Usually when people pick out a pair of shoes, they go for two things: the right size and a look that they like. While this may work for a sexy pair of heels or some casual sneaks to wear with jeans, when it comes to fitness shoes, they aren’t a fashion statement: they are a piece of fitness equipment.
Just like when you invest in equipment for your home gym, everyone’s needs are different. Someone who works out in a gym is going to need different shoes than someone who prefers to run trails in the sunshine, or someone who prefers a game of pick up basketball is going to have different needs than someone who taking a Zumba class.
There are a lot of different kinds of shoes you can choose to workout in, but choosing the right type can mean the difference between a comfortable, effective workout, or pain and overuse injuries.
Dana Walsh is a licensed Zumba instructor, who has been teaching Zumba for four years. She is also a certified group fitness instructor who shares her passion about living a healthy lifestyle through her blog FitCeleb.com.
Don’t be afraid to step into a Zumba class and step out of your comfort zone. Zumba is made to have fun while working up a sweat. Use these helpful tips to get you comfortable in a Zumba class.
Zumba is a fitness program that is made for everyone to have fun and burn some calories. Whether you’re a fitness enthusiast or just starting to get your feet wet in the workout scene, Zumba is a great combination of both fitness and basic dance moves based on latin rhythms ranging from salsa, merengue, cha cha, samba, to calypso, Bhangra, hip-hop and more!
Zumba is based on a specific formula that in simple terms uses about 3-4 moves a song. Again these moves will be a combination of both fitness and dance, but the moves are made to be repetitive and kept simple so that the participants can follow along at ease and not feel frustrated. However, I want to stress that every Zumba instructor has a different style of teaching. This means that some instructors may use more dance moves, or fitness moves, or tend to stick to a certain latin rhythm more than others. Therefore, I feel it’s important to sample the Zumba instructors in your area and find one that fits your preferred style.
Guest blogger, Carol Dunlop is certified through FiTour as a Personal Trainer and through the American Red Cross as a CPR, AED and First Aid Instructor. She has competed and placed in several Fitness America and National Bodybuilding competitions. To receive your Free E-course “How to Burn Calories While you Sleep,” check out her website, OptimumBodySculpting.com.
Just because you’re an older adult, it doesn’t mean that you don’t like to party and have fun while you work out. Well thank goodness. I’m middle aged and headed to the “older adult” status (quicker than I may want to), but I love a good workout that really makes me feel great and really “worked.” That is just what Zumba Gold gives you; a great workout in a fun environment with people you can relate to.
You’ve probably seen the infomercials and signs at nearly every gym displaying that they now have Zumba classes. (more…)
Christina is a mom, registered nurse, and blogger. She fully admits to both a love of too much food and a love of the couch, two vices she struggles to overcome on a daily basis. In the past two years, she’s lost nearly 50 pounds through diet and exercise, some of it chronicled on her blog, Losing My Hind.
So I recently wrote about why you should consider adding a group fitness class into your exercise plan if you’re only using DVDs for your exercise. However, I don’t want to present workout videos as something to avoid – after all, it was thanks to those DVDs alone that I lost my first 20 pounds. Without that in-home solution, I may never have started on my journey to get fit and lose weight.
Recorded workouts are a great addition to any fitness regimen, and thanks to the wide variety of DVDs available today you can find one for any skill level. If you haven’t tried a workout DVD yet, here are a few reasons you might want to pick one up soon.
You’ll never find another instructor-led workout this cheap. Yes, there are plenty of workout DVD “systems” that require a first born child as down payment for their services, but the average fitness DVD costs $10-20. Since the plan is to use it more than once, you can almost guarantee you’ll pay less per session than you would for any group class you sign up for. Consider the costs of your gym membership if your gym provides free group classes. Also, many DVDs now contain more than one workout, giving you even more value for your money. If you’re worried you may not like the DVD, see if your local library has a copy to borrow or rent it from Netflix first to try it out.
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.
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. (more…)
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!
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.”
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. (more…)
Fitness classes are becoming more popular these days, and not only do they offer an intense workout, but enjoyment as well. Fitness classes are a great way to exercise with friends without getting bored and are usually offered for free at your local health club. Most fitness classes are designed to target the cardiovascular aspect (getting the heart rate up) while only a few integrate the entire body into the workout. Below is a list of the most popular fitness classes.
Spinning:
Spinning is an aerobic exercise that takes place on a stationary bike. The class is designed to target the heart rate as well as the lower body (quads, hamstrings, and glutes). Each class typically consists of loud motivating music combined with varying speed and resistance levels to maximize the workout. Spinning is an intense workout that burns around 600-1000 calories per hour (depending on the person). This is a great class for those with knee/ankle problems and varying fitness levels due to the fact that you can exercise at your own pace. Give it a shot! (more…)
Exercise should be fun. There’s no reason to dread something that’s so important for your health. You can go do your treadmill exercise tonight, or you can try to shake it up a little.
One of the hottest trends in aerobics these days is a hot little South American-influenced workout called Zumba.
Zumba’s founder, Alberto Perez, considers himself the Forrest Gump of dance. It’s a nice bit of humility, but he must be doing something right. Nearly four million copies of Zumba workout DVDs have been sold, and about 20,000 instructors in 40 countries now teach Zumba, 15,000 of which are in the U.S.
But in a Gump sort of way, the 37-year-old kind of stumbled upon the sensation he created.
In the mid-’90s, as he hurried to an aerobics class he was teaching, he realized he forgot his workout music. So he grabbed whatever he had in his car… which just happened to be the salsa and merengue music that became the inspiration for Zumba.
Actually, Zumba is more of a “gumbo” stew of music, all stirred together for a vigorous hour of fitness: mambo, cha-cha, cumbia, and merengue. Even hip-hop, or belly dancing can be a part of the Zumba experience.
Some industry people attribute Zumba’s popularity to recent reality show hits like Dancing With The Stars. Here’s a video that gives you a good idea of how much fun it could be:
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Zumba’s founder, Alberto Perez, considers himself the Forrest Gump of dance. It’s a nice bit of humility, but he must be doing something right. Nearly four million copies of