Should I Order Zumba?

[lorajc]

I was reading an Oxygen mag this morning that had a blurb about Zumba being one of the hottest fitness trends right now. I've always liked Latin dance, although I don't do it that often. I looked at a clip on Youtube and it looks fun. Is it a pretty intense workout? Does it get your heartrate up?

Also, I'm confused on what set I should get. I see a recent package of DVDs on the website for $60. Are these good workouts? I don't even know how to look for older workouts.

I searched and saw an old thread about this subject, but it only confused me more.

[goldillocks]

Yes, I love Zumba and I have all 3 series. The music is great and they are fun workouts, nothing intense though. On the Zumba website you can only get the latest set so if you want the first two sets you will have to check on e-bay although they may be quite pricey ...

[killoffsonny]

I take zumba classes at my gym. I come out of there sweating and believe me it takes a lot of work for me to sweat. The thing is I don't feel like I"m working. I'm not good with the hip movement but I get the steps down and go with that. It's fun!!!!

[SharonH]

I would not buy Zumba off of Ebay...too many bootlegs.

[lorajc]

I just ordered off of the website. I hope I like them.

[Vanity68]

which of the older ones are the best?

[mamabug23]

{my first post, yippee!} I'm a Zumba instructor at my gym, and agree that it's a great workout. (as an instructor I don't get paid by the company, in fact I have to pay big $$ to be certified! but that's another discussion entirely ) It really gets my heartrate up, and in most sessions I burn at least 700+ calories and hour. YMMV, of course!

I've had people say that it's not that difficult, though. As with all exercise, it's how much you put into it: move your arms more, make the moves exaggerated, etc. And if it doesn't "float your boat," then there are lots of other great videos out there that might! I can't recommend a particular video, since I'm not terribly familiar with the home workouts.

If you do this particular form of workout at home, make sure you have little or no tread on your shoes, and watch out for carpet. Ideally, I would recommend a hard surface but we have to work with what we have! The pivoting on the feet can really torque the knees if you have too much traction on the feet. I use two different types of shoes when doing Zumba, one for home (that has ZERO tread) and another for the gym (has a little more tread, more suited for the wood flooring at my gym).

Good luck! Happy dancing!
{I hope this doesn't come across as "shilling" --> there are good and not-so-good things about all the exercise formats out there, just hoping to offer some helpful advice }

[Orlita]

Thanks, mamabug. That's a critical point about the shoes.

[SharonH]

I use Dansneakers for doing dancey workouts with a lot of pivots.

[Lissa]

Welcome Mamabug! I would like to take a live class someday. I heard they are different from the home DVD workouts though. More inclusive of modern types of dance, right?

I use the same shoes as Sharon for dance workouts.

I just did the 20 minute express workout for the latest Zumba set last night. I loved it. It did get my heart-rate up. I love the music that the Zumba workouts use. Can't wait to try out the other workouts in the set.

I have the Advanced Workout DVD from the 1st set and then the Power Rapido from the 2nd set.

I've tried Core Rhythms and the CIA Latin one and I personally find Zumba funner and more varied. I hope they come out with more DVDs in the future.

~Lissa