Rebecca Hinton, instructor and owner of b.fab.fitness, calls Zumba “exercise in disguise.”

No dance skills needed to get in better shape
By CAROL STUART
For Brentwood Home Page
Rebecca Hinton, instructor and owner of b.fab.fitness, calls Zumba “exercise in disguise.”

“It's an hour-long cardiovascular workout that feels like a dance party,” Hinton said.

Zumba is a dance-style group aerobic fitness class originally based on Latin rhythms and music that is offered at the Brentwood and Maryland Farms YMCAs, Williamson County’s Indoor Sports Complex and by Hinton at the D.C. Dance Factory in Cool Springs, among others.

Hinton’s business has even branched out into offering its own brand of Zumba that she calls b.fit funk, described as more intense, interactive and using more hip-hop, other current pop, and old-school music. And other instructors often weave hip-hop and even Bollywood music into the mix.

 But, while its popularity has soared in recent years, Zumba instructors still get plenty of first-timers who are leery of trying the fitness craze because of their dance abilities – or lack thererof.

“I just tell people keep moving, and some of the steps you'll pick up right away,” said Brentwood Y wellness director Barbara Johnson, among the first in Middle Tennessee to teach Zumba in January 2007. “And you can learn coordination. … If you get lost in a step whatever you do, don't stop, keep moving. And that rhythm is so infectious you almost get your own little thing going.

“I tell 'em whatever happens in Zumba, stays in Zumba.”

BHP reader Tavner McKelley, who caught Hinton’s warmup act before participating in last October’s Race for the Cure in Brentwood, is one of those people who didn’t know if she could move to the beat well enough. Before the race, she heard the upbeat music and lots of “whooping and hollering” coming from the main stage area.

She loved the energy level and how much fun the crowd seemed to be having as Hinton and her team of instructors led choreographed moves. Afterward, she found out she had just witnessed Zumba – and she has been attending b.fab classes regularly since.

“It was a little intimidating at first because I don’t have any professional dance experience, and I hadn’t really ventured out onto too many dance floors since my college days,” McKelley wrote to BHP in January.  “However, I was immediately welcomed by the others in the class, the dance steps weren’t as hard as they looked, and the class was full of people of all shapes, sizes and skill levels.

“It was clear that the objectives of the class were more about moving, feeling the music and having fun, rather than perfecting your dance steps.  The hour usually flies by before I’m ready for it to end.”

Johnson said Zumba is a good way to cross-train.  A typical class includes a five-minute warmup and 45-50 minutes of intervals.

 “You get your heart rate up while you're doing a song that lasts 3-5 minutes and then the music changes and so you get just a little bit of your heart rate coming back down,” she said.

Johnson said the routines can be harder if you add jumps, or you can keep one foot on the ground to make it lower-impact.

“I've got high school girls up to gals in their 60s that take my class, so it can go for anybody,” she said.

Zumba began in Colombia when an instructor forgot his dance music and grabbed some music from his car, Johnson said. While Zumba provides some choreography, it also permits instructors to create their own steps and routines – which most do.

“Depending on who you go to, if you go to one of the younger gals, she might do more hip-hop,” Johnson said. “You kind of find the person you like, and there’s new stuff coming in all the time, new music, new moves.”

Johnson said people in the Zumba group classes also become a community because they chat with one another briefly while the music is changing from song to song.

“If you're going to a regular class, everybody likes to stand in the same place -- it's like in the church or on the bus, and they do the same thing in Zumba -- so they get to know the people around them,” Johnson said. “And if somebody doesn't show up, they're asking ‘Where are you?’ ”

Hinton says b.fab.fitness clients tell her that community is one thing they love about their experience with her company’s classes, offered at six different locations. She also makes a point of b.fab classes being interactive, McKelley said.

“They say this is so much different from the Zumba classes at our gym because everybody does know each other, and if they don't know you, they want to get to know you,” Hinton said. “And they make an effort to introduce themselves and welcome you to our family basically.

“And, especially through Facebook, it's interesting to see the relationships develop where people hold each other accountable -- 'Hey I'm going on these days, I hope to see you there ‘or’ Where were you yesterday? We missed you.' And that does really give people accountability that I think keeps them motivated when the sky is gray for 10 straight days and you just want to stay in your house.”

In addition to people fearing embarrassment “because they have two left feet,” Hinton said there’s almost as many people who have a bad perception of Zumba from trying it once and won’t go back.

 “Some people have been to classes they weren't impressed with, but there are other classes out there that I think they would have really enjoyed,” Hinton said.

The b.fab owner recommends trying different Zumba classes before making up your mind – including different instructors.

“I think a Zumba class depends entirely upon the teacher,” Hinton said. “And it's such a range out there, that I think there's somebody out there for everybody. … Try a couple of different ones before you find the right fit for you. See what the different instructors have to offer because one might not be a fit for you, but another one might really be a great fit for you.”

Hinton believes Zumba will have longevity because of its potential to adapt. She noted that Jazzercise is still around these days.

On three days nights last week, her Nashville location drew more than 100 participants each night. Some YMCAs teach in small gyms with 40-50 doing Zumba, Johnson said.

The Y also offers a Zumba Gold class aimed at seniors with less hopping and a little slower pace.

Both the area YMCAs and b.fab.fitness have had Zumbathon events as fundraisers.  “People paid 10 bucks and stuck around for two hours to do Zumba. And they were sweating, we were all drinking water and having a ball because it's got an energy level to it,” Johnson said.

Hinton hopes people don’t write off Zumba because they think that have two left feet or no rhythm because you’ll see everything from those who’ve danced all there life to “people who never danced and they don't hear the beat but they don't care.

“They're still getting a great workout and they're still having a great time with their friends. Their bodies don't know that they don't know the choreography, they just know that they're moving and burning calories.”

Johnson said the main thing is working out, and McNeeley said Zumba has made a difference reaching results with her fitness goals.

“If you can have fun, you'll keep coming back,” Johnson said.