Hundreds dance to the beat of good health at popular Zumba classes

  • By Jennifer R. Demuth
  • March 5, 2010
  • 762
                        
It really is possible to shimmy and shake the body to achieve good health. The Zumba fitness program proves that working out and having fun don’t have to be mutually exclusive. In fact, the workout program is so popular that approximately six million people around the world participate in classes each week, including hundreds within Tuscarawas County who have caught the Zumba bug. Local fitness facilities such as Super Fitness at New Philadelphia, the Tuscarawas County YMCA at Dover and the Twin City Satellite YMCA at Dennison offer the popular Zumba classes, which fuse hypnotic Latin rhythms and easy to follow dance moves to create a one-of-a-kind fitness program. Class participants achieve long-term health benefits while having a lot of fun in one exciting hour of calorie-burning, body-energizing, awe-inspiring dance movement that includes the salsa, cha cha, samba, meringue, flamenco, calypso, hip hop, reggaeton, belly dancing and more. The routines feature interval training sessions where fast and slow rhythms and resistance training are combined to tone and sculpt the entire body while burning fat in a party-like atmosphere. Best of all, Zumba can be enjoyed by participants of all ages and activity levels because the moves can easily be modified to achieve workouts of lesser or greater intensity. Janice Cummings, 72, of Dennison, has been taking classes at the Twin City YMCA Satellite. “I love it,” she said of the class. “It’s invigorating and definitely not boring. Anybody can do it. You can move a little or a lot.” Fellow class participant Cheri West, of Uhrichsville, agreed. “It’s really a good workout, and it’s a blast. It’s something I can stick to, and it’s not boring like a treadmill.” Bonnie Smith, of Dennison, another fellow class participant, said the class is fun and helps people achieve their fitness goals. “At Zumba class, you’re exercising without feeling like it,” she shared. “My waist is smaller than it was when I first started taking the classes last September.” Trish White, of Dover, has regularly participated in Zumba classes at Super Fitness for two years and enjoys being able to work out and have fun with friends in the classes. “The music is awesome,” she said of the program. “You can really have fun with your friends and de-stress and dance to tone your whole body. I like that you can go into class, and you can have a good cardio workout at your own level and have a great time.” White added that learning the dance steps can be challenging but is not difficult because participants can work at their own fitness levels. “You don’t have to be self-conscious at a Zumba class,” she noted. “You can be silly and nobody cares.” Those who plan to try a Zumba class are advised to wear flexible clothing, wear supportive tennis shoes with minimal tread, bring a large water bottle and follow the only official rule—to have fun. The concept for Zumba was created by celebrity fitness trainer and choreographer Beto Perez, in his hometown of Cali, Colombia in the mid 1990s. In 1999, Perez brought the class to Miami, Fla., where Zumba became immensely popular and began positioning itself as one of the most influential movements in the fitness industry. Currently, the program is being taught at more than 50,000 locations in 75 countries. For information about Zumba or to locate a class near you, visit www.zumba.com. Why wait? As a popular Zumba slogan reads, “Ditch the workout, and join the party!”


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