This post is part of my 2017 New Year’s Resolution to try every group fitness class offered at my gym, The Equinox in Chestnut Hill. See the full list of reviews here.
Today’s Class: Zumba with Liza Elmstrom
Class length: 50 Minutes
Description from the Equinox: Easy to follow dance fitness classes that are fun, energetic, and leave you feeling amazing. Zumba® fuses Latin, international and popular music to create a dynamic and effective workout.
What Class Was Like
Fast paced dance moves that frequently changed direction. This class may leave beginners feeling lost and frustrated.
Music started, the instructor started dancing, and everyone did their best to follow along with no verbal cues. Not all sequences repeated predictably, so it was hard for me to get the hang of anything. I felt like I’d been thrown into a latin ballroom recital with no formal training.
Where many classes have students face forward the whole time so you can predictably see the instructor, this class had turns and dance moves that pivoted and rotated. Once you were looking away from the instructor you had to guess which way you were supposed to go next. Half turn? Full turn? Full turn and then face front or full turn and then face sideways? Oh, they’re already grape-vining back the other way.
Who would love it?
People who love dancing who are willing to invest in the learning curve. There were some participants who looked comfortable the whole class who had obviously learned the steps well enough to find class more predictable and easier to follow. Once you know what you’re doing this class could be really fun.
If you’re new to dance a grapevine can feel like 6 unpredictable steps put together. If you’re familiar, once she starts step 1 the next 5 are automatic. Zumba may be similar, where the box-step pattern that felt like paying attention to 4 separate moves to me felt like 1 move to someone who’s experienced with Zumba.
Someone with a latin or ballroom background might find it much easier to follow.
Know before you go
Music was very loud, you may want earplugs.
Zumba classes vary a great deal by instructor. Some classes may be be better for beginners than the one I took. If you like dancing and want a fun cardio workout, it’s worth trying! You could always scope out the class in advance. Our main studio has big windows that look onto the exercise equipment. A few stealth squats glancing through the windows and you’ll have a sense of how much turning is involved and what percentage of participants look totally lost.
Be careful if you have weak ankles or knees. Beware of turning or pivoting too quickly because you’re trying to keep up with new dance moves.
Survival Guide
- Familiarize yourself with basic cha cha and salsa moves before you go (youtube is your friend)
- Start in the back
- If there are lots of turns find someone who is doing well on each side of the room that you can follow when you can’t see the instructor
- If the instructor holds up two fingers, repeat that step
- Be willing to invest; you may not have fun until you’ve been to a few classes and gotten the hang of it
This class reminded me a little of the time I tried SoulCycle. I get why people who had the moves down loved it, and those of us who didn’t… didn’t.
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