Zumba Gold: The what, the why, and the who is it for?

I’ve started teaching Zumba Gold and I get lots of questions asking what is this? Some people have ideas of what it might be but mostly starting from a simple ‘never heard of it’. And that’s fair. While I’ve known of Zumba for a long time (and many don’t know of Zumba either, it’s a brand best known in fitness circles) I wasn’t familiar with the relatively newer Zumba Gold until more recently.

Let’s start with the What

Zumba is a cardio group fitness class that takes inspiration from Latin American and World music and dance. Its high pace, high intensity, designed to give you a great cardio workout to boost your fitness. The word Zumba is just a made-up brand name devised by the team who devised this new fitness workout concept. It doesn’t mean anything but is now associated with this fun dance inspired aerobic workout.

Zumba Gold is less well known. It’s a variation on Zumba that was devised to suit older adults, beginners and/or anyone with limitations to be able to participate in original Zumba. It’s designed to have less intensity, a slower pace and easier to follow routines. It is just as enjoyable (some say more enjoyable!) and gives all the same benefits.

If you remember aerobics, then you get the idea. Bring in lots of different international music styles (from Flamenco to Bollywood), include a dash/flavour of the dance styles associated with each musical genre, build it into lots of short workouts with repeatable easy to follow movements that vary in pace and complexity, and then you have Zumba Gold.

Now the why, why give it a go?

Participation in regular exercise is just really good for us, and if we can include a cardio workout into our regular routine it has a whole host of potential benefits for our health including reduction in the risk of cardiovascular disease, slowing and even reversal or stopping of some health issues and diseases that are associated with sedentary lifestyles, promotion of psychological well-being, and if we take part in group exercise we also get the bonus of social interaction, which can then benefit our mental health even further.

It tests and can improve our physical health such as balance, stability, muscle tone, bone density, flexibility, lung capacity, blood pressure, weight, blood sugar levels, cholesterol levels. The list is long! And it also has benefits for our mental health including exercising our memory and co-ordination, reducing stress and anxiety, increasing our sense of relaxation and self-esteem, and, simply but importantly, improving our mood.

What’s not to like, it’s a win-win – a fun activity with like-minded people with a whole bunch of potential physical and mental health benefits.

And finally, the Who, who can do Zumba Gold?

The simplest answer is ‘anyone’. It is designed for any adult who wants to improve their health and fitness, particularly older adults who want to get or continue being active, anyone new to incorporating fitness into their routine, or anyone with limitations that may prevent them from participating in a full blown, high impact, high intensity workout such as original Zumba.

You don’t need to know any dance moves, you don’t need to be coordinated, you don’t need to be fit already. You just need a pair of trainers and active wear clothing and then turn up with a ‘give it a go’ attitude. Bring some water – we’re going to need to rehydrate and make sure you have some energy – don’t skip lunch/breakfast, but also ideally don’t down your sandwich 5 minutes before we start.

There is no upper age limit, there is no minimum level of fitness required. If you meet either of these criteria then Zumba Gold could be for you. Either you want/need to do some (more) exercise, or you want/need to get or stay fitter/healthier.

In the class I will be doing the workout with you, you just need to copy me. I’ll give regular verbal and visual cues to let you know when we’re going to change from one movement to another. We’ll have breaks to catch our breath and grab a top up of water.

And don’t feel self-conscious, no-one in the class has time to look at what anyone else is doing, we are all concentrating on ourselves, people go the wrong way, start on the wrong leg, miss a cue and catch up. Its all fine. And I’m just looking to ensure you are safe. That’s it. You are in your little bubble doing your own thing, no judgement.

Tempted or still unsure?

Come along and give it a go. The best way to find out what it is and if it is for you is to give it a try. The first class is free, if you don’t enjoy it there is no pressure or obligation to come back. However, I generally find that at the end of a class people are mostly smiling, buzzing, maybe feeling a bit exhausted and like they’ve done more exercise than they’ve done in a while yet feeling good about it.

I’d love to see you at a class, feel free to pop along, anytime.