Walker - How to Zumba the Heck Out of Your Body

The most effective workout routines are the ones that dont feel like a workout . New-to-the-scene workouts have tried to incorporate this in the past. But unlike pole-dancing workouts, those working out should feel absolutely no shame when trying Zumba .

Zumba is a fun, energetic, and feisty workout that has gained worldwide appeal. Zumba was recently named the 9th hottest fitness trend in 2012 by the American College of Sports Medicine (read the full list at www.acsm.org/about-acsm/media-room/news-releases/2011/10/27/survey-predicts-top-20-fitness-trends-for-2012 ) .

Even more impressively, Zumba was the only specific type of workout routine on the list as all of the other trends were general issues related to exercise, such as children and obesity, core training, and others. Given that the list was comprised of worldwide trends, Zumba can now without question be called the hottest workout routine in the world.

Even though its a hottest trend for 2012 Zumba has been around for long enough to not be considered a fad. All the way back in 2003 Fox News (of all media outlets) called Zumba the latest workout for the fitness-forward ( www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,85294,00.html ) .

According to a 65-year-old fitness instructor in the Boston area, Zumba is exercise in disguise. As reported by another fitness instructor in Africa (it truly has gone worldwide), It feels like cheating on exercise!

Read full article here: www.businessdailyafrica.com/Zumba++the+new+fitness+craze/-/1248928/1270766/-/2o9c7nz/-/

For the gym rats of the world theres no need to disguise exercise. But what about those who give a half-hearted effort and go to the gym for only a few weeks in January after setting a New Years resolution? Disguising exercise may be the only way to keep them going to the gym in February, March and beyond.

The CEO describes Zumba as more than just a workout, but as more of a philosophy. Comparable to how yoga has a pseudo-philosophy, in which yogis eat, breathe, and sleep the yoga lifestyle, those into Zumba live for the moment and live in a healthy way. They are able to let themselves go both inside and outside of the gym and take advantage of every minute of their day.

Incorporating a wide variety of dances, Zumba includes many different elements of dance in its routines. For those who love to dance, Zumba feels like a night out in the club. In other words, this is not your Moms workout routine .

What can you do? Learn more about the history of Zumba at www.zumba.com.

Additional Sources:

www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/health/8455393-423/move-to-the-latin-beat-of-zumba.html

www.thebusinessmakers.com/episodes/shows/2010/september-2010/episode-274/alberto-pearlman.html

The Hottest Workout Routine

While Viagra and Zumba do not seem to have much in common, they do share one important trait: both were discovered by accident. The much-told Zumba legend has it that while on his way to an aerobics class Columbian dancer and choreographer Alberto "Beto" Perez discovered he was without his music. Having no choice but to come up with something on the spot, he used the tapes in his possession at that moment (this was, after all, before the iPod) and came up with a new routine that would have his whole class dancing along with him and demanding more.

A single improvised workout class in South America does not immediately become an international phenomenon. Slowly but surely Perez built a following in his native Colombia . Realizing the marketing and fitness opportunities available in the United States, a few years later in 1999 Perez made his way to Miami and by chance (see Other Prominent People below) met up with two more Colombian entrepreneurs (all coincidentally named Alberto) and they slowly began building the Zumba brand. Though they had very little money they had a great idea that was about to take off.

As would be expected from someone in his position, Perez has a certain charisma about him that was crucial in building the Zumba empire to what it is today. According to Zumba Education Specialist and International Presenter Gina Grant, Perez Has this magic about him. He can take a room of 2,000 bored people and make them ready to party in 30 seconds." That magic helped make the famous Zumba infomercial a smashing success.

See video here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=A314kZAOCdw

Following the success of the infomerical, Perez continued to build the Zumba product brand by turning it into more than just a simple workout routine. The Zumba lifestyle would eventually include unique types of Zumba workouts for people with various fitness goals. Due to the skyrocketing popularity of Zumba a Zumba Academy was created to license instructors. And the clothing line and multiple versions of video games in recent years have just been added bonuses to the wide array of Zumba offerings:

• DVDs - as originally made famous from the amazing Zumba infomercial, the DVDs have brought Zumba into the home of millions around the world (check out some offerings here: www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=zumba+in+DVD&x=0&y=0 ) .

• Zumba Academy to train licensed Zumba instructors - the millions of followers needed to learn the moves from someone and Perez and his colleagues made sure there would be an ample supply of qualified Zumba instructors . Today almost 100 Zumba Academies are available in the United States alone as well as in another 40 countries ( www.zumba.com/trainings/overview ). Regarding the multitude of Zumba instructors around the world, co-founder Alberto Perlman noted we have a lot of people who are very successful doing something that they love according to Zumba co-founder Alberto Perlman (read more about him below and find his full interview at: www.thebusinessmakers.com/episodes/shows/2010/september-2010/episode-274/alberto-pearlman.html ).

• Zumbawear apparel - Zumba is more than just a workout, its a lifestyle. Zumbawear apparel offers unique workout clothing (cargo pants, anyone?) that helps build the Zumba brand, especially when it can be worn casually or to a Zumba workout ( www.zumba.com/en-US/shop/ ) .

• Zumba video games - Zumba has almost single-handedly refuted the notion that all video game players are lazy. The Zumba Fitness video games, available for all three motion-based gaming systems, are great as an alternative to DVDs or as a way to offer a friendly workout challenge to your like-minded Zumba friends.

• Zumbathons, raising money for worthy causes worldwide - For as much good as Zumba can do to your body it can work for the greater good as well. Zumbathon charity events are an excellent alternative to other workout-themed fundraisers .

• Zumba Convention - Learning and absorbing the Zumba lifestyle for Zumba instructors is never-ending and devotees can stay up-to-date on the latest Zumba trends at the annual convention ( http://convention.zumba.com/ ) .

• Choreography of fitness music videos - Its not as though doing choreography for names such as Shakira and Pitbull ( www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4jfNhXjEdg ) as well as going on tour with them can bring a company any notoriety, right ?

It doesnt hurt to have a few celebrities on your side when trying to promote a new product (see Celebrity Testimonials below). Furthermore, when promoting a dance-inspired workout with international appeal there are no celebrities to help your cause than Jennifer Lopez and Madonna. These megastars are two of the many celebrities who have helped bring Zumba to the international masses .