Eat this. Never eat that. Eat as much as you want and look better than ever. Never eat again and have the body you’ve always dreamt of. With all these mixed messages out there, feeling good about yourself at the end of the day is no easy feat. At BX, we certainly don’t know it all, so Dietribe is all about a conversation with you – what works for you? What doesn’t? What diet plan would you never do again? Each week, we’ll provide some tips, tricks and lessons learned, but your feedback is what keeps the conversation going. Got a topic or suggestion to throw into the mix?

This past Sunday morning, I woke up after a night of drinking and dancing with my friends to a vague soreness in my arms and back. After taking stock of the evening’s activities (did I fall in a drunken heap somewhere and land on my back? Thankfully, no.), I realized it could only be a result of two hours of intense rumpshaking.

This got me thinking. Saturday night I had the time of my life dancing with my friends, but somehow I also grooved hard enough to work up a sweat and make my muscles remember it the next day. Could it be that working out could actually be fun???

A few friends of mine have recently taken up Zumba, a hybrid fitness class inspired by Latin dance and music. Spanish for “to move fast and have fun,” the movement has been insanely popular since its introduction to the US in 1999.

So what is Zumba you ask? Essentially, Zumba is a dance class for people who want to have fun working out but might not necessarily have a coordinated bone in their body. The Zumba workout is designed to mix body sculpting moves with easy-to-follow Latin dance routines including cumbia, meringue, salsa, reggaeton, hip hop, mambo, flamenco and calypso.

While I have yet to try Zumba (it’s so popular I haven’t been able to sign up at my gym for a month straight!), my friend Maria has been on several occasions. She is the first to acknowledge her severe lack of coordination and serious white-girl dancing skills, but every time she leaves the class, she calls or texts to tell me how much I’m missing out on. Did I mention that prior to discovering this class, she hadn’t seen the inside of our gym in over a year?*

Zumba is designed to create a “party-like atmosphere” that helps attendees forget they’re working out. As the movement’s creator, Alberto ‘Beto’ Perez, summarizes, “People hate to exercise, but people love to party.”

Amen, brother.

Check out the Zumba website to order a DVD or contact your local gym or YMCA to find out if they offer Zumba classes.

Party on!

The Nutritionista

*Not exaggerated for effect

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