November 21, 2013 - Written by: Poppy Gillian

Gym Goddess or Sweaty Betty? How Zumba Gave Me A Brand New Perspective

I am definitely NOT a gym-bunny. Two minutes on the cross-trainer and I am already thinking about all the other things I’d rather be doing e.g. watching Coronation Street and eating a packet of biscuits. The longest I’ve had a gym membership for is a year, which I think is a serious achievement! I don’t mean I paid for it and then never turned up, I mean I actually went. I just didn’t enjoy it. I couldn’t get my head around the concept of actually liking exercise!

I don’t get those people who can sprint on the running machine whilst reading a book and listening to their iPod without even breaking a sweat. I am one of those people who is immediately sweaty and red-faced, and look as though I am having an asthma attack.

(Image via)

So, at the ripe old age of 22 (I’m in my prime, right?) I decided that I was going to do some sort of meaningful exercise that did not mean spending loads of money of home-gym equipment that I then ended up using for the storage of clothes/shoes. So I decided to join a Zumba class.

That was a pretty adventurous decision for me, considering the fact that I have two left feet. I am the type of person who, when clubbing, desperately tries to bob up and down to the beat and doesn’t always succeed. So, the first time I went I decided to drag my mum along (this was in the hope that she’d be worse than me, and therefore make me feel better about it).

For the first class I stood at the back, not really sure of what to expect. All I can really tell you about it was that it was flipping fast! I spent the whole first class laughing my head off at how ridiculous I must have looked, whilst trying to concentrate on making sure I was doing something that vaguely mirrored the moves, without bumping in to anyone. I wondered how all the other women there made it look so easy. They seriously had moves. Where did they get them from? It turns out that the answer to that is PRACTICE.

Practice makes perfect.

That first class was scary but it definitely got easier. My mum didn’t want to go again so I started to go on my own. I realised that all the moves were quite repetitive, so once you got the hang of them it was a lot easier. There is one woman at Zumba who likes to ‘mix things up’ a bit by going the wrong way. The truth is you don’t have to be Louie Spence; you just need loads of enthusiasm!

Sometimes there are distractions. Like when the lady on the front row is wearing a thong and see-through leggings, or the lady next to you is new and you keep having to leap out of the way so that she doesn’t elbow you in the ribs. One time the class was double-booked with a wake which was MEGA awkward. Whilst we were all jumping around to jaunty music, two very drunk members of the wake gate-crashed and tried to join in!

I am always confused whenever there is a new dance and sometimes it takes me a couple of weeks to get it right. The thing that I’m most surprised about is that I’m on the verge of being classed as one of ‘the regulars’- who’d have thought it?

Now, in the run up to Christmas, many of us start to think about getting a bit fitter so that we don’t feel so guilty about our festive over-indulgence. I say go for it! Pick something that you wouldn’t usually opt for and you may surprise yourself. I’m never going to be able to shake my booty like Beyonce, but I’m going to have a bloody good laugh at my failed attempts.

Go on, try something new. You might just enJOY it :)