Zumba classes appropriate for every age, fitness level

ST. PETERSBURG

The first thing you notice is music. Boom! Boom! Boom! The big bass sucks you in and starts your hips shaking. Then, the Latin beat draws you closer until you muster the courage to open the door and peek inside. • "Come on in," Gemma Hughes hollers without missing a step. "We are just getting started." • Hughes, a certified personal trainer, waves her hands in the air, kicks her feet, and yes, shakes her booty. Her students — young and old, fat and fit — do their best to keep up • "That is the great thing about Zumba," she explains. "It works every part of your body."

Fitness Party

The 32-year-old self-professed Zumba fanatic had tried and taught every kind of group exercise class before she discovered this South American fitness phenomenon three years ago.

"The thing I love about it is there is no right or wrong way to do it," Hughes added. "Unlike step aerobics or kick boxing, where you have a series of named maneuvers, in Zumba, you just get up and move. And that is beautiful."

Zumba started in the mid 1990s when a Colombian fitness instructor named Beto Perez arrived for one of his classes and realized that he had forgotten his traditional aerobics music. So he ran out to his car, grabbed a couple of salsa and meringue tapes, and ran the class to a Latin beat.

Perez had to improvise, and his students struggled to follow, but this freestyle form of dance/aerobics would turn out to be Zumba's main selling point.

Most of Hughes' students, like most Zumba enthusiasts worldwide, want to firm their bodies and improve their cardiovascular health. A typical 45-minute class burns about 600 calories. Keep it up three times a week for a month or more and you will begin to see results.

"Zumba is a great core exercise," Hughes said. "Once you get used to it and really start to use your abdominal muscles, you will begin to burn even more calories."

The learning curve is steep. Hughes (and most Zumba instructors) tries to keep the choreography the same from class to class, so people can follow along if they want.

"Some people are intimidated when they first start out because they are afraid that they will look silly," she said. "But it really doesn't matter if you mess up. I invite people to look silly."

While Zumba devotees may look like they belong on a dance floor at an after-hours club, there is some method to the madness. The moves are more structured than those of most freestyle dancing. It's like mambo meets aerobics, with a lot of emphasis on working the areas, such as the waist, that tend to go soft first.

World phenomenon

As of July, Zumba (which is a registered trademark) is being taught in more than 40,000 locations in 75 different countries. Perez, the founder, and his partners here in the United States have sold millions of instructional DVDs.

But there is nothing like experiencing Zumba in a group setting.

"Classes are being taught everywhere," said Hughes, who teaches in both a private studio and at a gym in St. Petersburg. "I encourage people to look around and try different classes. When you find an instructor that clicks, stick with it."

If you are interested in Zumba, your level of fitness need not be a factor. Beginners can go as hard or easy as they want and progress at their own pace. While most Zumba aficionados are women, a growing number of men are discovering this Latin fitness craze.

"Some of the top instructors are men," she said.

"It is a total-body workout . . . as good as one you would get in any gym."

Terry Tomalin can be reached at tomalin@sptimes.com