Love Zumba? Try SALSArobics!

I had the pleasure of trying SALSArobics at the Chicago International Salsa Congress in Chicago, Illinois February 16-19, 2012. Each day of the Salsa Congress started with a 9am, 1-hour session of SALSArobics.

SALSArobics was founded in 1988 by Columbian-born Esther Gutierrez Sloan. It’s a fun way to learn Latin dance moves while exercising. If you like Zumba, you will love SALSArobics. Esther chooses popular Latin music and breaks down the basic steps and slowly builds them up and modifies the moves until voila, you’re dancing around the room!

SALSArobics is like Zumba in the way that it is exercise based on Latin dance. We danced everything from salsa, merengue, cha cha, belly dance, bachata,… even lambada, the forbidden dance!

SALSArobics is different from Zumba in many ways. There is little or no choreography in SALSArobics. The dance steps are authentic Latin dance moves that travel around the room. I found more opportunity in SALSArobics for individuals to modify the workout to add intensity or more complicated dance moves if they chose to do so.

I will hopefully be adding a SALSArobics class to my schedule  soon. If you’re ever in the greater Chicago area, be sure to check out a SALSArobics class from Esther or one of her SALSArobics instructors!

No More Nike Athletic Dance Shoes for Zumba

As a Zumba instructor, I’ve owned many pairs of athletic dance shoes for Zumba. My favorites have always been Nike brand so I have to ask:

Why Nike? Why do you continue to discontinue the best athletic dance shoes for Zumba?

First to disappear was the Nike Musique IV with mesh uppers. The Nike Musique athletic dance shoes that continue to exist consist of stiff, leather uppers that look like silly cheerleader shoes. No thank you.

The last pair of shoes I bought for Zumba were Nike Huarache. I bought them in March and after just 3 months of use, I noticed both shoes already had small holes in the fabric on top of my foot near my little toes. Time to buy another pair, right? Wrong!

It appears Nike Huarache athletic dance shoes are no longer available.

And so again, I am searching for the best shoes for Zumba.

Best Ryka Zumba Shoes

I have not tried Ryka studio shoes for Zumba yet, but many of my Zumba class participants are currently sporting Ryka. And I love Kelly Ripa, spokesperson for Ryka, among other things. Here are a couple of the more popular models I’ve seen in class lately.

Ryka Transition
I think the best things about Ryka Transition studio shoes are the flexible meshy upper and the fun, colorful sole.

Ryka Studio D
I think Ryka Studio D shoes look a little 80’s… or should I say retro?

Make Your Gym Shoes Zumba-Ready

I’ve written many Rencsi posts about a wide variety of Zumba shoes-related posts: Why do my gym shoes stick to the floor during Zumba? Why do my knees ache after Zumba? What are Zumba shoes? What shoes are best for Zumba? Where can I buy Zumba shoes?

This month’s edition of the Zumba Instructor Network (ZIN) Z Life magazine features an ad from Slip-On Dancers. Slip-Ons appear to be a narrow band of fabric that wraps around the toe of your gym shoes. This band of fabric allows you to twist and turn, yet still grip the floor, without buying new shoes for Zumba. There is also a wider band for those people who must to do Zumba on carpet. (How unfortunate!)

I have not seen or tried this product, but they are about 1/4 of the price of Nike Musique athletic dance shoes. It might be worth a try before you invest in the real thing.

If anyone has tried Slip-On Dancers, please let us know what you think!

What Are Zumba Shoes?

One of my Zumba participants walked into Lady Foot Locker and asked for Zumba shoes. The LFL sales team looked confused and responded, “What are Zumba shoes?”

How embarrassing! Someone is willing to walking into an athletic shoe store and drop $60 to $110 USD on a pair of dance shoes and the sales team at a store like Lady Foot Locker doesn’t even know what Zumba is?

In an athletics store, you are most likely looking for Nike Musique athletic dance shoes. Ryka also makes a couple of styles of athletic dance sneaker, Ryka Studio D and Ryka Sync, and from what I’ve seen, they are similar to the Nike Musique. This type of shoe is used by cheer and dance teams at the high school and college levels so they are somewhat easy to find. They are attractive athletic shoes, but obviously not built for most sports. You’ll find them on the edge of the athletic shoe section, not mixed in with the running shoes. Because they are not common, they are also easy to find on the clearance rack if you are a bargain hunter.

There is also currently a Nike shoe called Nike Huarache. It is more of a hip hop dance shoe so you might find it mixed in with the street wear.

If you have access to a dance studio or dance supply store, look for Capezio or Bloch athletic dance sneakers. These sneakers are also worn by dance teams and instructors so they are easy to find. Capezio and Bloch sneakers usually have a split sole which allows more foot flexibility during dance training and performances. To me, the split sole takes away some of the stability of these athletic dance shoes. The split sole is why I personally chose NOT to wear them for Zumba – I need stability and support. However, I do know plenty of people who DO wear them for Zumba.

In stores, you will pay about $30 USD for Zumba shoes on the clearance rack. Full price, Zumba shoes will cost $60-$110 USD. Online, you have more options and better prices. You will find Nike Musique and Huarache and Ryka Studio D and Sync online. Discount dance supply stores sell Capezio and Bloch athletic dance sneakers online.

I hate to order shoes online, but I like online shoe store prices so I use a little trick. I go find the shoes I want in a shoe store, try them on, and make note of the size, style, and color. Then I go home and order the same shoes online. It take a little more time, but I think it’s worth it.

If you have a favorite brand or style of shoe that you use for Zumba, I would love to hear it!

Heart Rate Monitor for Zumba

Enough guessing. I’m buying a heart rate monitor for Zumba.

I’m a Zumba instructor and I track my diet and exercise through a free online fitness diary called hotcal. Until now, I’ve been using the cardio exercise entry “Dancing, aerobic, ballet or modern, twist” to track Zumba. According to my height, weight, age, and sex; I should burn about 272 calories in one 50-minute Zumba class.

As an instructor, I exaggerate all of my movements and give 100% during each song of each class. After Zumba classes, I am drenched from head to toe in sweat. I don’t think 272 is an accurate measure of the calories I burn in a typical Zumba class. That is why I’ve decided to buy a heart rate monitor.

After a little research, I’ve settled on the Polar FT60 heart rate monitor. This hr monitor comes with the fabric chest band with the snap on/snap off electronic brain. The fabric band was important because I’ve used hr monitors with the plastic band with the built in electronics. It was very uncomfortable and I can’t image doing Zumba while wearing a hard plastic band around my rib cage. As I mentioned, Zumba makes me sweat hardcore. I need equipment that I can rinse or it will be ruined in no time.

The FT60 is not cheap, but I am also a long distance runner and biker. I don’t need a foot pod or gps capability now, but these are optional add-ons to the FT60. I would not like to buy another heart rate monitor any time soon, but I may want to accessorize later.

The other nice thing about the women’s FT60 is that it is attractive. The band is magenta and the face is white and silver with decorations on the face. If I have to wear this thing daily, I might as well like the way it looks.

Stay tuned as I try out my heart rate monitor for Zumba.

Should I Buy a Heart Rate Monitor for Zumba?

I love teaching Zumba. I teach high intensity Zumba 4 times a week and Zumba Gold 2 times a week. I smile a lot and sweat a lot, but how do I know much exercise I am getting from Zumba class?

Until now, I have relied on free online calorie calculators and exercise diaries like hot cal to tell me how many calories I burn during exercise, including Zumba. I enter every food and beverage I consume each day and I enter every minute of exercise I do each day into hot cal. The site software uses my 1) Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR, 2) daily calorie needs based on my activity level, 3) net calorie needs, and 4) exercise bonus calories to calculate whether I’ve stayed within my daily calorie target to meet my personal fitness or weight loss goals.

I currently use the cardio exercise entry “Dancing, aerobic, ballet or modern, twist” to track Zumba. According to my height, weight, age, and sex; I should burn about 272 calories in one 50-minute Zumba class.

272 calories? That’s it? That can’t be right… Can it?

I think it’s time I invest in a heart rate monitor so I know exactly how many calories I burn in each Zumba class – not only for my own personal fitness, but to also allow me to use the music and moves that will get my Zumba class participants’ hearts pumping (safely, of course).

Stay tuned as I shop for my first heart rate monitor for Zumba!

March Zumba Music Playlist

Some of my March Zumba songs. Enjoy!

Don’t Matter Calypso Remix (Calypso / Pop Warm Up)
Akon

Papa Loves Mambo (Mambo)
Perry Como

Loba (Latin Pop)
Shakira

Me Gusta, Me Gusta (Salsa)
Zumba Fitness ZIN 24

La Morena (Merengue)
Zumba Megamix 14

Hava Nagila (Traditional)
Zumba Gold

Tigy Tigy (Reggaeton / Arabic)
Zumba ZIN Mega Mix 15

Brinca (Cumbia)
DJ Kane

Salome (Salsa / Pop)
Zumba Fitness ZIN 24

Evacuate the Dance Floor (Pop)
Cascada

Jump in the Line (International)
Harry Belafonte

Rain Dance (African)
The Very Best Featuring M.I.A.

A La Nena Le Gusta (Merengue)
Zumba Fitness ZIN 24

Na De Na (Pop)
Angel & Khriz

Chaiyya Chaiyya (Bollywood – Zumba Toning)
Bombay Dreams

Obsesion (Bachata)
Aventura

La Isla Bonita (Pop – Cool Down)
Madonna

Cool Zumba Shoes

I want these awesome athletic dance shoes for Zumba! They are only $62.00 on Nike.com, but they don’t have my size!

Does anyone know where I can buy Nike Huarache women’s dance shoes for Zumba other than directly from Nike? I want to find my size!

Zumba Makes People Sweaty, But Happy

Sharing the Zumba love:

Here is a link to a great video interview with New York Times bestselling “Happy for No Reason” author, Marci Shimoff. She says Zumba, a dance-based aerobics class, is part of her “happiness rountine” and keeps her happy and fit.