not to get the appeal of Zumba?

[manicinsomniac]

I feel like a complete freak. Everyone I know loves Zumba, goes on about how great it is, how much fun, what an amazing workout etc. I was so excited when I saw it advertised at the gym. I like the Les Mills Body Jam but thought this seemed better, if anything.

When I tried it I found it so dull and slow moving. When the woman said we were going to start to cool down I looked around and nobody even appeared out of breath let alone seemed to have borken a sweat. I know I hadn't. Yet they still said they enjoyed it and had got some good exercise.

Any positive Zumba experiences out there? I go to a gym with a lot of high impact classes so I did wonder if they were intentionally keeping Zumba easy and that it might be a lot better elsewhere. I half thought about trying another class in the village where I live but I pay £50 a month to be a gym member so only really want to do their classes.

There can be a big difference in instructors/levels. The one I've been going to is OK, more for active seniors, but the instructor always shows both low and high impact versions of the steps to give people a choice.

That said, I'm going to try another class that's faster, just to compare. I love dancing and prefer a fast workout.

Everyone i know who has done Zumba has thrown their backs out. Can't say as i see the appeal!

zumba is absoloute rubbish dont bother. I gave up my usual routine for two months and put weight on with zumba!!! the instructors do the course in 2 days its rubbish if u want a body like a supermodel you basically have to cut sugar and carbs and eat a healthy diet of protein and veg, work out 3 times a week example 30 minutes cardio and 30 mins weights and you will look better than ANY zumba person what a load of rubbish!!! how do I know?! I am a dietcian studied a degree in my spare time plus have done high fashion modelling for 3 years, have done covers for Elle, Vogue ,Glamour magazine, Marie Claire, campaigns for Calvin Klein, Estee Lauder, Yves Saint Laurent, have modelled for D&G ,Vera Wang and Vivienne westwood, Please do not get sucked in by this crap. get rid of your excess fat by following a protein rich diet e,g prawn stir fry for lunch, chicken breast with peppers and mushrooms for dinner and work out to music doing 30 mins cardio and 30 mins weights. The zumba crap is a way for instructors to make a fortune by doing a weekend course and making it out to be a party and fun, sure its fun but thats all.. you would have to do it 7 days a week for 2 hours to look half decent xx

Zumba is a fun work out - nothing more, nothing less!!

I dont think people think they can just do zumba and get a body to die for - we all know diet and healthy living is a massive factor too.

Yep, depends on the instructor - as someone else said you dont have to be a qualified fitness/exercise to music instructor to do it, it's just a fad which is riding high at the moment but wont last. I have been teaching my aerobics class in a church hall for 10 years now and in the same hall a guy has just started zumba (now, he is bloody fantastic) but I really dont think he will still be there in 10 years.

We're all different, some love zumba, some hate it and talking about it...must go now for my zumba class!

Personally I think the appeal of Zumba lies in the name. Its short, ethnic sounding in a non-threatning way, and newish. I'll be sticking to my running...

Zumba depends 100% on the instructor and the music. You can get good and bad instructors and good and bad music. In my class it is all fast beat music like JLo's new song, really lively full body action/dancing. It is exhausting, very fast, sweating and the best work out ever but I tried a different class 2 miles away with a different instructor and it bored me to tears.

I tried Zumba and was so bored. I didn't break a sweat and barely raised my heart beat. But I need to thank it for kick starting me back into finding a combat class which I adore. As my old instructor says "if you can still breathe you haven't worked hard enough!!!"

I really think zumba has its place and will get people into a gym where they wouldn't be there if it wasn't for the zumba. For me its the smae as a walk - only I would rather go for a walk, no offense but I am not keen on zumba. I do go to a few classes though as I can't do spin at the moment and for me

Zumba is like drinking hot chocolate when really all I want an expresso

Zumba isn't intensive by any means, it's exercise for people who don't normally do it. I agree with the comments about spinning, but as with most group exercise, so much is down to the instructor. If you're looking to really improve your fitness and burn some serious calories spinning is excellent.