AMBER REDMAN & LAMAR BROWN

WHAT IS ZUMBA FITNESS? Zumba Fitness is a series of dance workouts inspired by Latin music. Created in 2001, Zumba now has not only at home DVD’s, but live classes at gyms and studios. Zumba has more than 14 million users in over 150 countries.

HOW IT STARTED The birth of Zumba Fitness was actually a lucky accident. During the mid nineties, Alberto Perez was working as a fitness instructor in his hometown of Cali, Colombia. On this particular day, he arrived to class to discover that he’d forgotten the aerobics music he usually played. So he used the CD’s he had on hand, which were a blend of the salsa and merengue music he grew up with. The class loved it, and thus the Zumba Fitness-Party was born. In 2001 Perez brought his idea to Miami, and through a student met two entrepreneurs, Alberto Perlman and Alberto Aghion. Together, the three Albertos patented the idea and called it Zumba Fitness.

PACKAGE AND PRICING The original 4 DVD fitness set is priced at It includes the 4 DVDs, 1 pair of Zumba Toning Sticks, and a program guide featuring a 10-day weight loss plan. As a bonus you get 5 extra workouts and a twenty minute warm up DVD. Zumba is also available as a video game on all three major gaming platforms: Wii, Xbox, and PS3. The price for the game is about 35 to 40 dollars. And there are live classes available at gyms and studios, whose prices may vary.

CLASSES Zumba offers eight unique types of live classes for all different ages and skill sets. Zumba Fitness: The original Zumba dance party Zumba Gold: Zumba at a slower pace for the elderly Zumba Toning: features Zumba’s “toning sticks” and is used to tone and firm the body. Aqua Zumba: Zumba class in the pool Zumbatonic: Zumba class for children ages 4-12 Zumba Circuit: Zumba class combined with circuit training Zumba Gold Toning: a faster paced toning class for the elderly Zumba Sentao: combines the best of Zumba with chair choreography

AQUA ZUMBA Zumba Xbox360

WHAT TYPE OF WORKOUT? -Zumba is an exhilarating non-stop calorie burning workout! -It’s a rhythmical type of interval training burning calories in a hour -It’s a cardio aerobic exercise with intensities that vary from high to low or slow to fast -Zumba is a exciting way to get In shape and keeps you from getting bored with your workout.

DANCE! Zumba incorporates many styles such as: Salsa Hip-hop Mambo Belly dancing Meringue Soca Samba Latin-pop Bollywood Tango Reggae ton

BENEFITS Lively, energetic music No boring repetition– each class is fun and different No bulky or expensive equipment You can do it at home or in a class An easy way to burn calories

THE DRAWBACKS The negative aspects of Zumba: All of the fast paced movement in the hips, legs, and arms wouldn’t be good for people with arthritis or joint injuries. Zumba’s fan base isn’t as wide as other workout DVDs/equipment. Zumba doesn’t exactly draw in the male population.

Requirements Cpr Certified Receive group fitness instructor certification Get a membership with Z.I.N (Zumba Instructional Network) Attend workshops to learn styles and perfect choreography/moves Stay in shape and keep your routines new and fresh To find workshops or classes you can go to Or go online and look for local gyms where it is taught. Some gyms will offer Zumba certification classes. WANT TO TEACH ZUMBA?

OVERALL Overall, Zumba is a great workout system. It combines dance with fitness which makes it not only effective, but fun. The best part about Zumba is that it’s simple. It’s not some complicated set of choreography that intimidates and frustrates participants. It’s made so that everyone can participate and have fun. It’s not boring like traditional workouts; the Latin beats and dancing keep you entertained. It’s a refreshing weight loss alternative to pills and surgery, and it’s aimed at women, who don’t have as many fitness activities/equipment made for them like men do. And with the variety of Zumba classes one can take, there’s a class for pretty much everyone. Zumba has definitely earned a spot as a great contribution to the fitness world.

WORKS CITED