Today, anyone can find classes listed among the group exercise offerings at local gyms and smaller studios. There are Zumba videos, clothes and bumper stickers. Men and women of every ethnicity and age are counted among its fans. There are even classes specifically designed for seniors and children.
It’s fairly new to California, especially the Inland Empire. Davis, a personal trainer whose introduction to Zumba came through an infomercial, said she couldn’t find a class locally. Rather than wait for someone to start teaching, she became certified.
That’s allowed others like Maria Castellanos to experience Zumba live.
“I had heard about it on TV,” the Rialto woman said, adding that, at first, the only classes she could find were in Los Angeles.
Now Davis’ Zumba classes are a part of her workout twice a week. She eventually bought the Zumba videos to dance with at home.
“I think the draw with Zumba is the music and the fitness that is incorporated into the dance,” said Joan Reed, a group instructor at 24 Hour Fitness who added Zumba to her repertoire earlier this year.
Her Tuesday night class in north Fontana draws 50 people.
Zumba isn’t one of those workouts where you dance for 30 minutes of aerobic exercise, then hit the floor for crunches and push-ups.
Those muscle-sculpting elements are built into the dance moves. Squats are done to the beat of the music. Crunches are disguised as pelvic thrusts. Lunges are the transition to the next set of dance steps.
As for your arms, well, they never stop moving. Ever. “You don’t realize you’re doing it,” Reed said.
If it sounds like fun but the only salsa you know about goes with chips, don’t sweat it.
Kathleen Johnson is one of Davis’ regulars. She’s 62 and heads to Fontana from her Ontario home for her Zumba fix twice a week.
She jokes about getting her “Norwegian hips” moving to the Latin rhythms, but is no stranger to having fun. At a recent class, she was the star of the freestyle dance section during “Grease Lightning,” even whipping out the mashed potato.
“I guess it’s the Latin music; it just gets you going. You can’t be tired,” Johnson said before a Friday evening class. “It’s more like a party.” The instructors take the time to give you the lowdown on the different styles of steps. Davis, for example, describes the basic calypso steps as “starting out like you’re going to run, then you put the brakes on — then you slide the foot back.” “I teach them the steps, and I tell them to take your time and once you get it, add your own flavor,” Davis said.
An hour goes by quickly when you Zumba. There’s lots of banter between the instructor and the participants, and the clapping and whoops of joy can be heard above the music.
Just be sure to wear comfortable workout shoes, and don’t forget to bring a towel and lots of water.
“People are having such a blast, and they’re working out,” Reed said of her classes. “I mean we sweat. It’s not just your typical salsa class.” |
