How Zumba Changed My Life

Let me tell you a little bit about myself, I am asthmatic and far from being the most athletic person, in fact, I lose my breath if I try to run to the dumpster to throw out my trash. I enjoy watching shows and movies, reading books, and am generally someone who enjoys being “cozy” over going to the gym. Despite all of this, I fell in love with Zumba! Yes I know what you’re thinking, the colourful leggings and Latin inspired music and dancing, the cult like following, there is a reason for it! And hey, wouldn’t we all love to rock something that bold?

Regardless of my lack of athletic ability, I’ve always enjoyed playing games like “Just Dance” and “Dance Dance Revolution”. These games are sure to build up a sweat and they can be a lot of fun, they have different things to unlock the more that you play and the better you preform. So you might be wondering, what’s so special about Zumba? Aren’t the other games good enough? Well, of course they are, I fell in love with them at a young age, but they are VERY different! Zumba is more oriented on giving a body workout, whereas “Dance Dance Revolution” and “Just Dance” are more about having fun and breaking a sweat. Did you know that Zumba incorporates lunges and squats into the dances? My boyfriend certainly has!

“Just Dance” is a great party game, most of the songs tend to be ones you’ve heard before, they are easy to get excited about with friends, I love it for that reason! The daily goals and ways to level up keep you motivated to play, as well as if you get the unlimited subscription you can compete against others from around the world! The downfall, however, is that it often features moves that are unrealistic for the average person, as we know realistically, they only pay attention to where your one hand is. This is fine for game play but doesn’t allow you to learn to dance, unless you’re skilled enough to move that way. Zumba however, has very realistic and approachable moves for all stages of dancers and includes lunges, squats, etc. Dance to tone the body while getting a good dose of cardio, it even engages the core while it gets you to roll your hips! For myself in particular I have been doing Zumba at home on my Nintendo switch console. The game is called “Zumba Burn It Up!” And burn it up it does! This game gives daily and weekly goals as well as many classes you can choose from to get a playlist as intense, laid back, long, or short as you’d like it to be! Whether you have 15 minutes, 30, or an hour to spare, there are classes to fit into your schedule. Of course, if you have even less time available to you, you can always choose to just play a song or two.

This experience has also given me such a different perspective in working out. Taking care of your body and mind should be enjoyed, not a chore. Finding ways that you can better yourself in ways that you find enjoyable will be incredibly beneficial to your everyday life! Did you know that excersizing is not only good for your body but also your mind? These feel good hormones will having you in a better headspace, while toning up your body and being healthier throughout! As someone who enjoys the mental health aspects of working out, it has been a huge deal to find workouts that I enjoy. I wouldn’t want to strain my mind just to find workouts that would benefit it, how counterproductive would that be? Anyways, after reading this I hope I’ve encouraged you to give Zumba a go and discover the difference it can make in your life as well!

Thank you for reading!