I heard about Zumba from an old friend Sabrina Lemons "who also has a blog on this site", Sabrina is an instructor as well an inspiration to me! Sabrina has three children, a husband, and is also a student; yet still finds time to be an instructor and an active fundraiser for such great causes, and I just don't know how she does it. That having been said, when Bree told me about Zumba, I was curious because there are SO many fitness fads out there that I am hesitant to try anything new outside of my normal work out regime. So I decided to enlist my friend Alecia to join me last weekend for the Zumbathon in Owasso for the Susan G. Komen fundraiser, to just sit in the bleachers and observe and see if it was something I was seriously interested in pursuing.
Zumbathons are typically 1 hour to 1 1/2 long with a color theme, pink for breast cancer, blue for Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, etc..and they are held in gymnasiums or large venues (normal everyday classes are held in gyms as well, or at your local church or fitness club), anyway the colors of the outfits that the people were wearing were so bright and vivid and fun that it really caught my eye, also I found it noteworthy that each individual wore unique clothes despite the color theme, that were complimentary to his/her body type and personality, people wore everything from their own work out clothes, to Zumbawear, which is sold through an individuals instructor or online at the Zumba website, or through people who resell their clothes because they have lost so much weight from doing Zumba they no longer fit! I saw cute cheerleader skirts, Capri's, cargo pants, yoga pants, shirts, razor backs, tee shirts, and all sorts of other Zumba designed clothes that I thought to participate if only to wear the nifty outfits; lame but true.
People also colored their hair with chunks of pink in support of the cause, and I thought that was a really fun way to show support. Water and snacks are provided throughout the entire 2 hours dance marathon, don't think aerobics, this is not aerobics, think going to a club with your friends and dancing in a smoke free environment where people can dance WITHOUT needing a cocktail first for liquid courage. When the event got under way I was impressed by how the music seemed perfectly synced to each dance led by different instructors as the night progressed. Now I wondered before going in if it mattered how extensive my dance background was, and as it turns out, it doesn't matter at all because each dance/song has a routine that is initially broken down in such a way that you don't even notice you are learning choreography for an entire dance! That takes skill my friends!
Now please note that throughout I have been saying people, NOT ladies, for a very specific reason, I have never seen such a wide variety of people in all my life! Men, women, kids, and teens and even elderly people showed up to represent; it was inspiring; if my Nana can do it so can I! The time is up before you realize you are drenched in sweat and have burned a thousand calories.
The people at the two Zumbathons I attended were so friendly and welcoming and inclusive and you could tell that each person had a story to tell about how they found Zumba and how it had changed their lives. You find yourself wanting to be included into this growing community of people who want to have fun and support each other and look great while doing it, and hey did I mention the Oklahoma groups are one of the biggest supporters of amazing causes that affect us all?
So I know that Zumba is everywhere now, popping up in rural communities and being offered in health clubs, but their website shows you where your local classes are, who is teaching and when. and the good news is, I found multiple classes everyday of the week being offered in my area, so I plan to try a bunch of different ones because each instructor is different.
More later, I am going to hit a couple of classes today so I will post more later!
