I don't know why I never write about this but I actually have been going for Zumba classes since April. Okay, now I am actually doing a variant of the Zumba which is Strong by Zumba but more on that later. I was inspired to go for the class because of a friend of mine who has been taking part in the Zumba workouts nearby her workplace location in the city area. And they're free and co organised by HPB which is a semi government healthy authority in Singapore..and where I used to work for 5 years as well. Anyway, I've always been fascinated, and honestly intimidated as well, by the vibrancy and energy of the participants in their outdoor workouts that when I found out, they are free, I am even more interested, lol.
But in the end, I thought argh, the locations not that convenient for me. But I got excited when HPB sent an email to us and then they had Zumba classes located around my working area. Yay! And this one was so near I just have to walk there. Still I had my doubts because okay firstly, my coordination sucks and secondly, I will be by myself :(((
My friend encouraged me to go and just try it out like seriously no harm done. Okay I'm not going to lie but while it seems fun, I did struggle (and I still do at times) with the coordination but during the class, I realised too that nobody's perfect and nobody is going to judge you or laugh at you. So there's no reason to be shy because we are all here to just work out and have fun while we're at it. Therefore if you're a Zumba noob like me, joining these free classes will be a great introduction to Zumba and Strong by Zumba and let me tell you, your one hour of sweat (and possibly tears..haha) will be worth it and you may even be inspired to sign up for paid classes after that.
Yet again, Zumba may not be for everyone as the combination of salsa and latin moves can be quite intimidating even if the music can get you pumped up. Honestly you will realise you have hips to sway, chest to pump after that making you feel..how do I put this nicely...sexy, lol. And then at times the music gets fast and then I struggled to change from one movement to another. However one way you can reduce this lack of coordination is by watching basic Zumba movement on the youtube. I did once and it kinda helped although you have to watch more than one time unlike me.
At first I don't go every week because initially it wasn't organised every week. There were other types of classes like the Running Clinic which of course, I wasn't so keen. Then the following month it was on every week in May but I couldn't go for all the weeks but in June, it was back to alternate weeks.
Now this is where it got interesting. Instead of Zumba, now they had Strong by Zumba. I thought what the heck is this, doesn't sound safe, haha. So I googled and found this video.
Oh..M...Gee-ness. Is this Zumba at all?!!! Looked like some training from Boot Camp, lol..with the burpees the push ups and what have they. But again, thanks to the encouraging words from le friend again, I ah, signed up for the classes. Now this looked more challenging and definitely something I initially was hesitant to sign up for because it is also the fasting month.
But I figured that well towards the end I could still drink water. Plus the fact that during fasting month, you tend to eat more good food during break fast, even more I needed to sign up for theboot camp Strong by Zumba classes.
At first I think I got overly excited because for once the coordinations were way easier than Zumba as it's almost like cardio until up to a point, I forgot I was fasting. So I got tired easily and almost felt sick that I had to sit down for a bit at the back to recuperate. Then shortly I joined in again and went easy.
I am not going to lie that the other intimidating part was the hands on the floor movements and how you need to do burpees and push ups but the music went on quite fast that these flew by quite quickly. It's not like you have to do 10 burpees at one go. It tied in with other dance like and tae bo movements as well. There's actually very little of those salsa and latin moves just like what you see in the videos but boy, there were quite a lot of squatting movements that after my first lesson, the next few days , walking and sitting was a pain.
The thighs were practically screaming. But for the following lesson at another location,which I decided to join as well because I was inspired by the (male) instructor and the larger group setting, I learnt to always breathe and to always move so that I don't feel faint. Also, the thighs didn't scream as much the next day after the initially shock in the first week.
Thanks to my friend's resourcefulness, she found out for me where to sign up for this class at Plaza Sing and it's free also, yay! I liked both instructors and one time, I didn't like a Zumba class from another trainer in May because she wasn't going the movements together with us. She expected us to know how to continue from what little movement she showed like come on, we are not Zumba experts. Now that, I felt like a total loser because half the time, I didn't know what I was doing.
So instructors play a part too. Other than this awful experience (besides the screaming thighs..heh) I encourage you to go look look see see the HPB website here and there are a variety of classes, not just Zumba and in various locations in the heartlands, shopping malls, city areas and major working areas. Most of them are free too. There are classes in centralised locations that get snapped up quite easily too so it's also a case of fastest fingers first.
Why not just go sign up for a class, enjoy the experience and possibly sign up for more classes in the future. Don't say we don't have time for exercise. The best is to exercise every day actually, not just 2-3 times a week. It can be as simple as walking up staircases to playing sports. If it's not to lose weight, it's basically to stay fit and healthy. For me it's both but it's also part of leading a healthier lifestyle.
Hope this sharing of my experience as a Zumba or Strong by Zumba noob can spur you on to sign up :) If a shy and introverted person like me can do it, I am sure you can do much better.
follow me on http://instagram.com/rahayupopz
But in the end, I thought argh, the locations not that convenient for me. But I got excited when HPB sent an email to us and then they had Zumba classes located around my working area. Yay! And this one was so near I just have to walk there. Still I had my doubts because okay firstly, my coordination sucks and secondly, I will be by myself :(((
My friend encouraged me to go and just try it out like seriously no harm done. Okay I'm not going to lie but while it seems fun, I did struggle (and I still do at times) with the coordination but during the class, I realised too that nobody's perfect and nobody is going to judge you or laugh at you. So there's no reason to be shy because we are all here to just work out and have fun while we're at it. Therefore if you're a Zumba noob like me, joining these free classes will be a great introduction to Zumba and Strong by Zumba and let me tell you, your one hour of sweat (and possibly tears..haha) will be worth it and you may even be inspired to sign up for paid classes after that.
Yet again, Zumba may not be for everyone as the combination of salsa and latin moves can be quite intimidating even if the music can get you pumped up. Honestly you will realise you have hips to sway, chest to pump after that making you feel..how do I put this nicely...sexy, lol. And then at times the music gets fast and then I struggled to change from one movement to another. However one way you can reduce this lack of coordination is by watching basic Zumba movement on the youtube. I did once and it kinda helped although you have to watch more than one time unlike me.
At first I don't go every week because initially it wasn't organised every week. There were other types of classes like the Running Clinic which of course, I wasn't so keen. Then the following month it was on every week in May but I couldn't go for all the weeks but in June, it was back to alternate weeks.
Now this is where it got interesting. Instead of Zumba, now they had Strong by Zumba. I thought what the heck is this, doesn't sound safe, haha. So I googled and found this video.
Oh..M...Gee-ness. Is this Zumba at all?!!! Looked like some training from Boot Camp, lol..with the burpees the push ups and what have they. But again, thanks to the encouraging words from le friend again, I ah, signed up for the classes. Now this looked more challenging and definitely something I initially was hesitant to sign up for because it is also the fasting month.
But I figured that well towards the end I could still drink water. Plus the fact that during fasting month, you tend to eat more good food during break fast, even more I needed to sign up for the
At first I think I got overly excited because for once the coordinations were way easier than Zumba as it's almost like cardio until up to a point, I forgot I was fasting. So I got tired easily and almost felt sick that I had to sit down for a bit at the back to recuperate. Then shortly I joined in again and went easy.
I am not going to lie that the other intimidating part was the hands on the floor movements and how you need to do burpees and push ups but the music went on quite fast that these flew by quite quickly. It's not like you have to do 10 burpees at one go. It tied in with other dance like and tae bo movements as well. There's actually very little of those salsa and latin moves just like what you see in the videos but boy, there were quite a lot of squatting movements that after my first lesson, the next few days , walking and sitting was a pain.
The thighs were practically screaming. But for the following lesson at another location,which I decided to join as well because I was inspired by the (male) instructor and the larger group setting, I learnt to always breathe and to always move so that I don't feel faint. Also, the thighs didn't scream as much the next day after the initially shock in the first week.
Thanks to my friend's resourcefulness, she found out for me where to sign up for this class at Plaza Sing and it's free also, yay! I liked both instructors and one time, I didn't like a Zumba class from another trainer in May because she wasn't going the movements together with us. She expected us to know how to continue from what little movement she showed like come on, we are not Zumba experts. Now that, I felt like a total loser because half the time, I didn't know what I was doing.
So instructors play a part too. Other than this awful experience (besides the screaming thighs..heh) I encourage you to go look look see see the HPB website here and there are a variety of classes, not just Zumba and in various locations in the heartlands, shopping malls, city areas and major working areas. Most of them are free too. There are classes in centralised locations that get snapped up quite easily too so it's also a case of fastest fingers first.
Why not just go sign up for a class, enjoy the experience and possibly sign up for more classes in the future. Don't say we don't have time for exercise. The best is to exercise every day actually, not just 2-3 times a week. It can be as simple as walking up staircases to playing sports. If it's not to lose weight, it's basically to stay fit and healthy. For me it's both but it's also part of leading a healthier lifestyle.
Hope this sharing of my experience as a Zumba or Strong by Zumba noob can spur you on to sign up :) If a shy and introverted person like me can do it, I am sure you can do much better.
follow me on http://instagram.com/rahayupopz
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