ZumbaZumba!
The latest and greatest fitness trend to hit Jersey is Zumba. Gyms up and down the island have incorporated a Zumba fitness routine into their class schedules for 2011.
With so many to choose from, it can be a bit daunting. However when we heard that Curves (the women only gym) were doing a Curves Circuit with Zumba, we thought that would be the perfect way to get a taste and feel for Zumba.
I arrived at Curves for my introductory session to the normal Curves circuit as a prelude to my Curves Circuit with Zumba scheduled for the next day. On entering I was immediately impressed with the fantastic attitude of the staff; I don’t think I’ve ever been anywhere where everyone seems to love their job. You felt like they would be there regardless of being paid because they are having such a great time. It created a genuinely lovely atmosphere.
I was shown around all the circuit machines, and got the hang of them on my second round, the staff are there encouraging you and giving tips, so it wouldn’t have mattered if I’d made mistakes. It is such a nice concept to be able to whizz around all the machines, and complete the Curves circuit, and have your exercise done and dusted in 30 minutes. In gyms I tend to constantly clock watch, willing my session to be over, however the fast pace kept my attention focused on the equipment and my fat burning at all times. Afterwards I was shown how to do correct stretches and waved goodbye by the whole team, who all had learnt my name!
I bounded into Curves the next day in my lunchbreak ready for their new Curves Circuit with Zumba. It’s just like the traditional Curves workout, but with a few fun new twists. It was nice to see that my class had people of all ages and fitness levels, and everyone just goes at their own pace. You alternate between strength-training machines and Zumba moves for a high-energy burst of focused movement. The intervals are set at one minute. The one-minute intervals also provide benefits for muscular endurance because participants push and pull at a lower intensity with more repetitions. So it is the whole Curves circuits, but with Latin dance-fitness moves between each machine.
The whole class was very high energy, with everyone laughing and partying along to the music between their turn on the machines. It says “participants can easily burn hundreds of calories without even realising it – they’re too busy having fun!” and I did. And for that reason I signed up for 6 months straight after my lesson.
