If you are one of those who won't mind dancing your way to fitness, chances are that you may want to be a part of a fitness phenomenon that is taking over the world, Zumba (pronounced Zoom-ba.) The fitness trend started in Columbia with fitness instructor Beta, who forgot to bring his music to one class and improvised using salsa and meringue music. This created a new fitness dance where the music moves you instead of timed, rigid traditional workouts. The Zumba fitness party then developed and the new workout was brought to Miami in 2001. Shortly after receiving some heavy investing, it was introduced through infomercials and DVDs and later the franchise included clothes, accessories and music CDs.
In T&T, the Zumba craze has created a buzz and according to Chanel Phillips, certified Zumba instructor, people are catching on fast. "People in general, specifically ladies have been searching for ways to lose weight and Zumba allows its clientele to increase their fitness but not even realising they are working out," Phillips opined. "This type of work out skillfully intertwines dance and fitness, the dancing and hyped music enables the client to become free and have a sense of feeling that he/she is at a party having a good time, when really and truly he/she is indulging in a serious cardio party," she said.
According to Phillips people can see weight loss results in approximately two weeks to a month, depending on their body type. The Zumba choreography is designed in a way that takes regular dance moves and incorporates it with resistance, power and strength. The moves are also repetitive so catching on is easy. "The Zumba I teach is Zumba basic, which is basically cardio. However, there are other types of Zumba which target specific areas. There is Zumba toning, aquazumba, zumbatomic for kids, Zumba in the circuit and Zumba gold for elderly." Of the many people on board with the Zumba train, Phillips says some are true Zumba-holics. "People are totally in love with it, they enjoy themselves and push themselves more each class," Phillips explained.