DITCH THE ROUTINE, HIT THE PARTY

Ditch the routine, hit the party is the tagline for the Zumba class at my local gym. Zumba is a latin inspired fitness workout which has spread like wildfire through the world and hit the UK like a storm. The main aim of Zumba? To get you to enjoy working out, to want to work out and to work out well. A Zumba class mixes fast and slow latin rhythms to dance to, which will tone and sculp your body. Even better than that, it is estimated an hour of Zumba can burn from 500 to 900 calories.

After getting more and more curious about Zumba every time I hit the gym and saw the interesting tagline, I decided to go to a class on Friday. I'm not a big fan of aerobics classes, mainly because I prefer to hit the gym equipment and create my own routine. But a party whilst burning so many calories? That was tempting.

The class entails an hour of a Zumba instructor dancing madly around at the front of the group, and you attempting to follow her moves. It sounds difficult, but the routines are simple but high intensity. The instructor will carry on for the whole hour, but you can stop for water and a rest any time you want. The bum wiggling, chest shaking and hip rotation of Latin dance was definitely being felt by the end of the hour, I was feeling like I'd worked really hard.

So what did I think of Zumba?

• It is high intensity, and if you're wanting a class where you feel you've worked hard, Zumba is the one for you.
• It is much better done with a group of friends. I went alone, but I would have loved to have a friend with me to share the laughter when I became ridiculously uncoordinated.
• Just because you don't like dancing doesn't mean you won't like Zumba. It is primarily a fitness class with dance moves. There are clearly a mixture of people who go - individuals who want to dance and become fit, and those who want to be fit whilst doing something different. It's for everyone.
• It has very good results. From a fitness perspective, it is estimated you're burning around 500 to 900 calories an hour, yet still sculpting your body. It targets all the bits you want a fitness class to target - your stomach, legs and chest.

So make your way down to your local Zumba class and give it a go. I really enjoyed the experience and will be interested in going again - I think I might round up the rest of my flat mates next time though! Has any one else tried Zumba? What were your experiences?