When you first find your new favourite fitness class part of the reason you probably loved it was because it made you feel like you were really doing something great for your body. But after a while, sometimes that feeling wears off. Today I’m sharing three ways you can make your Zumba Fitness class more effective after the initial “honeymoon” phase has ended!
Before we get into today’s video a little disclaimer – I’ve got a cold so my voice is sounding a little weird in the video. That also means this week I’m teaching my Zumba classes in “sick Suzi mode” which means I’m teaching while doing as little as possible.
I’ve talked about this before, but when this happens I let my class know I’m sick so that they can maintain their intensity level instead of automatically adapting their intensity to mine – which is going to be lower than usual. It’s important to me that they know that while I have to be there because it’s my job, that I scale back as much as I can to allow my body to rest when sick with a cold. I never want my clients to think I am an example of how you should “tough it out” when sick, because I don’t believe that. But the rules are a bit different when it’s your job, and sometimes you have to force yourself to work when you don’t really want to.
At any rate, let’s get into today’s video!
Make Your Zumba Fitness Class More Effective
Use Your Arms
It might seem obvious, but the more you incorporate your arms into any cardio workout, the more you will increase the intensity. You might think you are already using your arms to their full ability – and maybe you are, but it’s worth considering during your next class. Are you fully extending your arms, or are you staying in the “safe zone” not extending them more than about 50%? If you haven’t been fully extending your arms and you don’t have any physical injuries or conditions that prevent you for doing so – this is going to be the easiest thing you can do to up your intensity level!
Contract Your Abdominals
We think about contracting our core muscles when we do core work, but how often do we think about contracting our core during cardio classes or workouts? For most people, the answer is – not very often. Maintaining core stability throughout an hour-long workout is a challenge, but not only will you help protect your back, but you will also be building some serious core strength. I guarantee you, if you put this tip into effect you will FEEL a difference pretty quickly in how much your core is working during your workout!
Be Light On Your Feet
In Zumba and other dance-based classes, it can be tempting to be really heavy on your feet through those Reggaeton Stomps and other fun movements but guess what? Actually stomping is the last thing you should do. Instead, keep those core muscles tight and work on being as light on your feet as possible. Not only will this save your feet from all that additional impact, but you will once again work your core more effectively. Less strain on your feet and more ab core? It almost sounds too good to be true – but it’s not!
So there you have it – three simple ways you can make your Zumba Fitness class more effective!