Zumba Party: Dance Until You Drop

The day after Thanksgiving is a good day to do a blog on exercise. Like most of you, I stuffed my face on T Day and now realize the damage that was done. (totally worth it, though). But in my case, I will be leaving for New Orleans in two days, which means more eating, and maybe just a little drinking. As I have stated many times, exercise is the balance between my being able to eat a little too much, or eat a little unhealthy at times. So it is off to yoga this morning and probably a little walking later in the day. If I had the opportunity, though, I would do what I did several weeks ago: I would dance for three hours at a Zumba party!

In Asheville, Zumba parties are held once a month in a downtown club from 7-10 pm. With a reasonable cover charge, you can dance for three hours, led by zumba instructors from all around town. I had attended these parties a couple of times, but it had been awhile. A couple of Fridays ago, I decided that three hours of Latin and hip-hop music was what I was craving. The club was lively from the first dance, with between 50 and 60 dancers, 6 dance instructors, and spectators! By the way, zumba parties are for fun, but primarily for fitness, so you wear your regular workout or zumba attire. Also, even though the club has a bar with a great selection of alcoholic beverages, there is no way you can drink alcohol and exercise for three hours straight. It was either water or ginger ale all night for me!

The instructors are all experienced dancers who are excellent in helping those who are not used to zumba learn the steps. The good news about the zumba parties is that there is no pressure - everyone is there primarily to dance and have fun. If you have never danced zumba, you can sit out a few dances, observe, and then try it. A lot of new people stand near the back, which works, since the instructors are elevated on a stage. The music is generally a mix between Latin, hip-hop, and even some oldies but goodies. Speaking of a mix, the dancers are the same - some young, hip dancers combined with oldies but goodies like myself. The result is a room full of enthusiasm, laughter, inspiring rhythms, and incredible fitness.

In terms of fitness, zumba ranks high on my list of calorie burning activities. People have often looked surprised when I tell them that I consider zumba to be my most important exercise option. I am not sure that most people realize how many calories one can burn from dancing. I actually brought out my fit bit that night and at the end of the night, after 3 hours of dancing with a few breaks, I had done the equivalent of almost 9 miles and over 17,000 steps! Add to that the fun factor, and you cannot lose.

I will say that I was pretty beat at the end of the night, but I plan on doing it again soon. One nice thing about the night I went was that the money was going to the Susan G. Komen Foundation for breast cancer research. What a great way to be fit and contribute to important research. Another fun fact is that zumba parties take place all over the world, including Hong Kong and Shenzhen, China! I believe that the Asheville party will be called "Fitness in da Club" in the future. If you have thought of trying zumba, I would suggest this- you really can't lose anything except weight!