Zumba Fitness: How It All Started

Are you thinking about becoming a Zumba instructor? If so then this short guide will let you know about the world of Zumba. By getting a better understanding about Zumba as an overall form of exercise and dance you can decide if instructing is for you. This article will also serve as a guide for people interested in taking classes as well. Because knowing what a good Zumba instructor should deliver will allow you to choose your class wisely.

First off we will look at the origins of Zumba. This will give you a feel for the activity as a whole and allow you to get to grips with the ethos of Zumba. It is a form of dance based fitness originating from Colombia. It was created by Alberto Perez during the 1990s and has seen a surge in popularity of the last 4 to 5 years.

The program is a combination of aerobic activity with fun dancing. It is carefully choreographed to be in line with several styles of dance. These include but are not limited to hip-hop, mambo, Bollywood, belly dancing, salsa and samba. These styles might not always be directly mixed, but there are influences from them in a lot of Zumba’s exercises and dances.

Zumba can be used for exercise purposes across a large range of age groups and abilities. It can be enjoyed by anyone from people in their peak fitness to old age pensioners. This is because there are different levels of dance difficulty and strenuousness. So people can adapt the practice to their own level of fitness and life style. A good Zumba instructor will segregate his or her classes into groups of different abilities. This will allow them to specialize and get the very most out of each group. Sometimes having one large group can be a lot less beneficial. This is because the stronger participants have to slow down the pace to allow weaker members to participate. At the same time the less fit members may feel overly pushed to keep up with the fitter dancers. For this reason splitting Zumba classes off into different times for different abilities is a good idea.

Zumba trainers do not need to come in the form of physical classes. The Zumba brand has released a lot of exercise at home products. This comes in the form of instructional DVDs, skipping ropes etc. So your instruction can actually take place from the comfort of your own living room. A lot of people are self conscious about taking fitness classes at first. Using home instructional DVDs is a great way to raise your confidence and fitness in private. You can either continue using this as your main source of fitness training; or step it up and join a local class. Whatever suits! The main thing to take away from this article is that Zumba is a really light hearted and fun way to exercise. You do not feel any intense pressure and the activity is genuinely enjoyable. Many people come back again and again; simply due to the fact that it’s a fun way to keep fit and lose weight. There are not a lot of them out there, that is for sure.

About the author: James if a fitness freak from Ealing, London and blogs in his spare time.