Zumba!

The last six weeks have been filled with the requisite New Year's diet and fitness interviews, which should taper off soon.  But, before I'm through, I'd like to put in a special plug for Zumba Fitness.

I love Zumba.  Have you tried it?  For the uninformed, it's a Latin-inspired (but internationally flavored) dance party (that, by the way, takes place in a traditional aerobics room), replete with a funky blend of salsa, merengue, a little hip hop here and there, hip gyrations, shoulder shimmies, and, in a class I recently attended, the late 80s' snake (are you old enough to remember that move?) 

So many people are uninspired by the gym these days, stale in their workouts, looking for something new.  Sick of not getting anywhere on the elliptical?  Of running the same course outdoors?  Zumba may be the answer.  I'm a big proponent of finding exercise motivation through activities you like, and if you're into dance/music, Zumba may be for you.

What inspired me particularly to write this post was attending a class at my local gym a couple of weeks ago--a studio that was packed with 60 or so women (and one man--straight men, if you can shake it, this is a great way to meet the ladies!), a much more heterogeneous bunch than the typical group fitness crowd.  In a studio that's usually filled with women who look vaguely alike, this class stood out--there were Latina women, women of color, fat women, skinny women, conforming only in the chorus of their moves and the smiles on their faces.  The class was upbeat/playful/sexy, requiring more concentration on mirroring the instructor than staring in the mirror.  For this, I give Zumba a body-image A+, with a focus more on what your body can do, rather than how it looks.

Check out a class near you!