rykä Fit Club Offers Discount to Fitness Professionals
Attention Zumba lovers: If you are considering buying the Kelly Ripa Collection Ryka Transition Shoes for Zumba, you might want to register for the rykä Fit Club.
I just discovered the rykä Fit Club. According to the website, the rykä fit club offers a 20% discount on everything at rykafit.com to fitness professionals, group fitness instructors, personal trainers, and athletic trainers. You can’t visit the rykafit Store unless you are a member of the club. I just filled out the application myself using my ZIN membership number. I’ll let you know what happens…
Filed under Zumba | Tags: 20%, at, athletic trainer, discount, fit club, fitness professional, group fitness instructor, kelly ripa, personal trainer, pt, ryka, rykafit, shoe, shoes, transition, ZIN, Zumba, zumba instructor, Zumba Instructor Network | Comment (0)Kelly Ripa Collection Ryka Transition Shoes for Zumba
Who doesn’t love Kelly Ripa?
You probably also know that Kelly Ripa does Zumba. Earlier this week, Zumba Fitness creator, Beto Perez did Zumba with Kelly Ripa, Rob Lowe, and Vanessa Lachey on LIVE! with Kelly. Watch it here: http://bcove.me/d2g03fc0
The RipaRyka Kelly Ripa Collection by Ryka features a shoe called the Transition that is perfect for Zumba. I have heard a lot of good things about the Ryka Transition for Zumba, Zumba Gold, and Curves Zumba in the Circuit classes from my fellow Zumba instructors and participants. The mesh upper reminds me of my old favorite Zumba shoes, the Nike Musique IV, which is no longer available. The Transition studio shoe is light, flexible, and breathable. The Transition studio design provides support and stability, but also allows lateral movement and just the right amount of grip need for Zumba. These shoes are readily available – at least online.
Just another reason to love Kelly Ripa!
If you use Ryka Transition for Zumba, leave a comment and let me know what you think!
Why is it so hard to find Zumba shoes?!?
Why is it so hard to find shoes for Zumba?!?
My search for good Zumba shoes started over two years ago after I experienced knee pain after Zumba. During Zumba class, I was having so much fun that I didn’t even notice that my usual gym shoes stuck to the studio floor. My knees were taking all kinds of the abuse while my foot was planted on the studio floor and my body twisted and turned and made lateral movements. After Zumba class, my knees ached.
In the beginning, I looked at everything from cross country “waffle” running shoes to wrestling shoes to indoor turf soccer shoes. I even got out my old Capezio athletic dance shoes from dance team performances in college.
Finally, I found Nike Musique IV. They were perfect – from the mesh upper to the sole to the price. Now, Nike Musique are cheerleading shoes with all leather uppers – not to mention, they are too ugly to wear to Zumba class.
I moved on to Nike Huarache. Cool, hip-hop style dance sneakers with a sock like upper and great soles and again, great price. Now, Nike discontinued them. A search for Nike Huarache will bring up hits for men’s soccer shoes.
I am currently using Reebok Zigs for Zumba. They are working… for now. My feet often go numb during class, but at least the ridiculous looking soles can turn on the studio floor, which saves me from knee and hip pain. They are expensive, but I found mine on a clearance rack at TJ Maxx.
I’ve seen everything from Sketchers to Puma to Ryka to Vibram FiveFinger barefoot running shoes to bare feet in my Zumba classes and no one seems really pleased with their Zumba footware. Men seem to have an even bigger struggle than women in finding good Zumba shoes.
Zumba currently sells Z-Kickz and Z Tops are coming out in November 2011. Buying shoes for Zumba from Zumba will cost you $75 to $95 USD.
Finding the right shoes for Zumba has been a struggle for me since I started teaching Zumba classes to years ago. What shoes are you wearing for Zumba right now? Would you (do you) recommend them to others?
Filed under Zumba | Tags: athletic dance, athletic dance shoes, bare, barefoot, capezio, cheerleader, cross country, dance team, feet, foot, good zumba shoes, gym shoes, huarache, hurache, IV, knee pain, knee pain and zumba, knees, musique, Nike, Puma, reebok, ryka, shape-ups, shapeups, shoes, sketchers, soccer, studio floor, turf, Vibram, waffle, wrestling, z tops, z-kickz, zigs, Zumba, Zumba shoes | Comment (0)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?
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!
Filed under Zumba, exercise, group fitness | Tags: aerobic, aerobics, athletic shoes, bloch, capezio, Dance, dance shoes, Fitness, group, group fitness, group fitness instructor, huarache, instructor, musique, Nike, nike huarache, nike musique, Nike shoes, ryka, shoes, studio d, sync, what are zumba shoes, Zumba, zumba gold, zumba instructor, zumba music, Zumba shoes | Comment (0)