PORTLAND -- If you haven’t been to a class you’ve probably heard friends boast about the benefits of Zumba. The American College of Sports Medicine calls it one of the top fitness trends of 2012.
At Portland’s 24 Hour Fitness locations, it’s the most popular dance class. At the Southeast Portland location classes are regularly at a capacity of 85 to 90 students.
“Zumba has far exceeded the success of any program I’ve ever seen. I’ve never really seen anything quite like it,” said instructor Candice Schutter.
Students are moving for 60 minutes doing a variety of dance steps. The main influence is Latin but Zumba also combines swing, bollywood and belly dancing.
“The first time I took a class I went in and the teacher was shaking her butt and I thought I haven’t done anything like this since I was a kid, said student Amie Clark.
In a single class students can burn up to 700 calories. Exercise physiologists consider it a total body work out that combines interval and resistance training.
“If we can get the pillar or the core strong, then everything else is going to take care of itself. Zumba really attacks the centerpiece of movement,” explained Cisco Reyes an exercise physiologist at Concordia University.
Reyes said Zumba can improve the muscles, the heart and even the backside.
“Your gluteus maximus is really the engine driving our hips. With doing all those steps it’s going to be firing and working improving even your posture.”
The benefits can be felt at all ages.
“Plain and simple it’s fun. I mess up a lot, but for my age I do better than most,” said 79 year old student Aubrey Green.
If the scale is a measure of success, Amie Clark credits Zumba with helping her party away the pounds, “When I started it I was 40 pounds heavier. It’s exercise in disguise!”
