Fast forward to xmas time and I was watching old videos of my zumba classes. The buzz came back from watching them. I missed it!! I missed the atmosphere, the crazy amount of sweat, the jumping about like a mad woman, creating of moves to the songs, seeking out songs… I missed Zumba. I also missed teaching classes in general. 

I decided to start up a Bootcamp for free for my work colleagues. That gave me the push then to re-start one class, a Zumba class. I am back in my happy place now teaching my one Zumba class a week every Wednesday evening. Numbers attending, the buzz and atmosphere are all brilliant. Currently I am on a week off with our visitors but back to it next week and I can’t wait!

Fitness, teaching classes and teaching Zumba is such a huge part of me. It is what I have done since I was 19 (13 years). As I said in my previous blog about Zumba I honestly used to look down at Zumba. I started to look down on it again, it wasn’t fulfilling my fitness goals, I wasn’t sitting back and realising what Zumba ACTUALLY is all about. Zumba is a great way to get fit, but it is SO MUCH MORE than that. Here are some benefits of Zumba, in my words. You may think of more.
 
ZUMBA benefits:

1. Fitness- yes, it is great for fitness. You will get out of breathe at some point. You will raise your heart rate, put your muscles under strain and burn calories. It is movement and ANY movement in my eyes is great for fitness!
2. As adults we rarely (without alcohol) get to jump about to music, it feels AMAZING! Dancing is so good for the soul!
3. Social aspects. Again, as adults sometimes outside of work and home chores we rarely mix with other people. In a Zumba class you get to mix and laugh amongst other people. That boosts your dopamine, creating feelings of pleasure, mental warmth and increased motivation and zest for life!
4. You can move at your own level. Honestly, within a Zumba class, anything goes. If you cant follow the routine you can just ‘fake it until you make it’ !

 
In conclusion, if you are reading this and haven’t tried Zumba ever, or haven’t done it for a long time, seek out a class. Give the class some time- go at least 3 or 4 times to the same class, give it a chance. Seek it out for all of those benefits. Alternatively I do post up ‘Dance Fitness’ classes onto my group. Join my group for access to those. 

Join my online group here. 

Read about the crazy Garrison Zumba here.

Exercise is really just a made-up endeavour to make up for the lack of movement in modern human life (generally speaking). ⁣
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However, given that ‘life is what you make it’, to me, exercise is an opportunity for me to optimise my body (and mind) so that I can continue to do the things that bring me joy.⁣
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Hiking, travelling, bike rides, being a Mum (this mum thing is tough some days!), beach days, picnics and random games of rounders, tennis etc- all these things I want to be able to do for as long as possible - ideally well into my 80s.⁣
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Resistance Training, Cardiovascular training, Mobility Training are all the things I do to MAINTAIN my ability to do the above. It’s not always fun. Some days I’m not up for it and would much rather plonk my ass down on the sofa for the time I’m given around the life, work and kids things I need to get done.


But I don’t, I always use that time (I actually put the time aside) each day to move my body to ensure I can be ME, to function, to live, to be able to run after my mental 2 year old when he decides to make a dash for it, to run alongside my daughter when she’s doing her x country races, to jump in and run around the pool with the kids and to feel mentally prepared for life in general. This is really what it’s about.
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I mean, yes, absolutely theres always also that BUZZ of pushing myself towards a PB when I’m training but the movement I put my body through daily and weekly ultimately comes down to just nourishing and enabling my body and mind to just do “stuff”.
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SO this message is to those of you (normal people) who think us fitness people are either strange, or lie about how excited we are to do burpees (which I can confirm is definitely mostly a lie). Exercise isn’t always enjoyable, but the stuff it can help us to be able to do for longer is awesome!
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Even if you don’t get joy from the really physical activities, and instead from mental activities such as reading and art, your brain function benefits hugely from exercise. So yet again, exercise WILL SUPPORT THE THINGS THAT BRING YOU JOY.⁣
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Bring some joy into your life now and join Anytime, Anywhere fitness. Get your daily dose in the comfort of your own home.


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