Zumba!

I am a bit of a lagger when it comes to trends such as fashion, technology, and well just about anything I guess. I enjoy change once I have been catapulted into the mix, but I slightly resist the initial effort. I am not exactly set in my ways, but much like the rest of my fam, change is accepted ever so slowly for me.

For example, I just joined twitter last week for the sole purpose of hoping to connect with Betty White. Mainly because I love her and she reminds me of a mix between my grandmothers. Sweet & innocent looking (Mama Comley) yet a spitfire prankster (Mama Collins).

Nonetheless, I have been on the bandwagon of Groupon for a solid year now so I decided to buy the $20 for 20 group fitness classes to Lady of America Fitness in White Plains. I have been scolded a bit on my monetary spending habits lately by the hubs so I figured this would be a way to get me out of the hotel without spending mulla. I printed out their group class sched two weeks ago and mapped out my daily classes. I wanted to keep it spicey and try a new class each day. Then I would have my week set for the next month or so. Now I hadn't done a group fitness class in a minute, but I am quite accustomed to most of them from my high school days. So lean n' tone, yoga & pilates, butts & guts were all a piece of cake, and I knew what to expect. To mix it up, I decided to check out Zumba, the latin form of exercise.

I was rather timid as I walked into my first Zumba class with all of the regulars. I'm talking ladies from age 15 to 65 shaking those tushies all over the place. Swinging those hips to Pit Bull's Give Me Everything and getting low, low, low to JLo's On the Floor. Talk about intimidating. I was lucky enough to swivel my hips in the right direction without looking like a white kid at a hip hop concert. Clearly when I'm at the club, I don't have a mirror nor am I stone sober enough to realize what my dance moves actually look like to the crowd. Nonetheless, I had a blast exercising in a fun way. So for week two, I tried another round and felt a bit more comfortable in my own skin. Before you knew it, I was bumping and grinding along with all the other women fitting right in.

Zumba is a Latin-inspired dance-fitness program that blends the hottest music with a series of steps to form what is known as a "fitness-party." Started in 2001 by Alberto Perez on accident, the dancing fitness trend has spread to 125 countries and more than 12 million people joining the party.

If you love fitness but don't enjoy the monotonous of exercise equipment, check out Zumba at a location near you!

**an exclusive interview with the founder of Zumba and a taste of a typical class