Is Zumba fun?
Is Zumba a good way to lose weight?
Is Zumba a good form of exercise for men and women of all ages?
I am a guy who has been actively involved in physical fitness my entire life including competitive sports, jogging, bicycling and strength training. However, as a middle aged man, the world of Zumba was both strange and curious to me. I was first introduced to it by my wife and daughter who thought it would be a fun and entertaining way of getting in shape. Since both of them enjoyed dancing it seemed like a natural fit and although the music was not my style it was completely different. My daughter did a lot of online research and found literally hundreds of videos of every type on YouTube. At first we tried a few different videos to see which routines and instructors we liked. I never realized just how hard it was for me to follow dance exercises. I was willing to give it a try but felt a little intimidated by it. Dancing was not my thing and it made me feel uncoordinated and clumsy. I figured it would be safe to try it with my family and they would see the humor in my clumsy moves. (They certainly did!) Now that we’ve been doing it together for several months it’s become a real family bonding experience. We try to laugh about it while moving our bodies and sweating a little (and sometimes quite a lot!). It’s not about whether you’re a good dancer or not. In fact it doesn’t matter. When we eventually came across EMK Fit HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) dance exercise workout videos, we were jazzed by them. We connected with the charismatic instructor, Emily Thorne and her philosophy that it’s not about the choreography and how precise your dance moves are… It’s all about having fun, moving your body and getting sweaty. She always provides low impact options for all of her routines so I never feel lost and can generally hold my own. These workouts are a little different from more traditional zumba routines which involve continuous movement and follow more samba-based dance routines. Her workouts employ more varied dance and musical styles ranging from hip-hop to top 40 to Broadway soundtracks. I have come to respect and appreciate the skill required to master zumba dance fitness and would recommend it to guys who might otherwise shy away from it because it seems like it is meant for women. It’s a great form of exercise for everyone regardless of gender, age and physical condition. Give it a try! It’s a great form of cardio (aerobic) exercise to burn calories, to lose unwanted body fat and help drop excess weight. Everyone on the Keto journey should give it a go…just for the fun of it! Let us know if you do and what your experience was like. ….and one and two and three...
