Andrew Mathieson
A NEW exercise craze has throngs of participants shimmying and shaking across the Geelong region to infectious Latin American beats.
Zumba workshops have spread from the Bellarine Peninsula across Geelong since the first classes started in February.
The workout combines Latin and international music with dance moves to provide an aerobic workout with a difference.
Zumba Geelong founder Kathryn Rae said suggesting the dance fitness program had merely “taken off” in the region failed to capture the excitement behind the new craze.
“Last Monday we had 20 new students off the streets come in,” she said.
“It’s like that all the time now.”
More than 1000 members have joined a Zumba Geelong Facebook page since the craze arrived in the city.
Workshops have spread throughout Drysdale, Grovedale, Hamlyn Heights, Lara and Geelong.
“One of my girls summed it up as a major addiction – it’s like chocolate but you don’t put on the weight, you lose the weight,” Ms Rae said.
She described Zumba as being to modern exercise what aerobics was during the 1980s.
The workout was accidentally created in Colombia when an aerobics teacher forgot his music and improvised with the only tapes he had in his backpack –Latin salsa and merengue, Ms Rae said.
Zumba combined both forms to create routines featuring interval training with fast and slow rhythms and resistance training to tone the body while burning fat.
“Zumba is more like the exotic dance moves that everyone always wished they could learn turned into a fun routine,” Ms Rae said.
“It’s turned classes into a little club venue – without the alcohol.”
Lara’s Cara Ponte only joined her first class less than a fortnight ago when her naturopath recommended Zumba.
Ms Ponte said she came back feeling so terrific that she was compelled to write on her Facebook page: “Zumba, where have you been all my life?”
Ms Ponte said the dance movements made Zuma an easier workout than aerobics.
“You really do burn a lot calories doing it,” she said.
“It’s like an aerobic workout but with dance movements instead.
“I’m finding it really good because I’m already doing group exercise anyway.”