How Zumba Class Healed My Broken Aerobic Dancing Heart

After my third child was born, I joined an all women’s gym in the hopes of losing the baby weight.

The gym was much smaller than what I was used to. They had very few machines and my workouts became boring very quickly.  I decided to try a few classes to mix things up a bit.  One of the classes on the schedule was “aerobic dancing.”  I was intrigued, but I was also intimidated.

Here’s the thing- I love to dance more than you can begin to understand. I am not the best dancer, but I’ve been known to Drop It Like It’s Hot on the dance floor. However, choreographed dancing?  Oh man, I suck at choreographed dancing.  Which is why I was so intimidated by the idea of trying a class where I’d have to perform choreographed moves while sober in a room full of women I did not know.

One night, I decided to put my fears aside and give the class a try.

Best decision of my Gym Life. I fell in love with the class. So much so, that I went four nights a week, every single week, every single month.

Each night, there was a different style of dance ranging from The Irish Dance to The Latin Dance to The Sexy Dance.

I had so much fun, that I didn’t care about messing up the moves or looking a little silly.  I was moving, grooving and having a blast while at the same time, burning a ton of calories.

I was addicted, I was an Aerobic Dancing Queen.

Then, one day, it all ended. The beautiful instructor left the states for the summer to visit her family in Russia and the gym canceled aerobic dance class for good.

My aerobic dancing heart was broken.

A few months ago,  I saw a sign at the gym announcing that “Zumba was here!”  I asked the lady at the front desk and she used words like “dancing” and “fun” and “fitness” and I was so there.

Zumba was a lot like the aerobic dance class I had grown to love and that had been taken away from me.  My heart rejoiced! The aerobic dancing void in my life had been filled.

Have you heard of Zumba?  From the official site:

Zumba Fitness^® is the only Latin-inspired dance-fitness program that blends red-hot international music, created by Grammy Award-winning producers, and contagious steps to form a “fitness-party” that is downright addictive.

Since its inception in 2001, the Zumba program has grown to become the world’s largest – and most successful – dance-fitness program with more than 12 million people of all shapes, sizes and ages taking weekly Zumba classes in over 110,000 locations across more than 125 countries.”

They aren’t lying when they call it a “Fitness-Party,” you guys.

That was the first thing that struck me about the difference between Zumba and the aerobic dance class that I had grown to love– the  ”let’s party and dance our asses off”– atmosphere. Women weren’t just following the steps– they were clapping and shouting and generally having a Party It Up good time.  For a minute, I was like “These women are crazy!” But soon enough, I found myself caught up in the excitement and I was all “Woooo Hoooo!” while grinding my hips in a very Latin way.

As someone who has to exercise daily because of health issues, I couldn’t be more grateful for Zumba. It has helped bring excitement back to the gym for me.  While I still do strength training and some running, this class offers me a fun way to workout a couple of times a week. Things never get boring when you’re moving your booty to great music!

If you’re looking for a fun, exciting, different way to workout, (and if you’re kind of obsessed with dancing, like I am) I highly suggest you find a Zumba class in your area and give it a try.  You won’t regret it. In fact, I am pretty sure you will be instantly hooked and want to go again and again and again.