Shaking it up in Zumba!

It seems to me that I get the Group X blog assignments. I think it’s because our student staff likes to see the crazy stuff they can get me to do. In early spring, I covered the Hip Hop Group X class and last week, Zumba.

I started taking the Campus Rec Zumba class last semester with two members of my promotions team, Kelsey and Lauren. We definitely are not the Latin vision of dance, so it was quite entertaining. We had our little corner in the back of the class. I had the perfect spot where I couldn’t see myself in the mirrors of MP2 and no one could see me through the windows. Throughout the semester, we all seemed to get farther and farther away from our corners toward the center of the floor. Bear with me, I have a point.

So Monday, I confidently walked to the front of the class, stood in front of the mirror, looked at my reflection and thought, “let’s do this!” It is at this point I notice, Shay, the NEW instructor. She definitely had Latin flavor and when she asked if anyone had taken Zumba before, I raised my hand like the inner nerd I have been trying to hide for years. I wanted her to know I was a veteran and I was here to have fun and shake it A LOT.

Five seconds into the warm up I realized this was not the same Zumba class. I was sweating and catching my breath before the warm up was even finished. Shay made the warm up fun and hard core all at the same time by incorporating Top 40 music hits and scooting her way throughout the class versus sticking to the front.

So after a quick water break, it was time to begin the workout. We shimmied, we shook, and we broke a sweat. But the best part is we had FUN! It was not the Richard Simmons dance workout we saw our moms or grandmas (hello freshman) do. The class veterans were excited to get a full body workout and do some of the same moves we loved from the last class. Shay was very interactive with the class, she moved around the room, sang, and talked to the class. We definitely were disappointed for the class to be over and elated to come back on Wednesday.

What I have noticed about the Campus Rec Group X program is the closeness of the instructors. They attend each other’s classes and promote others like they were teaching it. We have had Trish (teaches Trim N’ Tone) in our class and she was wonderful. She has tons of energy and she helps out by doing modified steps. After class, she runs down to MP1 and teaches her Trim N’ Tone class.

Wow!!! Wish I was that in shape…maybe I will be at the end of the summer from my AWESOME Zumba class!

Session I Group X classes run until July 9 and Session II is July 12 through August 13. Session I Zumba is Monday and Wednesday from 5:30 p.m. until 6:30 p.m. Session II Zumba is Tuesday and Thursday at the same time. Group X schedules can be downloaded off the Campus Rec website, www.sfasu.edu/campusrec, or picked up at the Rec Center.
Til next time…….Liz Ross