Zumba

Last week I tried something new at the gym: Zumba.  It is something that I've wanted to try for a while, but each time I attempted to go in the past, I either chickened out or the class was canceled. 

Not sure what Zumba is, go here: Zumba

The class itself was really small, maybe eight other women were there, and I was the youngest one.  Once the music started going, I got a lot more comfortable.  The thing I observed, though, was that the instructor used very little verbal communication.  To get our attention, she used sounds like slaps and whistles. For example, to let us know we would begin kicking or stepping forward, she would slap the thigh of the one we should lead out with.  If we were going to begin a new motion, she would whistle, so we would look at her and follow along with the change.  If she felt like someone, or the class as a whole, wasn't given enough energy, she would mock laziness with her body posture, facial expression, and gestures.  If someone was doing things really well, she would whistle, point at her, and give her a thumbs up.  She was able to help the class without ever saying a word.  It was really neat because she never interrupted the music, which was good for me.  I don't have the best rhythm or coordination, so the less distraction, the better for me. 

Source: http://tipsfor2012andbeyond.blogspot.com/2012_05_01_archive.html