Zumba! Everybody Zumba!

So I have finally joined the gym and I am a very happy camper.  Easily pleased obviously!   I have three aims: to get fit, to attempt to make some friends and to make the MOST of the creche facilities (after all Nanny Mummy does need a break every so often).  I decided to drive all the way to the Fitness First in Collaroy as that is soon to become my regular.  My first class is Zumba.  I drop the kids in the creche (no crying - Bonus!!!), take a quick glance around to see if there are any suitable mums for me to attempt conversation with - nope -oh well next time!  Off to class!  I have heard SO much about this Zumba fitness and how fabulous it is, that I am quite intrigued by it.  The studio is enormous and the instructor does her thing up on a huge stage (far posher than I'm used to) and as it's only a Tuesday morning there is hardly anyone in the class, which is making me feel slightly nervous.  It's much easier to hide at the back of a full class!!  The instructor introduces herself and asks if anyone has never done Zumba before.  (In a split second I am thinking - shall I admit to it or not????  If I do she might make me stand in the front and then I'll look like a complete idiot, but if I don't I might not get any help if I'm looking like a complete idiot!!)  I bravely stick my hand in the air and smile.  Then, yup, you got it - straight to the front!!  Oh god, this is going to be interesting!!!!  

Just as it says on the tin - Zumba is brilliant and I had such a good class.  It was no where near as difficult as I had predicted and I actually managed to do quite well in the front of the class.   I've now done a few Zumba classes and I think I might be getting hooked!!

Next on my list was doing an attack class.  Back to Collaroy I go and drop the kids off in the creche.  This time Josh sees a little boy that he recognised from the last class and got quite excited.  Brilliant I thought, he has someone to play with at last.  Whist waiting for the class to start, I wondered who the mum would be and whether or not I would be brave enough to ask to meet up outside the gym???  I decided that after class I would find out who she is and suggest that we have a drink in the cafe so the kids could play a bit longer.  

Back to attack - this time I decided not to volunteer myself as a complete novice and luckily I found that attack is attack no matter which country you're in!!  And I am sooooo glad to be back at it again.  At last a great workout where I didn't really have to concentrate to much on the moves - although I am pretty sure the instructor had springs in her shoes!!!

At the end of the class I was all ready to introduce myself to a potential new friend and luckily once I got back to the creche Josh was still as enthusiastic as ever.  He told me his new friend was called Zac.  Hi Zac I said, is your mummy on her way to pick you up???  "No, my dad is"  Oh right, I though - and as I turned around there he was!!!  Oh god, this is not at all what I was expecting!!  What do I do now - my plan has suddenly come to a halt!!  I can't ask a dad for coffee - what will he think????  "Come on kids" I say, "lets get going"!!  Such a wimp I know!!!!!  Next time :)

Now that I've got in to the swing of things at the gym, I decided to go to the Fitness First around the corner from our apartment last night.  What bliss, an evening out, even if it is a gym class!  It was a gorgeous evening and the walk to the gym alone was awesome.  It really remind me that I'm in balmy SYDNEY and not redhill.  This time I am trying  Body Combat, another class that I am well accustomed to so no need to volunteer that I'm a newby!  I was totally in my own world waiting for the class to start when the instructor call out "G'day guys, I bet you're all glad to be in here this evening and not outside in the freezing cold! Keep your tops on until you feel warmed up"  Well, that certainly snapped me out of my day dream!  COLD?????  Did I hear that right??  It's 21 degree outside and I even broke a sweat just walking here!!!!  Mmmmmmm these Sydneysiders have NO idea about real cold!!  Made me chuckle!!  Luckily Combat is Combat too and I loved it!!  So much so that I decided to I was ready for double cardio - and I would stay for the Zumba class which was next.

It was the same instructor that took Combat and I again I didn't feel the need to say that was new to Zumba as I think I've kinda got the swing of it now from doing the morning classes!!  WELL, the music started and that's about all I can remember!!!!  OMG, I have never experienced anything like it!!  Firstly the instructor (same one that was yelling at us to punch harder in combat) was suddenly miming her instruction!!  Yep, miming!!  What on earth was that about??  I did not have a clue what was going on.  And to make matter worse, the class was about 100 x faster and 100 x more complicated than the one I had previously done.  It has suddenly become clear that my previous classes were obviously the beginner ones!  My hips were swinging in the wrong direction, I couldn't time the booty shaking with the hip thrusting and who knows what my arms and legs were doing!!   It was hilarious - I really wish I had had someone with me to laugh with!!!  One minute I was shaking my boobs doing some kind of flamenco thing and the next it was full on Bollywood!  The instructor (called Afro Jess) was AMAZING but instead of yelling at us to work harder as she had done in the last class, she was still miming her instructions!!!  That really didn't help little old me who was trying so hard to keep up and EVERYONE else seemed to know exactly what was going on!!  Oh well, not sure I will be going back to that class in a hurry - I might just stick to my beginner class for now!!  

Anyone else out there done Zumba??  Go on, try it, I dare ya!!!!!