One of the most popular New Year’s resolution is to workout regularly. Julia (EazyCity Director) kept her resolution and went to her first Zumba class at Cork Dance Studio.
Here is her review…
Tuesday evening I went for my first Zumba class at Cork Dance Studio (www.corkdancestudio.com). This dance studio recently relocated to its new home on Connell Street in Cork which is a small street at the back of the main bus station in the city. I was really impressed with the decor of the studio. It makes a nice change from a sterile gym to be honest. There’s a chill out area complete with couches, mini waterfall and plants. It feels friendly and put me at ease immediately.
Zumba is a dance workout to latin type music. It’s quite high-tempo so I found it challenging having done no real exercise workouts in months! I’m sure I’ll feel the effects on the legs especially tomorrow! The teacher was great, really upbeat and energetic and she seemed to enjoy it thoroughly herself which I find is the best quality to find in a fitness instructor. It’s terrible if you feel they are just going through the motions. She was very pleasant, smiling all the time. I felt a little awkward in the beginning because some of the movements are quite funky and sexy even (wiggling hips and bums etc!) and the thought crossed my mind that if I had a few cocktails before the class I’d be far less inhibited but I think that would defeat the purpose of getting fit and shedding a few pounds! However, as the class went on I began to get more into the rhythm of the movements, although my hand/feet coordination is a lot worse than I realised.
What I really liked about the class was that the dance studio owner explained to us when we came in that Zumba was not about learning steps etc it was more about just following what the teacher does and not taking yourself too seriously. I kept this in mind and so as I began to loosen out I really enjoyed the music and the movements.
I was sweating throughout and my heart rate was definitely raised so it felt like great cardio workout. Also because I like this type of music (Shakira, Shakira!!) it didn’t feel like a regular cardio aerobics class where I’m usually watching the clock to see how long more is left to go!
Next week I’m going to try out Swingfit which is a mix of Swing Dance moves for fitness. I think I’ve finally found the type of exercise (dance & fitness combined) that I will enjoy doing….fingers crossed!!
Julia – EazyCity
