Zumba is wild, crazy, and has gone international to more than 125 countries.  More impressive is that some 12 million people spread over these countries are dancing their calories away.  A typical choreographic move?  Make a fist with one hand, raise it your head, then lift the right leg so you’re stand on just the left, while twisting your right wrist pivot rapidly on the ball of the left foot.  There, you just did a Zumba move.  To find out a bit more about it we consulted with our experts who teach Zumba classes Houston.

Since it’s indoors it’s a bit of a blessing for Houstonians who must endure the hot humid air that blows from the Gulf of Texas to the dry overland of the Texas coast.  The combo of a super aerobic workout and Latin-like dance moves means you are going to lose a lot of calories per session.  Some estimates range from 500 to 1000.  Better than losing weigh you will add muscle mass to your legs, arms and torso.

Anyone can get started by first going to the official Zumba.com site.  You’ll even find a bit of history about the founder Albert (Beto) Perez who discovered this dancercise form when he inadvertently mixed latin music tapes with aerobics.  To bring the magic of Zumba to the U.S. Mr. Perez moved to Miami from his native Colombia and started a series of ventures resulting a number of multimedia implementations of the exercise.  But his best move?  Starting an affiliate system to train instructors who now have spread around the world once over.

Don’t worry about not being to dance because the spirit of the participants is much more energy than technique.  No one will care about your ability to count or step in beat.  Think of relaxation and entertainment first before you think dance.  Interested?  Then take some Houston dance lessons to battle the summer doldrums.

(Photo Credit: Edson Hong / Creative Commons)