Part of my quest to cut down on mindless Facebooking and tv is to replace those activities with productive, meaningful ones such as reading, cooking, or trying new workouts. Zumba with Erica Bornstein has been one of my favorite workouts for a while…it is challenging and fun, so the hour-long class goes by fast! Erica also used to teach a Saturday vinyasa yoga class at soul.train right after her 10:30 Zumba class, but it is now replaced by Hip Hop Dance Camp (which combines hip hop dance with strength exercises).
I was really glad that Jess and Denise both came to class today! We got there early in case the class would be crowded, but the crowd level was fairly manageable. The timing of this class (11:45 a.m.) helps distribute the crowding in the 10:30 Zumba class, which often has so many people that you have to dance by the kettlebells and mats if you are late! However, the crowd level was very manageable today. We set up in the middle of the room when Erica encouraged all of us who were timidly skulking in the back to move up. I’m now converted from my previous skulking ways, because it is a lot easier to follow the choreography when you are closer to the front, and as Erica says “no one is looking at you, just have fun!” That’s a teaching lesson I’ll bring back to the math classroom this week…to encourage my students to learn and have fun without fear of others judging them.
The high-energy class did go by fast like Zumba does, and included a few familiar routines to songs like “Rude Dude” and “Bojangles.” I liked it a wee bit better because I find hip hop moves easier to follow than the salsa, mambo, and cha cha steps that go very fast in Zumba. Erica was also very considerate of the rhythmically challenged by calling out more cues than usual. I liked the strength training elements: lunges, side lunges, mountain climbers, pushups, and spider pushups (which reminded me of the dreaded “fire hydrant dog” from Pure Barre). It was like Crazy 8’s was trying to infiltrate dance…would be funny if the tabata included elements of dance in the intervals!
Jess, Erica, Me, Denise
Photo Credit: Jessica Miller
Looking forward to my next Hip Hop Dance Camp…and may even do a Zumba-Hip Hop Dance Camp doubleheader!
