I Zumba-ed

A first attempt at “fun” exercise

I hate exercising. Newton himself recognized that an object at rest will stay at rest — and, boy howdy, do I love to rest. I recognize the importance of exercise, but it’s the absolute worst. I feel inadequate while exercising, exhausted immediately after and sore for days. Recently, a few friends invited me to do Zumba with them. In an attempt to find the fun of exercising, I decided to give it a whirl.

First and foremost, I am White and Adventist. I have absolutely no rhythm. I can sort of sway like a tree in a gentle breeze (just as the good conservatives allow), but staying on beat is not in my repertoire. Zumba requires a certain amount of rhythmic understanding that I simply do not have. I was about 10 and a half steps behind on everything. I can safely say I had no clue what was going on.

Zumba also requires a ton of physical movement, hence it being a good form of exercise. Unfortunately, I was cramping really hard before starting. My heart was saying yes, but my body was saying no. As soon as the instructor started jumping, I knew I was completely out of my physical element. Not only was my uterus screeching for its next hit of ibuprofen, I was expected to let my brain crash into my skull multiple times in a row? Absolutely not. 

The physical commitment required for Zumba is not something I’m into. It’s awkward trying to commit to the bit of practically throwing your body across the room. I ran into everything and everyone in that basement, and I wasn’t even close to doing it right. By the end of the night, I was about as close to one big bruise as a person can get.

That being said, it was one of the more fun exercises I have ever done. Because I was with good company, I was able to laugh off my mistakes without feeling bad for causing harm to the rest of the room. It had the intensity of a good workout while distracting me from the pain I was experiencing. I’m excited to do it again … as soon as my legs stop hurting.

By: Lacey Stecker