Angela Roewe

Tired of pulling out the IPOD and climbing on machine after machine to achieve the body you've always dreamed of? Then, it's time to ditch your old workout habits and join the party Zumba style.

In the past years, Zumba, a dance workout, has become nothing short of a revolution. Coining the concept of fitness-party, and making fitness fun, it has spread like wild-fire, positioning itself as the single most influential movement in the fitness industry.

Zumba fuses hypnotic Latin rhythms and easy to follow moves to create a dynamic fitness program that will blow you away. The goal is simple - To get users to want to work out, love working out, and get hooked.

Its routines feature interval-training sessions where fast and slow rhythms and resistance training are combined to tone and sculpt your body while burning fat. Add some Latin flavor and international zest into the mix and you're guaranteed to be hooked.

Kim Soyka, ACE and AFAA certified and owner of Energy Fitness Studio in Highland, introduced the class at her business almost two and a half years ago. She says it has now become her most popular class, and wishes she had offered it sooner.

"At the end of a step class during our cool down time one of my clients asked if I'd heard of Zumba," she said. "A relative of hers was visiting from another state and was telling my client about the class and how much fun it was. I had just seen the class myself at a national fitness conference. I told my client that I personally did not have time to learn how to teach another class since my load was full. It was fate that Sanny Jones, a former salsa dance competitor, was taking that step class for the first time. After the class she told me she had Zumba instructor DVDs and offered to let me borrow them, so I could learn how to teach Zumba. Considering her background I knew she would be great at instructing, so I encouraged her to learn. That next month we went together to a Zumba instructor workshop, and the rest is history."

She says Zumba has brought many women into the studio that may have avoided exercise classes in the past.

"The idea of dance as exercise is less threatening to some people," she said. "Confidence builds as participants learn the moves, and I see many participants branching into other classes. It is a great cardio workout, plus it helps tone the arms, legs and midsection.

"We use a variety of tempos, so some songs are fast paced, which increases the heart rate, and others are slower, which lowers the heart rate while requiring greater muscle control. The up and down of the heart rate, also known as interval training, has been shown to be a very effective form of exercise. Plus, Zumba is just plain fun. It is like you're not exercising at all-you're just dancing."

Zumba moves relate to the type of song, so Salsa, Cumbia, Merengue, Reggaton, Flamenco, Cha Cha, and Hip Hop with a lot of hip swinging and shoulder shimming are just a few. Soyka recommends participants wear clothing that is easy to move in that the woman feels good in. Also, wear dance fitness shoes, or old sneakers with worn out soles to provide ease of movement. Otherwise, she suggests putting duct tape over the bottom of shoes because a lot of sliding is involved.

The cost at Energy Fitness Studio is $42 for an eight-week class session, one class per week, or $66 for an eight-week class session, two classes per week. Each class lasts 45 minutes, but time will fly because you'll be having fun. wEnergy Fitness Studio also offers kick boxing, cardio step, body sculpting, yoga, yoga with weights, step and sculpt, and Nordic walking classes.

For more information, call Energy Fitness Studio at 1004 Walnut St. in Highland at (618) 654-3999.