Things I learned in my first Zumba class:
- I’m not nearly as coordinated as I thought.
- There are a lot of songs played to make up a full hour.
- You’ll be dancing/moving/heavy-breathing through every one of those songs.
- Josie is much better than I am, while barely breaking a sweat.
- My 14-year-old son is a jerk and took videos of me trying to “Zumba”.
- There’s a lot of sweating involved.
- I’m about 20 years late to this party.
Josie wanted to work out and I thought this would be a fun way to get good exercise. It is, if you want a good cardio workout, while looking like a fool. Loved the latin beats, loved watching Josie smiling and dancing her heart out, and loved the poor lady next to me who was experiencing her first class; face beet red, sweating beyond all get out and begging for help. But we made it. We survived one straight hour of side steps, salsa moves, and even the occasional body roll.
Did I feel dumb trying to keep up with the dance moves? Yes. Did I feel like I was ready to audition for So You Think You Can Dance? Absolutely not. Did I care all that much? Nope. After taking a quick look around the gym, it was pretty clear that no one was there to impress anyone. We were all too busy trying to survive. And when it was all over the other first timer said to me, “I’ll come back if you do. I know I look like a nightmare, and I know that instructor lady was laughing at me, but I’m pretty proud that I did it”.
Josie and I said thanks to the instructor and she encouraged us to come back again. She looked at Josie, then me, and said, “I can tell this girl’s a dancer, she had rhythm!”
Obviously she gets it from her mom.
