Zumba

No but i do keep hearing this reaction to it. My local Leisure Centre does do it, so I think i need to join the craze!

Hi Gayle, Ive tried Zumba and its FAB!!!! I used to go to the gym all the time until i had my children, so had to workout at home, but a friend was gushing about Zumba a year ago, i went and ive never looked back, ive prob lost about an inch off my waist from doing it!

Though now im struggling to lose the last half inch to inch off my waist to feel a little more comfortable in my wedding dress, and ideas what i could do?

Look on websites like Youtube for abs exercises. If you can do a 5-10 ab program every day, plus whatever exercise you currently do you should see the results you're looking for soon. I'd also recommend inclined walking or jogging. x

I've tried Zumba and loved it, my calfs are still sore a few days on.

Ooh you need to stretch more on your calf's if they are still sore. Adequate stretching after Zumba should mean no soreness the next day or so!?

Zumba is Super Amazing!

As for loosing more inches from the waist it is a good idea to add some other types of exercise to your routine, Zumba is great but try jogging, walking, swimming etc too!

I had my first zumba class about 3 or 4 months ago and I am completely hooked! It is so much fun but I do have to say the instructor makes a massive difference. I used to go Tuesday and Thursday nights but the Thursday instructor fell ill and we got a replacement teacher who is awful, she's really bumbling and although she can dance technically she's just not funky IYKWIM? So I only go on a Tuesday now and it's amazing!

Has anyone tired the Zumba wii fit and is it any good? I can't get to a Zumba class but would like to lose some weight before my wedding.

Thanks

Michelle

I've been doing zumba since January initially one lesson a week but recently I've been going up to 3 times aweek (it helps that a friend of mine is an instructor! and has started doing classes at my workplace) and also doing a dance (tap and streetjazz) class on a Monday that I've been doing for 3 years now.

It's amazing!! I LOVE it. I haven't lost much weight yet, maybe about 4-5 pounds but my body shape has changed completely and I'm now around 1-2 sizes smaller than I was 6 months ago, the rolls of flab above and below my belly button have reduced drastically and the rolls of flab I used to ahve on my back have all but disappeared completely.

My clothes either fit much better or are too big and I feel fantastic. I am now so much fitter than I was. I can keep up with a 90 minute fairly high impact Zumba class that I do on a weds and have energy to spare at the end of it.

I'd say that Zumba is a great exercise for changing your shape if you try and do it properly - definitley get your body wiggling shimmying and body waving... a lot of people are too shy to move like that but it really does tone your waist and hips. My unprofessional theory is that it's the isolation of movement in different body parts that help it work so well, eg separating the movement of the shoulder from the hips etc, not something you really get in aerobics or similar exercise.

My friend who is an instructor was always quite fit but even she's toned up a heck of a lot on the waist, back and hips since teaching zumba 4 -5 times a week. It does need more than one class a week to really see an effect though.

There is NO WAY that I'd have got so into any other form of exercise. It just totally appeals to me. I am a dancer and have done a lot of salsa in the past though kind of lost interest in it in the past few years, and Zumba is now filling that gap that I've been missing and has made me fitter now than I've ever been in my life.

I think now my muscles are really toned up I'll hopefully start seeing some weight loss. I'm not on a diet though I am trying to watch my calorie intake a bit. Sometimes actually eating a bit more to enable me to keep up with all these classes!!

I've got Zumba on the xbox kinect and it is OK I do sweat a bit doing it, but I like real classes much better - more atmosphere.

I LOVE Zumba! Unfortunately gym/fitness membership has had to take a backseat to saving money so I am trying desperately to keep up my fitness level (but failing miserably). I have Zumba for the Wii and absolutely loved it to start with. However, apart from it simply not being quite the same as being in a class, therereally aren't enough routines to keep you going for long (as well as a number of other issues that I won't go into!). I wouldn't recommend it - you might be better off saving for a DVD set...

I tried it a couple of times but it's not for me. I just feel silly. I'm a Body Pump/Body Balance girl at heart.

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Im on a mission now to get 3 stone off before i get married, Ive only recently started doing zumba and oh my god its awesome, I thought horse riding was solid and that tones you in places you never knew you had, but zumba is amazing i recently just brought zumba for the wii

I am glad there are so many women out there who like me are trying to loose some weight for their wedding but enjoying Zumba at the same time!!

Enjoying it?? I'm positively addicted... I actually get withdrawal symptoms.

I'm starting to see noticible weight come off on the scales now. To start with it was mainly toning which must have replaced fat with muscle as though I noticed a dramatic change in shape/size I didn't drop much on the scales.

I've been doing it 7 months, a friend of mine got qualified back in Summer last year and started classes of her own at the beginning of this year - she's really dramatically changed shape - she's currently doing 5 lessons a week and soon will be taking 9 when she starts teaching for a school as part of the PE curriculum!! She looks amazing and from the results in my own body doing 2-3 sessions a week (two with her and one mad 90 minute session with another teacher) it's just amazing what can be achieved with it!!

The other thing is I haven't had a cold or any illnesses since I started doing zumba, i just feel so much more healthy and revitalised!

I must be in the minority!!

Its not for me at all... im a PT and had to choose between spin and zumba for my assessment...i went with spin.

I used to do alot of latin dancing so maybe im thinking too technical with the steps but the few classes i have been along to i couldnt figure out why the instructor was using salsa steps which have quite a set count to music that didnt match the count at all... bad instructor i guess! I also found i didnt break a sweat!

still each to their own i guess... i have given it a go and its not for me!! good luck to those that do get on with it!

To be honest the instructors do make a big difference. I am a dancer rather than a fitness person and I much prefer it when the teacher has some dance background rather than just pure fitness as it suits my own personal taste. But I think for Zumba to work properly some dance ability from the instructor is important, certainly in terms of timing and rhythm but also for style, some instructors make it look really stylish and can really move and isolate parts of their bodies in ways that are really impressive.

I did 10 years of salsa dancing and got to a fairly advanced level before starting Zumba so if the salsa in zumba was inherently "wrong" it would annoy me as well. Admittedly some of the steps are adapted for zumba - but generally the rhythms make sense with the music and I can dance salsa the way I used to dance it and be in time with the instructor.

I have been to one instructor who had a bit, shall we say, dodgy rhythm on some of the songs - going faster than the rhythm of the music and it was particularly on the salsa which is probably one of the harder rhythms to "get" and it did really frustrate me. But generally my regular instructors are fine and I have a lot of fun.