Dancing to health. Zumba is your choice!

Zumba - which is slang in Spanish for buzzing around quickly like a bee, is the name for a dance fitness class based in Latin music with fast energetic beats. It does not feature hard to follow choreography and can be modified for almost everyone.

Pole dancing is a fantastic exercise program for people but for those who for one reason or another can’t or do not wish to try it- there is a less risqué alternative that is every bit as fun: Zumba. It sounds like a vacuum but it is a hundred times better than that. Zumba fitness is ‘dance party fitness’ it is an energizing, fun, and easy to follow dance class that is rooted in Latin music. Like other fun based fitness classes many people do not realize the intense workout they are experiencing as they are so caught up in the fun.

Zumba is also relatively new phenomena beginning in the mid 1990s in Columbia it spread quickly to the US and is one of the most popular classes offered at many fitness centers. Instead of traditional aerobics classes where students count repetitions of exercises along with music, Zumba encourages students to allow the music to move them.

One of the great things about Zumba is that it can be modified to fit almost anyone’s fitness needs. It can be made very low impact or very challenging depending on the person. Now there are also varieties of classes targeted to certain people, such as Zumba Gold which is aimed at the older participant or people who have physical limitations or are just beginning to exercise. Zumba Toning is Zumba class with the addition of a toning bar. Many critics have emphasized that Zumba, while a great cardio activity, was lacking in strength and resistance training, thus limiting the participants potential. The arrival of Zumba Toning serves to address these concerns. Instructors do warn that to get the most out of the class you have to let yourself go and feel the music.

Another advantage of Zumba is there are video games available as well as DVDs so if people would like to try it but are not near a class or are shy, there are still ways to experience the class. In the same vein there is no special equipment needed to participate in Zumba aside from a pair of dance shoes or athletic shoes. Because this class is so accessible hundreds of thousands of people have taken Zumba.
“It changed my life” is not something that is said often about a fitness routine, yet it is heard over and over again regarding Zumba. It has been called a movement, a way of life, a phenomena.
Unlike many dance classes this class does not feature complicated choreography. Often five or fewer steps are featured in a song and just repeated throughout. This makes it a great way to relieve stress and turn off your mind.

Alberto Perez, the founder of Zumba, says that Perez says Zumba fanatics come for more than the calorie burn, however.
"Zumba is more of a philosophy, sometimes people go for therapy, sometimes they go for social connections, sometimes they love to dance and there's no time. Zumba is the perfect excuse."
If you are looking for an outlet as much as a workout this may be the perfect release either at a gym or at home whichever works.

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