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)Pumas for Zumba
Finding the right shoes for Zumba is very difficult. You need the support of an athletic shoe with the sole of a dance shoe.
Puma athletic shoes look like a dance shoe, right? They are narrow, light-weight, and have the tell-tale circle on the sole that indicates a sole that will allow turning and sliding. Unfortunately, Pumas are not a good choice for Zumba. They lack the necessary shock absorption needed for the high-impact moves of a Zumba class. Look at the sole of a Puma sneaker – it’s very thin. There is almost no rubber or cushion to help distribute the shock from impact with the floor.
One of my Zumba participants bought a pair of suede Pumas for Zumba class. She was excited about finding Pumas for Zumba because they were inexpensive and seemed to move on the studio floor like she had hoped they would. She was coming to my class at least twice a week. She was always in the front row and was nearly 6 feet tall – you couldn’t miss her.
Suddenly she disappeared from class. She had developed shin splints from the impact of Zumba while wearing her new non-supportive Puma sneakers to several Zumba classes per week. Mayo Clinic defines shin splints as follows:
Medically known as medial tibial stress syndrome, shin splints occur during physical activity and result from too much force being placed on your shinbone and connective tissues that attach your muscles to the bone.
My participant’s shins splints were so bad there was visible bruising near her swollen ankles. She had to go to the doctor and could not participate in Zumba for six weeks. the doctor told her if she continued to do Zumba, the impact could give her stress fractures in her tibia bones. At the end of six weeks, she had to start with one Zumba class per week and she could not do any jumping – doctor’s orders.
The moral of the story, don’t wear unsupportive sneakers, like Pumas, for Zumba.
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.
Sticky Shoes During Zumba
The most common “complaint” I hear about Zumba is about gym shoes that stick to the floor during class.
Most gym shoes are built for traction. During volleyball, I often wipe the dust off the bottom of my shoes for a better grip. Too much traction in Zumba is not necessarily a good thing…
To some, it is just annoying – you are dancing and moving, but your shoes are sticking to the floor.
To others, it’s painful – you are dancing and your shoes are sticking to the floor and your feet are sliding around inside your shoes. Either way, sticky shoes could cause you to develop blisters and other foot or ankle injuries.
I have three suggestions to prevent sticky shoe syndrome at Zumba class:
1. Pick up your feet. It might not be how you would normally dance and not what you prefer, but if your shoes or feet won’t slide and you are sticking to the floor, pick up your feet to prevent injury.
2. Wear last year’s tennis shoes. Don’t wear your newest pair of gym shoes – wear an older pair. The grips will be worn down slightly and may help you slide across the floor better during Zumba class. I often wear a pair of Nike Shox I’ve owned for about four years to Zumba class.
3. Buy dance shoes. I often wear my Capezio dance shoes from dance team in college. You can buy directly from Capezio or any major shoe manufacturer like Nike. Major shoe stores like Zappos carry athletic dance shoes. Go for an athletic-style dance sneaker to give you the support you need – if you are thinking about your shoes and feet during Zumba class, you won’t be able to concentrate on your workout!
Also see my “Best Zumba Shoes” and “Good Dance Shoes for Zumba” and “Where to Buy Dance Shoes” posts.
Filed under exercise, group fitness | Tags: athletic shoes, Dance, dance shoes, group fitness, gym shoes, injury, shoe, shoes, sticky, tennis shoes, workout, Zumba | Comments (6)