Polk County has joined the nation in the latest fitness craze - Zumba.
Originally aimed at the Hispanic population, Zumba has crossed into mainstream and attracts all ages and nationalities.
Eileen Ranno, certified Zumba instructor, describes Zumba as "exercise in a party atmosphere."
"People are more willing to exercise and time goes by faster when they are having fun," Ranno explained.
Another certified instructor, Joan Miller says, "It's exercise in disguise."
Zumba was created by "Beto" Perez in the mid 1990's. He arrived to lead a fitness class in Colombia, South America and realized he forgot his music. He improvised an aerobic session using Latin dance moves to traditional music he had in his car. By the end of the class, he realized the potential.
Later, Kellogg's wanted a fitness program focused on Hispanics and exposed the nation to Zumba. Infomercials created the nationwide demand for the program.
"To become a certified instructor, you have to attend a one day training session which focuses on fitness and routines," Janet Gomez, a certified instructor in Haines City, explained.
Ranno added, "Instructors are expected to attend conventions and as Zumba members, we receive bi-monthly updates through newsletters."
"Most people get hooked on it the first class," Miller says. Miller began taking classes in January 2008 and was a certified instructor by March of the same year.
"It's a blast," Gomez says.
Zumba incorporates many Latin dances like the Salsa and Meringue.
Ranno tailors her routines to her individual classes. She will bring in belly dancing and yoga moves, in addition to the traditional Latin moves.
Gomez says she loves working with different ages. She has two sisters, ages 73 and 76, who are from the Philippines.
"It was really interesting working with them at the beginning. In the Philippines women are taught not to move their hips when they walk and Zumba is constantly moving your hips. The sisters are really having fun with it now."
"It's fabulous, and you can burn up to 500 calories in an hour," Miller says.
Ranno has seen women lose between 30 and 45 pounds in four months by taking the class and watching their diet.
Ranno described a typical session as a warm up with some slower, more fluid moves, then the high energy moves, followed by a cool down. She emphasizes the warm up and cool down are just as important as the work out itself.
"The warm up prepares the muscles for the strain of the exercise and the cool down prevents muscle strains and injuries after you leave the class," Ranno explained.
Ranno also advised that the cool down also helps slow the breathing and ring the heart rate down to normal.
Ranno instructs new class members to listen to their bodies and modify the routine according to what they can do.
Miller concurred stating, "You get out of it as much as you put into it. If you want to sweat, you'll sweat."
Gomez does adjust some of her routines if she is teaching mostly seniors. "Otherwise, the advanced and beginners all stay in the same class and work out at the level they can handle," Gomez says.
Miller says, "The different moves work the abs and other core muscles, as well as sculpting the arms and legs."
Ranno encourages members to bring her their favorite music. She works to tailor a routine to the music, because she feels the class will have more fun if they are familiar with the music.
This summer, Ranno will be teaching a kids class for the City of Winter Haven's Summer Camp. That class will focus more on jumps than some of the more suggestive Latin moves. Her daughter is trying to get her to incorporate a recent line dance from the Hannah Montana movie. Ranno says she is "thinking about it."
Ranno's class is made up of women of all shapes, sizes and ages. The participants were as animated or subdued as they chose to be. Ranno proved to be a fun instructor who exuded the energy that can only come from someone doing what they love to do.
"My classes are usually mostly women, so they come in and get to have fun and feel sexy without being self-conscious," Ranno says.
For more details about the Zumba classes with the City of Winter Haven, call recreation supervisor Cindy Marks at 863-291-5656.
