier. As the music went around the world my stomach was travelling around with it too.
In an attempt to keep my mind off my rumbling tummy I scanned the class. It was packed with ladies of all ages, shapes and sizes. Their limbs, like mine, appeared to be flying around in strange angles as they kept up with the dance moves and I wasn’t the only one stopping for a drink of water between songs.
I was also pleased to see no one was wearing designer gym gear. My old t-shirt and joggers weren’t out of place. There’s nothing worse than feeling self-conscious when you exercise, but with Zumba it’s all about having a good time.
That’s not to say you don’t work hard! The hour-long class is intense. For a start, make sure you’re wearing sports underwear or you’ll never cope! The best way to keep up with the moves is to edge up to the front so you have a good view of the instructors. Leading the class were three super-energetic female instructors, all whooping, hand-clapping and displaying more energy in their little fingers than I have in my entire body!
I admit to feeling proud that I could keep up with the class and I was still Zumba-ing for the last song. When the music kicked into an old-school mix of 90s MC Hammer classic You Can’t Touch This - He was right! I was flying around too fast.
At the end of the class I was exhausted but I hadn’t fallen over and at least all the activity had stopped me feeling hungry - for the moment anyway.
Read Georgy’s blog - Random Thoughts From A Random Woman
Have you tried Zumba? Tell us about your experiences in the comments box below or tweet us at @tescomagazine.
