~*~ Zumba... advice please! ~*~

faithcecilia

SandC wrote: »

Good to hear from a teach - but don't they require that you have level 2 ETM? From what I hear they are finding it a revelation having been restricted to doing all the Les Mills stuff at gyms for an hourly set rate - village halls are back in business!:T

Nope, Zumba Basics 1 (the basic certificate) has no prerequisites at all - you don't even need to have attended a Zumba class!!:eek: Its absolutely shocking! The other Zumba specialties only require you to have taken B1 - so you could do B1 one weekend, Gold the next, and then go out and set up a class teaching older adults, with the limitations that can come with age, after just 12hrs or so instruction! To have a 'real' fitness qualification for the same 'special population;)' would require ETM, a minimum of 2 weeks intensive study and a seperate 4 day course for the older adult add on, each with an assessment some time later (based on YMCAFit, who i studied with).

coco1980

ive been to 4 different zumba classes and the only thing that was the same in each class is that there were people of all ages shapes and sizes, all had different ways of teaching a few done the same songs but some made it more enjoyable than others, i really enjoy it and try to do 2 classes a week now, good luck tonight if you go im sure you'll have great fun:j:j:j

Moomin21

the zumba class i went to in Leeds was crazy!! it was like being at a brazillian rave with your drunk auntie at the front doing all kinds of weird moves that you had to copy!! she didn't explain any moves at all, you just copied what she did, and if you couldn't see/do it then you just jumped around a bit! its not like a dance class where u have to get the moves right - no one really cares!! great fun, and time flies!! had to stop going to this particular class coz it was so popular you didn't have space to move!

i just wore trackies and a tshirt and trainers, nothing fancy or dancey! just think of it as 'mad aerobics' rather than dance!

have fun!!

rachbc

from what friends say all the classes near me are so packed you can harldy move - how can the instructor ensure everyone stays safe in that kind of environement??

SandC

Classes should have size limits. Mine operates on a course basis whereby you pay up front for 6 weeks. Max 50 in each class and that's comfortable in the big room.

Thing is right now, zumba teachers are making a fortune. It won't last forever but you can see how tempting it is to cash in (especially as I've said in my above post, if they've previously been teaching at gyms maybe because they do Les Mills classes predominantly, they have been restricted to whatever hourly rate they can negotiate).

I would go with cecilia's advice and check out the instructor credentials first.

faithcecilia

My old instructor regularly has over 100 in a class, and to be honest it frightened me by the end. Now I am fully qualified it frightens me even more, as you simply cannot keep a proper eye on so many people, watch their technique, etc. She is fully qualified so on that point I have no issue, but it is so worrying that someone who has no knowledge of anatomy, of how muscles work, etc etc, can just start up as a Zumba instructor. Also, the classes I used to go to didn't have a proper warm-up and cool-down - we always started late as people didn't arrive in time, and she always tried to squeeze in an extra track rather than cooling down properly.

Sadly, I think money is a massive factor, I mean, when you can take a £500 course on the Saturday, hire a hall for about £10hr a couple of times a week and get 50 people paying £5 a time, it doesn't take a genius to see you can make a lot.

I'm not currently teaching Zumba, but feel very strongly that ALL my classes will be kept very small. I'm not money-motivated and would rather run 5 safe and effective classes a week than 1 big 'party' where I cannot be aware of each participant's needs.

SandC

Good for you faithcecilia. The instructor I'm going to has had us all fill in a form when we pay for the course, part of which is our agreement to his terms and conditions which states that latecomers who miss the warm up track will not be allowed to participate. I naively thought other instructors would be doing likewise, seems not.

kerrydrobertson

i started this recently and love it!! i dont care if i look stupid or not as long as im exercising and keeping fit. try it, its so much fun!