Z-Kickz LOVE Limited-Edition Zumba Shoes
New limited-edition Z-Kickz athletic dance shoes are now available from Zumba! Introducing the Love Edition, just in time for Valentine’s Day:
Foot Pain and Zumba
One night after a long day of teaching Zumba classes, I had an ache in the forefoot of one of my feet. It felt like there was a round, hard stone right behind my second and third toes.
I thought the pain was unusual so I took some ibuprofen, did some extra calf stretches, and ran my foot over a wooden foot massager. Nothing seemed to help my foot pain, but I thought I must have stepped on it wrong and that the pain would go away soon enough.
About two weeks later, my foot felt significantly worse and when I woke up one morning, the top of my forefoot was red, hot, and swollen. According to the the Mayo Clinic website, I had symptoms of metatarsalgia :
Symptoms of metatarsalgia may include:
- Sharp, aching or burning pain in the ball of your foot — the part of the sole just behind your toes
- Pain in the area around your second, third or fourth toes — or, only near your big toe
- Pain that gets worse when you stand, walk or run and improves when you rest
- Sharp or shooting pain in your toes
- Numbness or tingling in your toes
- Pain that worsens when you flex your feet
- A feeling in your feet as if you’re walking with a pebble in your shoe
- Increased pain when you’re walking barefoot, especially on a hard surface
Sometimes these symptoms develop suddenly — especially if you’ve recently increased your usual amount of running, jumping or other high-impact exercise — but problems usually develop over time.
When to see a doctor
Not all foot problems need medical care. Sometimes your feet simply ache after a long day of standing or a punishing workout. But it’s best not to ignore any foot pain that lasts more than a few days. Talk to your doctor if you experience a burning pain in the ball of your foot that doesn’t improve after changing your shoes and modifying your activities.
I was pleased to see that Mayo Clinic did not recommend seeing a doctor based on my symptoms, because as a self-employed individual / part-time employee of many companies, I cannot afford medical insurance at this time. I found subs for my Zumba classes and practiced the R.I.C.E. acute injury treatment method for the weekend. My foot felt a little better by Monday.
After a couple of days of high-impact Zumba classes, my foot was swollen again. Luckily, a holiday was coming up and I got the stomach flu so I was able (and forced) to clear my schedule and take nearly a whole week off from exercise. During that time, I continued to use the R.I.C.E. method daily to treat my foot pain. Upon returning to exercise, I wrapped my sore foot and wore supportive, shock-absorbing Nike cross trainers for Zumba instead of my usual Nike Musique athletic dance shoes for Zumba. After 8 weeks of foot wrap and cross trainers, my foot pain is gone.
My experience with foot pain is one of many reasons why I believe proper footwear is important for Zumba. I have changed my Zumba footwear from Nike Musique IV athletic dance shoes to Nike Huarache athletic dance shoes. While I feel the Nike Musique IV shoes have more support and cushion in the heel of the shoe, Nike Huarache shoes have more support and cushion in the ball of the foot, which is where I need it most.
Filed under Zumba | Tags: ache, clinic, cross trainers, Dance, dance shoes, feet, Fitness, foot, foot pain, foot wrap, forefoot, group, group fitness, group fitness instructor, hot, huarache, mayo, mayo clinic, mayoclinic, metatarsal, metatarsalgia, method, musique, Nike, pain, r.i.c.e. method, Red, rice, rice method, shoes, sore, swelling, swollen, wrap, Zumba, zumba gold, zumba instructor, zumba music, Zumba shoes | Comment (0)How to Become a Group Fitness Instructor I – Get CPR/AED Certified
Step I: Get CPR/AED Certified
The first thing to do if you want to become a group fitness instructor is get CPR/AED certified. CPR stands for CardioPulmonary Resuscitation. AED stands for Automatic External Defibrillator.
I found a CPR/AED certification class by visiting the American Red Cross webpage for my area, the Twin Cities. The class cost $65. It was held in a private home by a Red Cross-approved private training company for 5 hours on a Saturday.
The first 4 hours were CPR training. We watched video segments and the instructor embellished on the content. We practiced CPR on the Resusci Anne mannequins and took a short, multiple-choice written exam to be Red Cross CPR certified.
The last hour was AED training. Again, we watched video segments and we practiced using simulation AED equipment on the Resusci Anne teaching mannequins. There was another short, multiple-choice written exam to be Red Cross AED certified.
