In case any of you don’t know what Zumba is, Wikipedia
describes it as:
Zumba involves dance and aerobic elements. Zumba's choreography incorporates hip-hop, soca, samba, salsa, merengue, mambo, martial arts, and some bollywood and belly dance moves. Squats and lunges are also included(Oh yeah, this has Auntie written all over it. J)
Fast forward to a few months
ago. I’m on the upstairs walking track
at the gym and notice that a few ladies from my church were dropping it like
it’s hot in the Zumba class downstairs.
So, me being who I am, I started heckling them. And because we’re all silly, they heckled me
back. Over the weeks, they tried to
convince me that I would love Zumba and I tried to convince them that they were
CRAZY. Oh, but it looks like such fun and they TOLD me the instructor would be
different from the one I’d dealt with earlier. So, this Monday, I gave in. Oh, (insert expletive of choice here)!
OK, to be fair, the instructor was
slightly different from the other
one. She was friendly, she did face us
and she did call out what move was next (even though I couldn’t understand
her). However, that’s about the only
positive things I can say about my experience.
She didn’t explain any of the moves ahead of time, or at the least slow
them down for the newbies (O.K. me). It
was an hour of me marching in place and turning in the direction I saw everyone
else was already in (insert another expletive here). No matter how hard I tried, I could not
follow her (or anyone else for that matter).
I was literally in tears by the time it was over. My friends felt bad, but it’s not their
fault. Unless someone can point me to a
good Zumba DVD or the instructor has a “short bus” version of this class, this
workout is a NO!
Zumba 1, Auntie 0.
I think your talking points were very good: people so often fail to COMMUNICATE!!! It sucked, and thank you for sharing! I inserted some good expletives.
ReplyDeleteThanks. :)
DeleteI just found this blog...first I'd like to say I am sorry your Zumba fitness experiences were awful. However I would like to say that in a true Zumba fitness class the instructor is not suppose to talk (hence why they never wear headsets) and also if the moves are complicated...facing the class makes it even harder to follow. There are many instructors with their own personalities that add to the class and maybe you just happened upon an instructor that did not fit your personal requirements. But either way...u tried it...u didn't like it...u moved on. My point is that your complaints regarding going over steps ahead of time and the talking and not facing class etc are actually the norms of a Zumba fitness instructor. All of the non verbal cues are to create a party atmosphere and unless u have mirrors where the instructor teaches...having your back to the class helps those that are a little less coordinated and have trouble "mirroring" the instructor. These things are not listed under Wikipedia when you search ZUMBA.
ReplyDeleteFirst, thank you for reading and commenting. I hope you may enjoy some of my other posts. However, your information about Zumba leaves me even more confused and concerned. If it is true that the practice of Zumba leaders to not talk, face the class, or tell anyone how to do the moves is the norm, how the Sam Hill does anyone learn anything?! One of the definitions of instruct is "to furnish with orders or directions; direct; order; command." So, they don't need to be called Zumba instructors; they don't instruct. They are merely people paid to dance while you hope to catch on. In every other fitness class I have ever taken, whether it was step aerobics or cardio kickboxing, the person leading the class always went over basics (where you could see them, not with their backs to you). So, don't make me sound like I'm being demanding because I have the "personal requirements" of actually wanting to learn even though no one is teaching.
Delete