Spice up your workout with Zumba!

Bored of endless sweating on the treadmill? It's time to give your exercise regime a much needed twist with Zumba - the dance inspired, total body workout. With hot dance moves and foot tapping Latin American and Caribbean beats, Zumba is exciting and fun! Chhavi Moodgal invites you to the party

Dancing can be such a great stress buster and lately there has been a trend of including dance styles such as belly dancing or jazz in cardio workouts. Joining the bandwagon is Zumba - which combines slow and fast steps from Salsa, Samba, Meringue, Cumbia, Calypso, Belly dancing, Flamenco, Reggaeton etc. in an interval training format. Most of the steps and moves can actually be used when you go dancing and there is a lot of variety of dance styles so the workout doesn’t seem tedious. End result: you burn weight while having fun!

The Zumba story
Zumba was started in the late nineties by Colombian Alberto Perez (a.k.a. Beto), a fitness trainer and choreographer, who was forced to use Latin American music for a session, when he had forgotten his original aerobics music. The rest, as they say, is history! The pulsating rhythms and groovy steps made this his most popular class and the demand for Zumba kept increasing.

Customised to your need and liking
Relatively new to India, Zumba is catching on fast due to its unrestrictive style. Once you know the moves, you are free to add your own flavour. Vimoha Bagla, who has just started taking Zumba lessons, is a convert. She says, “Zumba is so much fun that I eagerly wait for my next class. I love the music and the moves!” Sisters Dimple and Pooja Laungani, who are both Reebok certified trainers and run a fitness studio in Mumbai, include Zumba as part of a comprehensive one hour cardio workout and combine it with kick boxing, aerobics etc. Dimple says “Zumba is particularly great for toning the abs.”

New York born Dianne Cobb-Pennisi is the first Zumba certified trainer in India, offering classes in Bangalore. She says, “Zumba can burn up to 1000 calories in a one hour class. But people tend to have so much fun working out that the sessions don’t seem stressful. Also, anyone - male or female, young or old, can try Zumba. We have various programs including Zumba Aqua for people with joint problems or for those who are obese. Then there is Zumba Gold for out of shape or elderly people. We are also starting Zumba Kids. Other than cardio, we also have a Zumba sculpting and toning program where you use weights.”

Go for the ‘real’ thing!
Dianne recently held the first Zumba instructor training in Bangalore and the session was sold out! Zumba DVDs are also available for sale in India. But as Dianne says, “A session with a Zumba instructor can be even more fun than doing the videos at home. Combined with the right diet, Zumba is a complete body workout which will lead to weight loss.”

A special word of advice: Drag your partner along and make your Zumba sessions spicier and livelier!