Good Morning 🙂
Final late posting of the weekends shenanigans!
After a hectic weekend, I decided that in order for my exercise not to be half-hearted, I would go to a class…the only organised class at any of the gyms I am a member of (one membership consortium of 4 gyms…I am not that crazy) the only class on a Sunday afternoon (the morning was taken up by there being people at my house and me being slightly sociable) was Zumba. After my more miss than hit experience with Zumba last week I was skeptical but thought I would give it a go…I thought, different gym, different instructor this might be better…
It wasn’t.
It was worse.
I arrived at the class relatively early, hopeful of an enjoyable time, or, if not enjoyable then at least a good workout…this picture is what greeted me when I walked in. A line of women sitting along what will be the front row of the class, all reserving their “spot”. This was the first thing that put me off the class…I initially wasn’t sure I was in the right place, I thought I might have strayed into yoga or some other class that might have a sitting down component…but Z was the only class on, so that couldn’t be true! Then I realised what was going on, I braved the blank looks I got (I guess new people don’t join this class often) and stood near the back an outcast in my black, non Zumba branded clothing!
As the class got going I waited for things to improve, but yet again, the instructor gave no instruction at all, just did the routine at the front and hoped you could follow, no acknowledgement of the new person in the class, just a chat with the regulars and then dancing with no instruction.
At regular intervals throughout the class I had to talk myself out of walking out and going to the gym instead. I said I would give it a fair chance and I did. It failed me. I put as much effort in as I could, more than the instructor sometimes but it did not inspire me at all!
The main indicator for me was this. My fitbit, measures my actual activity. If I do something that it can’t measure easily (rowing machine, weights etc) you can enter the time of the exercise and it will add on the calculated amount of effort. I tried this with the Zumba class, the calculated effort from the class statistics actually decreased the amount of effort it thought I put in…needless to say I went with the actual measured effort, and I am glad I tried to jump about more than instructed (well not actually instructed…more vaguely shown)
I am aware that there are people out there who love Zumba, all I can think, is that they had a better instructor/class than I have yet managed to find. At least last weeks has friendly people and people who were wiling to have a laugh.
Day 51 complete and lessons learned 🙂
Project Warrior Goddess 
“I braved the blank looks I got (I guess new people don’t join this class often) and stood near the back an outcast in my black, non Zumba branded clothing!” I just snorted coffee all over my laptop screen! I know exactly what you mean. I have now done a sum total of 3 Zumba classes in my life. With the exception of the first one, done last November at the Biggest Loser Resort, I have hated it. The one at BLR was fun because I didn’t feel like a halfwit, struggling to keep up. The instructor instructed (how novel is that??) each move at super slow speed before launching into real-time movement. By comparison, the two times I’ve tried it at the gym back here at home, I’ve been left to figure it out on my own, all while the ‘regulars’ look at my disapprovingly as I crash into them, turning left when they turn right. Zumba snobs!
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I think that is the truth of Zumba classes everywhere! no indication of how the step is supposed to go or even what leg to start on…and lots and lots of people who think it is amazing fun…they are wrong…I have more fun, meet nicer people and get a much much better work out at a circuits class!
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Agreed!
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Oh no, I’m sorry you had a bad experience. I took a Zumba class a few years ago and hated it so much, I vowed never to do it again. But then a few friends convinced me to join them in a class in which we used weights and did push ups (!). Now I take the classes where I like the teacher and it’s not crowded. Believe me, I can’t dance. I just do what the teacher says: “If you don’t know what to do…fake it!” And I do.
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See that sounds like a more interesting Zumba class 🙂
If it was like that I might try again
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Ok, this looks like a bad experience! I’m sorry for that!
But here is one thing I would like to say, Zumba Fitness prefer visual queuing rather than verbal queing in order to let the members enjoy the music. YET there are many many instructors out there who don’t use any type of queuing!
Sigh.. It makes me tired to think of the quality of instructors out there in the universe LOL
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visual queuing I can understand, but there seemed to be nothing!
I had one instructor who didn’t look at the class, stood in front with her back to us and hoped we could follow!
one day, maybe I will try again…
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Did she or he not stair at themselves in the mirror all the time? Admiring themselves? LOL
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there was no mirror…it was in a wierd little gym and the class was in a squash court so she just stared at the wall!!
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oh!! I’d rather face my people!
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it wasn’t very inspiring, I’ll tell you that!
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