I cheated...on my Zumba teacher

The word "Zumba" seems to elicit a very diametrically opposed reaction from people: they either LOVE it or HATE it, which quite honestly fascinates me. Personally, I love it. Zumba is a Colombian dance/aerobic fitness class where typically Latin, hip-hop and some Bollywood music set the beat to some challenging moves that work your abs, glutes, arms and legs. Then for 15 minutes after a full hour of shaking it, we rotate working on arms with decent weights, legs with lots of squats and lunges, or abs on the ball or with the Pilates ring. Then we cool down. At least that is what MY Zumba class at the Hornet Park Community Center is. After my indiscretion at the YMCA tonight I understand why people have this perception of it.

Oh. Em. Gee. Don't get me wrong, it was nice to see a class with almost 40 women of all different ages, shapes and sizes get so excited to dance to Usher's "Scream," but the class was only 45 minutes long and it didn't escalate in intensity at all. To make matters even worse, the instructor wore a microphone, yelled "Hey!" and "Ho!" more than you'd hear the Lumineers do on a 3 hour repeat, asked for random "Woo!" shout outs, and, people were actually wearing the Zumba marketed clothing. The instructor also constantly smiled like a Disney princess and the moves were incredibly basic. It was a different universe.

You see, I am accustomed to a friendly instructor who is constantly integrating new songs, both on the radio and off, current and good oldies, and actually doing real exercises and dances (fast feet, squats, running in place, merengue, salsa, the cha-cha) instead of lightly flailing my arms and moving my feet two steps forward, two steps to the side, two steps back. She doesn't yell, she doesn't wear official Zumba gear (which is absolutely hideous), and she is consistently committed to using Zumba to facilitate better health.

Long story short, if this Jim Carey meme is your perception of Zumba, find a good instructor and give it another chance. Heck, come join us at the Hornet Park Fitness Center! Their Zumba classes are Mondays at 6:15 pm, Thursdays at 6:15 pm and Saturdays at 9:30 am. The best part is that Hornet is affordable. You can join and do unlimited classes (they also offer Yoga, Kickboxing, Rebounding, and have weights and a cardio portion of the fitness center) for only $40 for a three (yes 3!) month period. It is the best deal in Indianapolis/Beech Grove. You can read more about it at http://www.beechgrove.com/fitness-center.html

Because of the negative experience, I will never cheat on my Zumba instructor again (unless of course I am out of town). She is awesome and I am even more appreciative of her. I'm just going to....

 .....Mondays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Same bat time, same bat channel.