Welcome to my Zumba blog

Those who know me know that I have a passion for Zumba. How did this come about? Let me share my story with you.

I was very active and very involved in many things in High School; choir, Theatre, Basketball, Tennis and various other things in between. The High School years were awesome. When I went to college I began a slippery slope of keeping up with my eating, and forgetting about the exercise that I took for granted in my formative years. Thus, you guessed it; the weight came on and on and on. I just couldn’t believe I was having trouble fitting into my clothes!

Throughout the years after college my weight would flex up and down, and of course, after babies it was even harder. I managed to walk, and then run and even workout to videos with weights to try to keep it off. Most of the time, I did the workout just to work off the weight and not because I liked the workout itself. The running was really taking its toll, but it was the only way to keep the heart rate high enough to burn the fat.

I joined Weight Watchers. Not once, but twice. I am a Life Member now. One day at a meeting there was talk of Zumba. A Latin Dance based fitness. Hmmm, I thought, probably just another aerobics type class. Oh well, my Aunt really likes it so I’ll give it a try. Why not? If I didn’t like it I didn’t have to go back. You may be able to guess what happened, but I’ll explain anyway. HOOKED!!! The first song to the last was a blast, and I was sweating like nobody’s business. How can this be? Running never made me sweat this much. Can something I like so much, be such a great workout? I don’t have to run anymore, or make myself get up at the crack of dawn to do video/weight workouts? I can burn calories, and get toned with something that I love to do???

I went back again and again, and was always disappointed when it was over so fast. I wanted more! Wait a minute. I work at a skating rink that my parents own. Hey mom! Come check out Zumba with me. She did, and loved it as much as I did. Hmmm, We have times at the rink that we don’t skate. I wanted more and more Zumba…could I get licensed and teach? How many people could benefit from this the way we were benefiting? This was life-changing. Skating is a great heart-healthy exercise, and Zumba would fit right in at the rink.

Thus, my Mother and I became licensed Zumba instructors and in January 2010 started Zumba classes at B&J Skate Center. I now have 6 classes per week, and Zumbatomic for kids coming up September 10th!

So this is the start of my blog. The most interesting thing is not about how I started Zumba, it is the impact that Zumba has made on the lives of people who come to my classes. I want to share some of those stories here. Changing people’s lives for the better (and healthier) is really what it’s all about.