Post Punk Kitchen Forum

Thanks for the feedback guys! Yeah I don't have a microphone either :( the old gym owner (although a lovely person) was sorta stingy with buying equipment and the new one I guess figures we don't need it since I never had one? I dunno, maybe she expects me to buy it? She keeps hinting that I need to buy an Ipod but umm yeah can't afford that lady so buy me one to use if its that important.

Back to topic, really appreciate your input. I want to be sure my "students" enjoy themselves and sometimes when I ask them this stuff I think they are concerned with hurting my feelings.

My instructor doesn't have a microphone. It is quite a small room though. She a also has a strong & enthusiastic voice & she's always smiling so that helps you keep going. I really enjoyed my class tonight.

I wouldn't mind that she didn't have a microphone if she spoke loudly but she didn't speak, there was no instruction at all.

That's what I didn't like as I had never done it before and neither had a couple of others, so it's not easy to just follow along with no instruction when you have no idea what to do.

That would seriously peas me off if I was paying for a class. They really need to make it harder for people to get certified to teach Zumba. I heard that you can pay a couple hundred bucks and take a day worth of classes and get certified. Not sure how true that is. But the class is nothing without a good instructor!

stoopid double post

I wanted to give Zumba another chance, but boy is that class crowded! Seriously, for some moves, the girls had to be careful not to hit each other!

No instruction at all? Say what! I ALWAYS cue (as loudly as possible) during the routine and if there are new people I go over the hardest combinations before each song. One thing I will say is that its occurred to me that new people try and hide in the back, when they really need to be up front and center so they can see and hear me the best.

My Zumba certification (3-4 years ago) involved a two day workshop. After I left, I had the basic idea of how to teach but I also took college classes in fitness (including group fitness) and that wasn't required. Some gyms require a certification not just in Zumba but a nationally accredited exercise organization, some don't. Anywho it took a TON of practice to be able to lead competently, I took a couple more months to get prepared.

Definitely! I used to as well but now I never do, I stand as near to the front as I can even though I'm really self-conscious, because I need to be able to see what the instructor is doing, even if they do give instructions.

Just bought Zumba for Wii, OBSESSED. It's so fun!!!

so I do the wii zumba and last night I did low intensity, long class, but did the whole thing in a demi plie and BLAMMO! my legs are on fire! If there are any injured dancers out there doing zumba, I highly recommend trying that. I have a torn ACL and I don't want to get surgery, doing the low intensity long class in plie is the ultimate strength builder.

For those who say they are not sore after zumba, you may want to try this too. Also, be sure to be constantly engaging all muscles while you dance, keep abs as tight as possible and use your own body's resistance with every move. If you do this, even the most tame workout will result in soreness (in a good way). That's part of the problem I can see with zumba, especially for non-dancers. If you do not use resistance and proper body technique you probably won't build any strength, it will just be like doing aerobics.

I miss zumba. I have developed sciatica and am in too much pain at the moment to exercise. Really wish I could get back to the fun!

Poor you. Hope you feel better soon. Maybe you could try some yoga stretches to help?

Def working on the yoga thing right now instead of zumba. Which is great, I love yoga too. I just don't have that much range of motion right now. And I want this stupid sciatica crepe to go away and stop bugging me.

I have been sick for over a week. My congestion and cough is dissipating so I've been doing some walking. It feels like my lungs were beat up for a week though. Might do some Zumba tonight.

Geez guys we are all out of action! Sprained my ankle last night. It hurts! Don't know how long ill be out.

Oh No! Feel better soon.

I do zumba in sneakers on the carpet. I tried it with just socks, because it seems easier to lift my feet and there are a few moves where you kind of shimmy on the floor, and that's easier without shoes.............BUT, my legs were killing me the next day. I figured I need the extra support from shoes.

I have been doing the activate dvd for a few weeks now and it's gotten fun! I don't feel like I am ready (or maybe willing?) to move on to the harder/longer exhilarate dvd. I am enjoying this point where I have learned most of the moves and can just do it. It feels like I am just dancing and having fun.

There are still a few things I trip up on, though. One of them is the very last song, where you put your hands on your hips and shimmy to the side with sideways hip-thrusts. I don't know why-- it seems SO simple, but my body just can't get coordinated enough to do it!

I LOVE Zumba! I'm one of those gym-haters who feels awkward and unmotivated on machines (especially treadmills), but Zumba's so much fun and an hour of it feels easy, even though my body is doing a lot. My university has classes, but this semester I haven't been going because the schedule doesn't match well with mine and I'd have to pay $60 for a gym pass. Not to mention winter. I hate going outside in winter! But I think I'm going to go ahead and buy that pass so I can get my Zumba on again. I miss it and haven't been exercising hardly at all. :(

I also do Just Dance 3 on my boyfriend's Kinect. I swear it gets me feeling more dehydrated and sweatier than Zumba even, but that may be because all the breathing makes my living room like a SAUNA! Even with the heat turned off and the window all the way open during a snowstorm, still a sauna. It's unbearable, especially because I tend to be easily prone to heat exhaustion. Regardless, JD3 is fun. I heard the Zumba game for Kinect got kinda meh reviews, though, so I'm not sure if it's worth spending $40-50 on.

ETA: I'm a very shy person and before I started doing Zumba a year ago when a friend asked me to join her, and I had never danced before then. Going to the front of the class is definitely a good idea, especially for newcomers! I hardly think people in a Zumba class will be judgmental. I don't mean to sound weirdly narcissistic, because I don't even wear my glasses to classes, but I like being able to see myself in the giant mirror because I know what I'm doing better and I get more into it. Doing it at home I don't feel quite as energetic, either. And ditto on keeping abs tight whenever possible.

Took a class (instead of teaching); sorta sad that I'd never been to another one besides the training workshop. It was really cool to see the class from the other side. I should have done it a long time ago! Really highlighted what I could possibly change to my routines and what should stay the same.

This other class was sooooo SEXY. Like totally booty shaking, jiggle jiggle boom boom. If I wasn't already sweaty and red I would have been blushing.

I've been doing Zumba at Flying Yoga in Temescal (Oakland) for almost two months now and I am totally in love! It's the highlight of my week.

I did a class last night, thought I'd give it a go. I was really frustrated with it again, the lack of any instruction at all makes a lot of it too hard to follow.

I might try a class somewhere else, because it is fun.

:( bummerz! Hope you find a class with more instruction.

I was chatting with my friend last night and she said her instructor tells everyone at the beginning of the class that Zumba is not an instructed class, you're just meant to follow, so it's not just my gym. Has anyone else heard that??

I will go again, even though it's a bit frustrating it is still fun. I'll get better at it.

Ooops...I totally fell off the Zumba train too. But I fall off every exercise train, so it's cool. I'll pick it up again one day.

My instructor will show more complicated things at the beginning of each song once, so we have an idea, but yeah, she doesn't go over every step of the routine. But the songs only rotate every 6 weeks, so since I've been continually going, I've picked it up little by little.