Zumbathon....

What is a Zumbathon you might ask, well let me explain. My local YMCA, The J. Douglas Williams Family Center located in Central Florida (Longwood/Lake Mary), in order to catch the spirit of the Olympics, held it's own Olympic Challege Events throughout the month of August.

This evening's event was Zumbathon......a special two hour Zumba Party/cardio dance class. Can you believe there were

7 instructors, which might set a record, to dance with us and keep the party going. I could describe it as dance our butts off! It is pretty darn hard to hide your two left feet from 7 instructors, but I sure tried!

If I had someone here with me right now they could take a photo of me soaking my footsies and eating ice cream. Following this event, I am tired, hot, hungry, and my feet hurt.....so I earned every delicious, creamy, cold mouthful of my Chocolate Mint Chip Ice Cream, which happens to be my favorite.

Zumba: a Latin based cardio dance class which attracts people of all ages and levels. A combination of Latin dance moves with some higher intensity aerobic movements, for more advanced participants, will help burn hundreds of calories.

Zumba makes exercise a party.....

What is Zumba?

I have been doing Zumba now since it was first introduced, a little over 1 1/2 years ago, at my local YMCA where I am a member and work out regularly. Whenever I mention the name Zumba or wear my Zumba t-shirt, people either look at me with the expression "what are you talking about", or immediatly get excited and get into the conversation. Zumba, if you are wondering, is not your typical aerobics class. Even people with two left feet, as myself, can get involved in this upbeat workout that incorporates Salsa and Merengue, because the steps are very repetitive and fairly easy to learn, not to mention incredibly fun. In this upbeat-high energy group exercise class........hips shake, hands clap, shoulders shimmy and feet pivot, step and slide to a Latin beat that really gets you moving, sweating and burning those calories.

I must add, Zumba also seems to involve something else........lots of smiles and laughter! It's fun and addictive.

Zumba is a fitness program inspired by Latin dance. It was founded by Miami-based dancer and choreographer Alberto 'Beto' Perez, a celebrity fitness trainer and choreographer for international pop superstars, who teamed up with two local entrepreneurs: Alberto Perlman and Alberto Aghion. It combines Latin rhythms with cardiovascular exercise to create an aerobic routine that is fun and easy to follow. Zumba utilizes the principles of fitness interval training and resistance training to maximize caloric output, fat burning, and total body toning. I t’s a way of mixing body sculpting movements with easy-to-follow dance steps.

The Master Class

Several months ago, I was fortunate to be able to attend a master class given by Beto himself. Aproximately 250 people were crammed into half a gymnasium to dance with the master. Yes this is a photo taken of me and Beto after the class. Attending this class was a "happening" and an experience that will stay with me for a very long time.

If you have not tried it, and if you have the opportunity to try Zumba........do it! The terrific latin rhythms in the program have taken the ‘work’ out of “working out.”