TA-DA! I did it! After 9 hours, 2 sets of workout clothes, 5 bottles of water, 165 Fitocracy points, and a lot of fun, I did it. I am now a licensed Zumba instructor. But what did I have to do to get that little piece of paper?
Well, we started off the day with a quick review of basic fitness philosophy (warm up, cool down, maximum heart rate) and then headed straight into a master Zumba class. Yes, we started off our day with an hour and a half of high energy booty shaking. By 10:30 we were already dripping sweat.
Fortunately our instructor gave us a little break afterwards in order to give us a background on how Zumba got started. It’s actually a really sweet story. A guy named Beto Perez got into the fitness industry in his home city of Cali, Columbia to supplement his passion for dance. However, one class he looked into his bag and realized that he forgot his regular aerobics music. So, he put in some salsa and merengue tapes into the sound system instead and completely improvised his class. His class loved it and what Beto taught that day eventually evolved into the international phenomenon that Zumba is today. Cool huh?
Throughout the rest of the day we broke down the basic rhythms and moves of Zumba – Merengue, Salsa, Cumbia, and Reggaeton. We practiced and practiced and practiced. I would say until we practiced until it was perfect, but I definitely have some more practice to do before I’m ready to teach.
The best part of it all was that I got to meet so many people who were so passionate about Zumba. It was so exciting to share their passion. For some even, Zumba had changed their lives. I wouldn’t say that Zumba goes that far for me, but their stories were still inspiring.
In all, what I learned on Saturday can be summed up with the following five quotes that may or may not have real-life applications:
1) “You can express yourself more clearly when you have non-verbal cues.”
2) “You give 120% so that they will give 60.”
3) “You’re not going to please all of them so do what you love.”
4) “The number one thing to remember is confidence.”
5) “Booty makes it better.”
P.S. You can check out my attempt at live blogging my experience on Saturday here.