May Zumba Music Playlist
Time flies! Some of my May Zumba songs. Enjoy!
Telephone (Pop / Warm Up)
Lady Gaga
Obsesion (Bachata)
Aventura
Chaiyya Chaiyya (Zumba Toning / Bollywood)
Bombay Dreams
Salome (Salsa / Pop)
Zumba Fitness ZIN 24
Que Te Pica (Reggaeton)
Notch
A La Nena Le Gusta (Merengue)
Zumba Fitness ZIN 24
Zu Bailaito MIX (Quebradita)
ZIN Bonus Download
Boro Boro (Belly Dance)
Zumba ZIN 22
I Need to Know (Cha Cha)
Zumba Fitness ZIN Volume 25
Rain Dance (African)
The Very Best Featuring M.I.A.
Evacuate the Dance Floor (Pop)
Cascada
La Agarro Bajando (Salsa)
Zumba Megamix 4
Lean Like a Cholo (Zumba Toning / Latin Hip Hop)
Down AKA Kilo
La Negra Tomasa (Cumbia)
DJ Kane
Waiting in Vain (Reggae / Cool Down)
Bob Marley
Best Zumba Shoes
While I search for the best shoes for Zumba, I do not recommend turf shoes or wrestling shoes for participating in Zumba or other aerobic dance classes.
One of the main gripes I hear from Zumba enthusiasts is that their regular gym shoes stick to the floor during class. Sticky shoes during Zumba can cause blisters or foot, ankle, or knee pain or injury.
While turf shoes are designed to allow you to comfortably train on a variety of surfaces, they probably still provide too much traction for Zumba or other ballroom or hip hop dance classes. On the bright side, turf shoes do feature a more narrow footprint – more like cross-training shoes and less like running shoes.
A better bet might be a wrestling shoe. While wrestling shoes are light and flexible, most wrestling shoes will only be available in mens’ or boys’ sizes and are only available in a high-top style. Wrestling shoes are not designed for impact and therefore do not provide a lot of arch support or sole cushion.
My recommendation is stick to athletic shoes designed specifically for dance or aerobics. If you’re not sure that a certain style is a dance shoe or aerobics shoe, look for a circle on the sole of the shoe at the ball of the foot. Not all dance shoes or aerobics shoes will have it, but it is a good way to tell if the shoe is going to allow you to turn on the ball of your foot or if you will stick to the floor instead.
If you can’t afford to buy athletic shoes just for Zumba, wear last year’s gym shoes. Be sure the traction on the sole has worn down on the ball of foot, but be sure the shoe can still provide cushion and support.
Also see my “Sticky Shoes During Zumba” and “Good Dance Shoes for Zumba” and “Where to Buy Dance Shoes” posts or check out my “Recently Written” posts about Zumba shoes to the right at Rencsi.com.
Zumba: Great Workout, Silly Name
I recently canceled my Snap Fitness 24-7 gym membership to join an independent gym called Fitness Crossroads. For $10/month more, the independent gym provides showers, lockers, towel service, and best of all – group fitness classes!
Being a dancer, I have always loved group fitness classes. I’ve often thought I was born too late and missed my true calling of being a aerobics instructor in the 1980’s. In fact, when asked my dream job, I often respond “aerobics instructor slash dog walker.” (Watch Eric Prydz’s Call On Me Video here. If you haven’t seen it before, it’s racy and nsfw.)
I had been away from the group fitness scene for a few years while I lived in Europe and while I held mini-gym memberships here in the States. After I joined my new gym in March, I soon saw an announcement that they were adding two “Zumba” classes to the group fitness schedule. Zumba? It sounded silly, but I decided to Google it.
The Zumba workout is based on latin rhythms and dance moves. It is like going out to a nightclub dancing, but with the freedom of not caring how you look and getting sweaty in the comfort of your own gym!
I loved Zumba from the very first minute. I was a member of the pom pon squad in high school and the dance team in college. Each song in Zumba is a mini dance routine, much like danceline. The instructor breaks down the moves first and then brings the moves up to speed. The moves are intuitive and easy-to-follow. The main goal is to keep moving.
One thing I especially love about Zumba is that each class participant can increase or decrease intensity according to their comfort level, which makes it suitable for all ages and fitness levels. In fact, many of the participants in my daytime class are 65 and over! I love to see the older men and women smiling, laughing, and dancing up a storm! Zumba Gold was designed specifically for older adults. I hope I am still dancing at age 70!
I highly recommend looking for Zumba classes at your local gym or community center, regardless of the silly name. It is so much fun, it’s like working out without working out! I love Zumba so much, and Zumba is so much fun to me, I am becoming a certified group fitness instructor through ACE (American Council on Exercise) in order to become a certified Zumba instructor.
Ditch the workout, join the party!
Filed under exercise, group fitness, health, interests, music | Tags: aerobics, aerobics instructor, Dance, Fitness, gold, group fitness, group fitness instructor, instructor, latin, latin dance, music, Names, snap, snap fitness, workout, Zumba, zumba gold | Comment (0)