Zumba Wear Gym Shoes on Amazon.com, $108.99

Zumba is taking over the world. It’s cheap, fun, easy and you don’t need much to join in on the Latin dance fitness craze except your body, whatever sense of rhythm you have, and the right shoes.

You don’t need those fancy high heels you may be picturing, however. Your regular gym shoes are just fine, but if you really want proper Zumba foot attire, there are a few things you should consider when picking out a new pair of kicks.

There are three basic elements to look at when purchasing any type of shoe: shock absorption, ankle support, and material and sole flexibility. Well, four, cause they have to look good, too, but that’s a given. These three elements become even more important when looking for shoes for a specific activity, which today is a kick-butt Zumba class.

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Zumba, the Latin dance-inspired cardio class, is more popular than ever. Millions of Zumba DVDs have been sold and classes are filled with people having a blast while they work to burn calories.

Zumba is a great and fun way to work your core, arms and legs, and to burn hundreds of calories a session, all while having fun. It’s no wonder that this craze has also gotten popular in celebrity circles.

Jennifer Lopez

This Latin beauty has dancing in her blood, so it’s a perfectly logical fit that Jennifer Lopez would be drawn to the Latin rhythms of Zumba. Recently she was quoted as saying in an interview with Redbook magazine that “As women, we tend to give away a lot. We take care of a lot of people, and we can’t forget to take care of ourselves. If that means once a week you’re going to go off without the kids or without anybody… get a facial even if your sister thinks that’s selfish, or join a Zumba class, or take a painting class, or whatever, you’ve just got to do it.”

Madonna

The ageless Material Girl has been linked to various fitness and spiritual movements. Another entertainer known for her dance moves, Zumba classes are offered at Madonna’s Hard Candy gyms.
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Have you ever walked by a gym studio and seen a group of energetic people exuberantly dancing to exciting Latin music? What you saw was quite probably a Zumba class.

Zumba Fitness is a Latin-inspired dance-fitness program. It’s an addictive mix of red-hot international music  and contagious steps that in many ways mimics nightclub dancing.  In fact, Zumba was created by accident, when the founder, Alberto Perez, forgot his music for aerobics class and improvised with the Latin music he had on hand in his backpack.

Since its inception in 2001, the number of studios offering Zumba have grown rapidly to over 110,000 locations across more than 125 countries. Zumba is everywhere. In fact, I’ve taken Zumba on cruise ships, in martial arts studios and at resorts across the country and in Mexico!

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When you think fitness, what comes to mind – fun or drudgery and effort? Do you imagine dragging yourself to the gym, dreading every work out? Do you make up ways to avoid getting it done? Are you tired of using the same equipment over and over?

Fitness doesn’t have to be an effort. You don’t have to dread the cardio equipment and fear the weights. Boredom is one of the top reasons that those who begin a fitness effort stop. If you’ve just begun your fitness journey, take heart. It doesn’t have to be this way. There are plenty of fun activities that do double duty, getting your heart rate up while being enjoyable. A workout that teaches a new skill can build self confidence, and the reality that you are improving in your new area of study makes you more apt to stick with it.

“Exercise doesn’t have to be boring,” says Shawn M. Arent, director of the Human Performance Lab at Rutgers University in New Jersey. “It can be fun and addictive in a good way.”

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Material Girl Madonna, who is perhaps best known for her pop career, strong arms and healthy lifestyle, is taking her love of fitness and yoga one step further — she’s opening a chain of her own gyms!

Set to open later this month in Mexico City, the chain appropriately called “Hard Candy” (the name of her most recent album) will also eventually have locations in Russia, Brazil, Argentina, Europe and Asia, according to a press release.

Madonna is doing the club in partnership with her manager Guy Oseary and New Evolution Ventures (NEV) with Mark Mastrov, the founder of 24 Hour Fitness. The first Hard Candy Fitness will be a beautiful and uniquely designed 30,000-square-foot space, Mastrov said in a statement.
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