Then tonight I looked at Facebook before I started this, and what did my disbelieving eyes see? A post from one of my favorite blogs, "Organize Yourself Skinny" " titled, "How I finally made exercise a habit?" What? Is she reading my mind? I dare not read her blog now, lest I completely lose my ideas and copy hers. (Or realize how lame mine is in comparison.) So I have to hurry up and finish this so I can read how she did finally did it. Then again, if my goal is truly to help my dear fellow strugglers finally make exercise a habit, I could just tell you, "Read her blog, my work here is done."
So now the truth must come out. This topic is possibly just an excuse for me to tell you how much fun Zumba is. If Zumba had been around when I was 18, I believe my life would have taken a dramatically different turn. Exercise would have been a lifelong habit instead of an off again, on again activity, because Zumba is just so darn fun. Yes, I would have dragged my three boys to Zumba classes with me and they would have danced beside me or played with the other children in daycare at the gym. I would have maintained my nonfat weight forever and would have never outgrown any of my cool 80s clothing, because Zumba is just so fun. And my boys, oh, how different their lives would be if they had gotten into Zumba instead of skateboarding and baseball. They would likely be teaching Zumba classes all over town. It would be so amazingly fun.
Why is Zumba so fun, you ask? And if it's really that fun, why do you just keep saying how fun it is? Just how limited is your vocabulary? (Excuse me while I check the Thesaurus for "fun" synonyms.)
There are few things in my weekly routine more enjoyable than joining a lively, convivial group of boisterous women who take delight in vigorous jumping, jiggling, swiveling, bouncing, waving, and yes, even shimmying to upbeat music. And the lyrics are so encouraging. " "Work that body, work those hips. Work that body, work those hips. Come on, let's go let's go. Work. Work…." Then there are the oldies, "You ain't nothing but a hound dog", "Cruising for a bruisin'", "Thriller", "Rollin' on the River". I have uploaded some Zumba videos so you can check them out at the end of this.
And then, of course, there is the entertainment of standing in the back row and being able to see the whole roomful of (mostly) women in the mirror as they follow the leader with varying degrees of expertise and coordination. I am among the least coordinated and of course I blame it on my Mennonite heritage. We are genetically programmed with hips that are far to modest to swivel around with reckless abandon like some of those crazy dancing girls. I do move as energetically as I can, trying to stay behind the person in front of me and limit my visibility in the mirror. Energetic is the most polite word I can come up with to describe how I look doing Zumba.
However, there are the expert dancers who stand in the front row by the instructor and exaggerate the movements and laugh and make faces at themselves in the mirror as they gracefully move around. There is the sexy girl who makes every move look sensual, and people suspect that she is an exotic dancer and are very surprised to find out she's a married mom who goes to church. There's a lone male who shows up once in awhile, keeps his eyes decently averted to the floor and never swivels his hips but leaps and jumps around vigorously. There's the klutzy gals who are always moving the opposite direction of the crowd and bumping into those around them. (I try very hard to follow the crowd even though it often seems to me they're all going the wrong direction!) There are the ones who are determined to always be in their spot even if someone else gets there first. There are all sizes and shapes of women, adapting the moves to what their bodies are capable of doing, and they keep coming back because it is just crazy fun!
(All characters mentioned so far in this blog are fictional and any resemblance to anyone living or dead is purely coincidental.)
I enjoy Zumba two days a week at Fitness Experience, where classes are free with membership. Another place that I absolutely love Zumba is Caliente Fitness at Heritage Mall. They have a variety of instructors and lots of different classes. The two whose classes I have attended are both awesome and fun (Mindy Droke and Karie Cordle) and I hear great things about the other instructors also. It's only $3 a class! I always leave Zumba feeling invigorated even if exhausted! Time goes fast and I'm always glad I went. If I'm stressed when I get there, I generally forget my problems and just enjoy myself!
You can watch the videos below to get an idea of just how invigorating and fun it is to do Zumba. You will not want to sit and watch it, you will be propelled out of your chair to join the fun! If you want to do Zumba at home, just google "ReFitRev", pick a video you like and go for it! At work, we occasionally take a break in the office with our three 8th grade office aides and do a 3-minute Zumba from YouTube. They absolutely love it and of course, you will too!
To summarize, one way to make exercise a habit is to find something you really enjoy, like Zumba!
Yep, fun fun fun!!! Let's Zumba, baby!
