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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
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Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
zumba.. am I missing something?
I went off to yoga this morning but yoga-instructor-guy was late. After 20 minutes, I decided to check out the zumba class starting a few minutes later.
I hated it! it was basically a bunch of older (65+) ladies dancing in place. I couldn't figure out what to do with my hands and my feet - at one point, I stepped on my own foot, and I couldn't get my heart rate up over 100, could not break a sweat. I left after 15 minutes and went and ran instead.
Am I missing something? Do you like zumba? Because I thought it sucked. And yes, I know different people like different things, but I thought zumba was 15 of the most tedious, painful minutes I've sat through in a long time.
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Mar 24: Great Human Race 5K. April 28: 5K for Fitness
Re: zumba.. am I missing something?
It sounds like you had a pretty crappy instructor. The problem with zumba is that anyone can get certified just by attending a one day "training" (no tests or anything - you stay the day, you are certified) so many instructors are just plain awful and are allowed to call what they do zumba.
Zumba is not for everyone, and even as a dancer myself I often feel like a klutz who doesn't know where to put her hands or feet half the time. But you should not be dancing in place, and you should definitely be sweating with an increased heartrate.
Maybe you accidentally joined a Zumba Gold class? That's for seniors and it is supposed to be much, much easier.
No offense to anyone who enjoys Zumba but I think it's stupid too. I would much rather do kickboxing, weights, running, spinning...anything! In my area it's for the overweight girls that don't want to do a real workout. It might not be the same in other areas but that is what I see here.
Edit: I realize that sounds really bitchy so I apologize in advance. I just feel like I hear all these girls talking about going to Zumba and what great workout it is but I never once see them lifting weights or really pushing themselves in other types of classes. Perhaps it's just my perception but it really does seem to me like it's the class that the less-fit usually enjoy. Sorry!!
Zumba is about letting lose and having fun, letting the overly-loud music move your feet and shake your hips. I found it to be a great way to get into exercise and group fitness, but it's not the killer workout some people make it out to be. I can get my HR to about 140 in a super high intensity song (like, 4 minutes of bouncing intense), and that's about it. It used to get higher, but I am much more fit now.
And all that being said, Zumba instructors vary wildly. My instructor is OK, her substitute instructors are phenomenal. I've been to other classes that were total snoozers.
Everyone is different, though. Yoga bores the snot out of me, running still hurts too much, and kickboxing is my heroin these days. Zumba is my let-loose hour.
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zumba is like anything else, some people like it some don't.
that said it sounds like you were at zumba gold. which is a real thing. for seniors.
lol! I was thinking the same thing.
Say what? Barefoot?
I could have written almost your exact post. I also tried it once, didn't sweat or get my HR up and left 15 minutes in. Only my class didn't have seniors.
I think that it can probably vary by instructor, but for the most part I think it's a pretty low-intensity work out.
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There is one Zumba class/instructor I love at my gym. I would always walk out of that class soaked in sweat and I felt like I survived an extremely hard workout. Getting my heart rate up was never an issue. Our mirrors would steam up and the floors would get slick from perspiration. However, the more you go the more you learn the moves and the less you care about what you look like and the more you enjoy it. My friend liked it but she didn't push herself as much in class and wasn't regular enough to learn the moves so she never broke a sweat.
Interesting.. it seems people either love or hate zumba. I don't love it.
And it was definitely not a zumba gold class - just the regular one. but at a mid-morning time that doesn't work for a lot of people with real jobs, so the crowd was older, not entirely seniors but quite a few, and it wasn't exactly a high-intensity workout.
I might have got a better workout if I hadn't been concentrating so hard on the whole hands-feet thing, but I dont think it comes close to the intensity of running or heavy lifting.
I have never taken a Zumba class that has challenged me or given me an efficient workout. But, that's just me. I would much rather take a kickboxing, kettlebell, pilates or high intensity cardio class. Zumba, to me, seems like something "fun" to do and definitely is a lot better than just sitting on the couch at home, but, I'd rather make attending a class worth my while and leave it drenched and sore - I don't get that from Zumba.
This. Also, I think the instructor will make or break the class-regardless of what it is. If the instructor sucks, you are not going to like the class.
I totally agree. I've left the classes that I've gone to way more sweaty than any run that's not an interval session! It is very instructor dependent. I go when I'm visiting my hometown, but out here I haven't found any classes that I really like.
If you don't enjoy it, don't go-no harm! Everyone enjoys different things.
Totally agree!
I disagree. You simply have not attended a good Zumba class.
ETA: You still may not like Zumba but saying it's not as intense as other workouts is just not accurate. It really does depend on the instructor and the effort you put into it.I just have to jump in here - I'm a certified Zumba instructor, and it's true that classes absolutely vary by instructor. If you get a bad instructor, you're not going to enjoy the class. With all the instructors I've had - I've always come out sweating and feeling like I had a good workout.
It's not a low-intensity workout! If the instructor is structuring the class properly, it should be a mix of both low and high intensity for the full hour.
Also, I agree that it's not for everyone, and not everyone will love it. But don't bash it - I went to a spinning class and didn't care for it at all. But I don't hate on the people who like spinning!
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I don't think anyone is "hating on people who like Zumba." I think we are just saying the class itself isn't for us. I certainly respect anyone who takes any class and puts in a good effort!
I love Zumba.
Is it as hard as a boot camp or spin class? No. I take those classes as well.
But I absolutely get a workout from Zumba. It's like any other dance type class. You get out what you put in. Older people like it because they get a workout without feeling like they are killing themselves.
Think of the show Dancing with the Stars how some people are just shaking it hard and sweating their ass off after one song. Then other people are stiff and hardly moving. Zumba is (or should be) Latin style dancing. And if you dance Latin style for an hour and don't sweat you are either totally doing it wrong, or your instructor blows.
Maybe I would have hated Zumba if I was 20 or 25, but at 40 I like that there is a type of class I can grow into because I don't see myself taking bootcamp when I'm 65, but I can see myself doing Zumba.
Where in my post did I bash it or "hate on" people who like it? I posted my experience when I tried Zumba, and I fully acknowledged that it probably varies by instructor.
Also keep in mind that the intensity of a class can vary greatly depending on what kind of shape a person is in. When I first started taking Turbo Kick for instance, it kicked my butt. I left there sweaty and always got a high intensity workout in. Then, over time as I became more physically fit, the class got a lot easier for me. I would sweat less and my heart rate hardly ever went over 135. Same class, same instructor.
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