The No. 1 Fitness Trend in the U.S. and West County? Zumba

There is a reason that David Walters said, "An hour on a treadmill feels like a weekend in traffic school." Even with the best tunes and a closed caption movie extravaganza, I find the thump-thump-thump of the machine less than inspiring.

Not to mention, if you have any previous injuries or illness, you can easily irritate them with the locked-in motions of the treadmill and elliptical. So its no surprise that Zumba Fitness, an "effective, easy-to-follow, Latin-inspired, calorie-burning dance fitness-party", has beenidentified by the American College of Sports Medicine as the #1 fitness trend for 2012.

Several West County residents have not only fallen in love with taking Zumba, but were so inspired they became Zumba instructors.

Chrissie Reiss, a Manchester married mother of two, has always been active and upbeat. As a teen she spent time in dance and poms, and auditioned for the inaugural season of the St. Louis Rams Cheerleaders. She then suffered a knee injury, and found yoga for her rehabilitation exercises and became a certified instructor. She runs her own company, Fit-N-Fabulous.

Knowing she had to add a cardio component to her workouts, she search for alternatives to the high-impact exercise, and decided to try the Zumba class that was after her yoga class- and she was hooked.

"The Latin rhythms are infectious, and the routines are designed differently from other traditional aerobics classes," Reiss said. "You feel more like you are going out dancing with friends."

Reiss found the flexibility and personal flavor inspired her to add a second instructor certification to her credentials.

"As a former dancer, I wanted to be able to choose my own music, hot sexy moves, and flavor, and the Zumba formula allows this flexibility," Reiss said. "That is why you will find that no two Zumba classes are the same; they are as unique as each instructor. "

For other Zumba instructors, their hesitant journey into committed fitness has led them to try to inspire others.

Emily Cook, a married mother of one, has been an instructor since 2008. It was an ad for a no-committment, pay-as-you-go fitness class that brought her to Zumba. She was soon going three to four times a week and lost 40 pounds.

"I became an instructor because it was inspiring to see how much it can change lives, including mine," Cook said. "It gave me confidence and self esteem I never knew I had."

From there, Cook became a certified group exercise instructor, and then a certified personal trainer as well.

Brittany Williams of Ballwin has been teaching Zumba since April. She was bored with her usual workout and gave Zumba a try. She was nervous at her first class, but had so much fun she was an immediate regular.

For Williams, teaching Zumba is "one of the best decisions I have made - knowing that every time I teach a class I am benefiting not only myself but someone else's life to become healthier or just to put a smile on there face."

There are also variations of Zumba: Zumba Gold for baby boomers, aqua Zumba, Zumba toning, Zumbatomic for children. There is one thing in common for all the classes: a dance-club inspired atmosphere without the intimidation.

"At my classes at Z Power Fitness- we turn down the lights, flip on the party lights, and turn up the music," Cook said. "We make it a party while burning 700 plus calories."

Reiss had two women come to a class, and they hadn't worked out in a long time and were overwhelmed. With Riess' encouragement, they were able to work up to making it through a whole class.

"They have been attending regularly for over a year now, have lost weight, cut back on smoking, and admitted that this is the longest they have ever stayed with an workout program," Riess said. The women credited that the program felt like fun rather than exercise.

For information on any of these instructors and their class schedules, follow the click their name. For information on other local instructors and schedules, go to Zumba.com.
 

About this column: In addition to pursuing her Doctor of Chiropractic degree at Logan College of Chiropractic, Dawn Runge actively pursues all forms of nutritious eating, active living and practices competitive bodybuilding.