Zumba Anyone?

Hey everyone! Let’s break out the sweatpants and sweatbands because it’s time for a workout! Only this isn’t your normal workout. You’re not dreading stepping on automated stairs for an hour, nor spending half of your workout time trying to figure out how to work the new exercise machine. This is actually fun!

It’s called Zumba, and it has taken over the nation! Memphis especially. The workout infuses Latin beats, coupled with lots of hip and arm movement, making for a full cardiovascular workout. The intensity goes up and down throughout the hour allotted. Once you’re done, you won’t feel like you worked out at all because you had so much fun! Well, at least not until about 30 minutes later…

When working out, I like to keep my mp3 player handy, to make things run a little easier. Zumba is no different. Only these aren’t the same beats you hear in your kickboxing class! In a statement about the music used by Zumba founder Beto Perez, she says “Zumba Fitness music is not the synchronized, synthesized monotonous beat you have heard in many aerobics classes,” Perez writes. “We use the originality passion, feel and flow of the song as intended by the music’s artist, rather than the syncro-syntho-mono beat. Our music is not simply background music or a way to keep a beat; it is the driving force of Zumba.”

Want to check out some Zumba classes in your area? Try the Shady Grove Presbyterian. They hold classes every Monday and Thursday evening from 6:15 to 7:15. For more classes, here’s how to search.

Are You Keeping Your Promise to Yourself?

Resident Poll: Are you sticking to your New Years Resolutions?

We have a month in the hole now, which means we’ve had a whole month to think about and plan out how to achieve our resolutions. Have you held true?