Chubby lady wants to do Zumba

[Mickeyflower]

So I have this, uh friend (***cough***cough***me***cough***cough can someone make a cough smiley?) and I really want to start running and maybe doing Zumba, but AT HOME. I don't want strangers to watch the girls smack me in the face while I try to copy the instructor and not fall over.

Have any of you done a Zumba DVD? I've seen DVD sets and such, but I really want something that can take me from total novice to I got this watch me move! I'm not sure if Zumba would be right for me or if I should look for something more complete like a strength training set or something.

Any and all advice is totally welcome! TIA!

 

[bumbershoot]

If you have cable with an "on demand" sort of perk, they often have exercise channels/videos. You might check to see if they have Zumba.

 

[araes2102]

This chubby lady does Zumba all the time! Just got back from a class actually. Sorry I don't have any input on the dvds, but I imagine they would work just fine I really enjoy myself even though I probably look like oaf, but I love zumba and highly recommend it. It is so much fun and not boring like so many other things I have tried. I do recommend the classes, maybe after you have tried the dvd if you feel subconscious about it. But I go to the ymca and there all kinds of ladies in the classes, other chubby ladies included And maybe you could take a friend to the first class with you, that's what I did.

 

[Mickeyflower]

I don't think I have a YMCA near me, but maybe I can find some classes. Are they expensive?

 

[araes2102]

I dont know about other places. My ymca membership is something like $65 per month for the family.

 

[RangerPooh]

This chubby gal has done Zumba. A coworker if mine talked me into taking a class over our lunch hour. Unfortunately we work at a university so the class had both you g college kids and faculty. I'm far from coordinated and was the worst in the class but it was fun Have you looked into your local parks and rec? Ours offers them.

 

[chris1013]

This chubby gal has also done Zumba. It is loads of fun, but sometimes it is great being able to do it at home too. I haven't had much experience with the DVDs, but they do have Zumba "games" on Wii, PS3 and Xbox if you or someone in your household have one of the systems. I have Zumba Fitness 2 for the Wii and love it. The nice thing about that game is it comes with a belt to put the controller in so it tracks your movement. Makes me feel like I'm awesome. If that's not an option, I would check Groupon for classes. I found one in my area that was 10 classes for $29.

 

[Mickeyflower]

This chubby gal has also done Zumba. It is loads of fun, but sometimes it is great being able to do it at home too. I haven't had much experience with the DVDs, but they do have Zumba "games" on Wii, PS3 and Xbox if you or someone in your household have one of the systems. I have Zumba Fitness 2 for the Wii and love it. The nice thing about that game is it comes with a belt to put the controller in so it tracks your movement. Makes me feel like I'm awesome. If that's not an option, I would check Groupon for classes. I found one in my area that was 10 classes for $29.

I do have a Wii I inherited I will check that out! Thank you!

 

[MariDisney]

I don't normally post on this board, but I thought I'd jump in here. I'm a chubby lady who does Zumba, and the more I Zumba the less chubby I am. I began a new eating plan and exercising (mostly Zumba, yoga, and water aerobics) in January and have lost just shy of 70 lbs. My gym is LA fitness. I pay $35 per month and have unlimited use as well as unlimited classes. So, I Zumba 3-4 times per week and love every minute.

I found the folks in the classes and the instructors are very supportive of all fitness levels. MANY people can't keep up with the moves. No one cares. Everyone is just there to have a good time. And, you are so focused on the fun music and following the teacher that you barely notice the other people in the class. But, you will notice everyone smiling the whole time. I highly recommend it.

I was so so so scared to get started. I thought I'd be the only fat chick there. But, I was wrong and in the end it didn't matter. No one looked down on me, even when I needed to just stand still for a minute and breathe. Within a few classes I felt extremely comfortable and now I feel like I'm almost an expert even though I have more weight to lose. I am sad that I held myself back because I was embarrassed by my body. I know now that I don't need to be. A body is a body is a body. And, if I want to be healthy and live a good long life I needed to get my body moving!

 

[bumbershoot]

LOVE your post, Mari.

And it reminds me that one of the teachers at my Y started taking Zumba when she was high in the 200s, if not in the 300s still. You can read about her by googling something like "Wendy Tacoma Zumba Weight watchers"; she lost over 300 on WW and was interviewed by Oprah, in People, etc etc. She started taking it relatively early on in her weight loss, and then became a teacher and still is. She is a major inspiration, especially Zumba-wise.

And I do agree that Zumba tends to be very friendly to all people taking it. It's not just a fitness class for the already-fit!

 

[Mickeyflower]

I don't normally post on this board, but I thought I'd jump in here. I'm a chubby lady who does Zumba, and the more I Zumba the less chubby I am. I began a new eating plan and exercising (mostly Zumba, yoga, and water aerobics) in January and have lost just shy of 70 lbs. My gym is LA fitness. I pay $35 per month and have unlimited use as well as unlimited classes. So, I Zumba 3-4 times per week and love every minute.

I found the folks in the classes and the instructors are very supportive of all fitness levels. MANY people can't keep up with the moves. No one cares. Everyone is just there to have a good time. And, you are so focused on the fun music and following the teacher that you barely notice the other people in the class. But, you will notice everyone smiling the whole time. I highly recommend it.

I was so so so scared to get started. I thought I'd be the only fat chick there. But, I was wrong and in the end it didn't matter. No one looked down on me, even when I needed to just stand still for a minute and breathe. Within a few classes I felt extremely comfortable and now I feel like I'm almost an expert even though I have more weight to lose. I am sad that I held myself back because I was embarrassed by my body. I know now that I don't need to be. A body is a body is a body. And, if I want to be healthy and live a good long life I needed to get my body moving!

THANK YOU! I think I am absolutely going to try it. First, I have to get the girls on lock down!

 

[kylmac]

I think you will enjoy it-either at a gym or try a library for dvds. The people at the gym are very friendly and hardly anyone can dance-I follow the instructor and the people up front-everyone else just dances along. It is fun!
Good luck with your Zumba!
Elizabeth

 

[MariDisney]

THANK YOU! I think I am absolutely going to try it. First, I have to get the girls on lock down!

Great! I look forward to hearing how you like it.

 

[MariDisney]

LOVE your post, Mari.

And it reminds me that one of the teachers at my Y started taking Zumba when she was high in the 200s, if not in the 300s still. You can read about her by googling something like "Wendy Tacoma Zumba Weight watchers"; she lost over 300 on WW and was interviewed by Oprah, in People, etc etc. She started taking it relatively early on in her weight loss, and then became a teacher and still is. She is a major inspiration, especially Zumba-wise.

And I do agree that Zumba tends to be very friendly to all people taking it. It's not just a fitness class for the already-fit!

I'm definitely going to read that. Thanks!

 

[araes2102]

I don't normally post on this board, but I thought I'd jump in here. I'm a chubby lady who does Zumba, and the more I Zumba the less chubby I am. I began a new eating plan and exercising (mostly Zumba, yoga, and water aerobics) in January and have lost just shy of 70 lbs. My gym is LA fitness. I pay $35 per month and have unlimited use as well as unlimited classes. So, I Zumba 3-4 times per week and love every minute.

I found the folks in the classes and the instructors are very supportive of all fitness levels. MANY people can't keep up with the moves. No one cares. Everyone is just there to have a good time. And, you are so focused on the fun music and following the teacher that you barely notice the other people in the class. But, you will notice everyone smiling the whole time. I highly recommend it.

I was so so so scared to get started. I thought I'd be the only fat chick there. But, I was wrong and in the end it didn't matter. No one looked down on me, even when I needed to just stand still for a minute and breathe. Within a few classes I felt extremely comfortable and now I feel like I'm almost an expert even though I have more weight to lose. I am sad that I held myself back because I was embarrassed by my body. I know now that I don't need to be. A body is a body is a body. And, if I want to be healthy and live a good long life I needed to get my body moving!

Absolutely THIS!

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm definitely going to read that. Thanks!

http://www.komonews.com/communities/tacoma/196513361.html gives the basics. And the facebook page that comes up is her. I was posting from my phone earlier and couldn't get that for you.

 

[Zim]

I haven't read all the replies so sorry if I'm repeating, but I love my Zumba Wii. I have Zumba 2 and Zumba Core. Both are very forgiving (I think) if you aren't moving with as much umph as the person on the screen... so you can build up to their motions.

I started with the medium length class and man it was exhausting, sometimes I couldn't finish and I never knew I could generate so much sweat. But I started losing weight. Now 4 months into really keeping at it plus doing a run / walk 4 mile combo on the days I don't Zumba I'm down 20 pounds.

I love the Zumba game because it's competitive, it shows your calorie burn and accuracy ratings (not sure on the calories as the numbers seem seriously inflated!). But I'm up to the full length 60 minute class, I don't sweat nearly as much and average a 94% accuracy.

My only warning is treat your knees with care. You don't have an instructor their telling you not to extend your knees over your toes and with a lot of Zumba moves you could easily do this and really injure yourself. So go slow, don't worry about keeping up with them (remember you can always hit the home key to pause it!!) and before long it'll seem a lot easier.

If and when you feel you could do a real class a lot of gyms have wised up and offer per class payments so if you only go once a month you pay as you go.

 

[Mickeyflower]

I haven't read all the replies so sorry if I'm repeating, but I love my Zumba Wii. I have Zumba 2 and Zumba Core. Both are very forgiving (I think) if you aren't moving with as much umph as the person on the screen... so you can build up to their motions.

I started with the medium length class and man it was exhausting, sometimes I couldn't finish and I never knew I could generate so much sweat. But I started losing weight. Now 4 months into really keeping at it plus doing a run / walk 4 mile combo on the days I don't Zumba I'm down 20 pounds.

I love the Zumba game because it's competitive, it shows your calorie burn and accuracy ratings (not sure on the calories as the numbers seem seriously inflated!). But I'm up to the full length 60 minute class, I don't sweat nearly as much and average a 94% accuracy.

My only warning is treat your knees with care. You don't have an instructor their telling you not to extend your knees over your toes and with a lot of Zumba moves you could easily do this and really injure yourself. So go slow, don't worry about keeping up with them (remember you can always hit the home key to pause it!!) and before long it'll seem a lot easier.

If and when you feel you could do a real class a lot of gyms have wised up and offer per class payments so if you only go once a month you pay as you go.

Great idea's and tips thank you