Pocket Sized Pinay

Why YOU Should Do Zumba: My Exercise Story

One thing that many people are lacking in their daily routine is exercise. Some misguided individuals think that losing weight and being slimmer is about eating less or not at all. Wrong! Its about eating healthy and exercising. Aside from following the basic food groups, it is also recommended that you get at least an hour of activity everyday, such as running, walking, weight lifting, etc.
But some people roll their eyes at the thought of exercise. They think of all the hard work and time that will have to be put in and are also often disappointed when they don’t see results right away. But I learned from personal experience that losing weight and getting in shape takes time. But most importantly, discipline. When you’re going to start exercising, plan it out to make sure that it fits into your schedule.
Thats what I did. Let me take you back a couple years. I had maintained a healthy weight of 95 lbs all throughout high school (don’t worry I’m only 5’0 so that weight is in good ratio with my height!). I started college in Fall 2010 and unfortunately gained 15 lbs since then. By the beginning of 2012 I was exactly 110 lbs. It was noticeable too, in my stomach, thighs, face, and especially my arms. I had gone to the gym every once in a while but I was more busy with school. But soon I just felt so unconfortable in some of my clothes and didn’t like what I was seeing in the mirror. So around June 2012 I seriously told myself that my current weight was unacceptable and went to the gym near my house in Fairfield.
I did some weight lifting and spent some time on treadmills and ellipticals. And over the course of a month, I started slimming down! I had tried Zumba a couple times with my mom back in 2010 but stopped because of school. But basically I got back into it and was participating in classes twice a week. It was fun and my instructor was awesome. I got many compliments on my dancing and agility and sometimes my “sexy” moves! Some people even said that I should become an instructor. I laughed that off. It was enough for me to just participate in the class.
In August 2012 I moved to Sacramento. By this time I still really loved Zumba so the first thing I did when I got to Sacramento was look for a nearby gym. And it just so happened that I went to Starbucks with my dad and saw a man with Zumba clothes sitting outside. I went up to him and it turned out he was an instructor! So I took his classes twice a week at a gym near my new house. Then I looked at the gyms group exercise class schedule and saw that there was Zumba classes scheduled everyday except Fridays and Sundays. So what did I do? I went to all of them! Zumba started becoming part of my daily routine. I couldn’t go a week without it. I danced with everyone and with different instructors. One instructor, Ernest, would become a close friend of mine. He told me that he could see my passion for Zumba when I danced. I picked up the moves easily and did it with style and good flow. So he invited me to come to another gym that he taught classes at.
Long story short, he got me to teach a couple routines that I remembered from back in Fairfield, routines that I got online, from other instructors, and from Zumba DVDs. His classes loved me and soon I was going up in front of his classes regularly. I was finally hired there as a substitute instructor (although I was not yet certified). But I took the extra step and went to Zumba Instructor Training and got licensed to teach Zumba on April 27, 2013!
Its May 13, 2013 and I still go to that first gym twice a week and the gym where I work three times a week. So I pretty much go to the gym for Zumba five times a week and currently weigh 96 lbs. I still sub Ernest’s classes but the gym is about to transfer me to our new facility where I will work full time!
Now here is why the rest of you should try Zumba.
1. Firstly, its meant for everyone! All ages, shapes and sizes! There’s even specific types of Zumba:
Zumba Fitness (which is what I got licensed for) and its called a dance fitness party!
Zumba Toning - Tones your muscles, especially the arms
Aqua Zumba - Its like Zumba Fitness but in the pool!
Zumba Sentao - Done with a chair, but engages you in toning and cardio
Zumba Gold/Zumba Gold Toning - For seniors or “older active adults”
Zumbatomic - For the kids!
Zumba Circuit - A short, high octane dance fitness workout
You see? There’s room for everyone. EVEN GUYS. Majority of the class is women and that is easy to see but I get some guys in my classes as well.
2.  It is so fun! It really is the ultimate dance party! A typical class is about an hour. And it goes by so fast. And its as simple as watching the instructor and trying to mirror their moves. I’ll admit your first session may confuse you if you have a hard time following along. But instructors always give cues so that you won’t get lost. But just have fun and feel the music. Zumba is sometimes modified by participants when they can’t do a certain move. But remember, exercise creates endorphins and endorphins make you happy!
3. It’s exercise in disguise. It hardly feels like exercise or working out because you’ll be dancing at this fitness party of people who are there to join in the fun as well! You burn a lot of calories doing Zumba (well depending on how much effort you put into it). I burn an average of about 400 calories per session. And since I do Zumba about five times a week, thats a total of at least 2,000 calories! If you want to calculate how many calories you could burn in a session of Zumba, go to http://caloriesburnedhq.com/zumba-calories-burned/
3. Its not that hard to find. It has become so popular that it can be found in almost every gym that you choose to be a member of. Also if you go to the Zumba website, there is a link to find a class near you. If you know a specific instructor, you can also type in their name and see where they teach classes. It really is popular. It first broke out in 2001. It has spread all over the world. And not only that, it has been put onto DVDS for a home workout and many video games for the Wii and other game consoles.
4. You can make awesome new friends! People that regularly go to a Zumba class end up knowing one another and once you join the regular group, you’ll find that there are so many people that share the love for Zumba. And the fun gets even better at a Zumbathon! Zumbathons are 2 hour (or sometimes even longer) sessions of Zumba featuring multiple instructors. This would be a time to get your friends to join in on the party!
5. Lastly, Zumba has an exclusive and awesome clothing line. On the Zumba website you will find different styles of workout gear which say Zumba, have the official Zumba logo, Zumba phrases, etc. There’s gear for everyone including tops, bottoms, shoes, and other items that go on sale. Also on the Zumba website you can buy the DVDs, music, toning sticks, the Z-Life magazine and more!

So what are you waiting for?! You’ve seen the legitimate reasons why Zumba is a great way to start getting fit. It helped me slim down and lose 14 lbs. Go and find out what Zumba will do for you and your body! I highly recommend trying a class near you. You won’t regret it!

And check out http://www.zumba.com