The Zumba Craze? What is It, and Why is it Such a Great Workout?

I'm sure you've seen the signs at the gym, yoga studio, club, or park district. Zumba. But what is Zumba, and why is it all the rage across America right now?

Zumba is a fitness phenomenon that takes Latin inspired rhythms and dance and turns them into an easy to follow, fun workout that burns tons of calories and builds endurance.

The mantra for Zumba is 'ditch the workout, join the party' and that couldn't be more true. The goal for Zumba is: to want to work out, to love working out, to get hooked.

Using intervals of slow and fast combined with strength training, Zumba utilizes easy to follow dance moves that make the session feel more like a party and not even close to working out. Where this program excels is in it's combos. They aren't the blocky 8-counts and combos you find in traditional aerobics or dance fitness like Jazzercise. Zumba has an uncanny way of inspiring your body's natural rhythm into moving with the combos fluidly. You won't have to stop midway through learning and say to yourself, "Ok wait...what was that again?" because there is such a natural movement to the moves that even the person with the least amount of given rhythm can catch on and make it flow.

Zumba was created by Beto Perez in the 90's when he built an aerobics class on the prinicples of Merengue and Latin Salsa and using the traditional music after making it work to traditional Aerobics music failed. Pretty soon the class became popular, then spread all over the country. As of May 2010 Zumba was featured at over 60,000 locations. The program has received national acclaim in Fitness, Shape, and Self magazines just to name a few.

If you're interested in giving Zumba a try, look over their website and see if classes are offered in your area. If not there is a DVD series available for you to do at home. Keep your eyes open at Yoga, Dance, and Pilates studios as well, because often they will host Zumba parties that are often complimentary. Also, Several lululemon athletica retailers hold monthly free Zumba classes.

So if you're looking to add some spice and fun to your workout routine, Zumba is a fun alternative to regular cardio. You won't even realize the hour's up til the music stops!