{"id":8410,"date":"2012-10-13T13:05:23","date_gmt":"2012-10-13T06:05:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/?p=8410"},"modified":"2012-10-13T13:05:23","modified_gmt":"2012-10-13T06:05:23","slug":"putting-a-little-zumba-into-my-morning-routine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/putting-a-little-zumba-into-my-morning-routine\/","title":{"rendered":"Putting a Little Zumba into My Morning Routine"},"content":{"rendered":"

by Lori Cunningham (@wellconnectdmom)<\/span><\/p>\n

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Zumba has been all the rage these past many years. \u00a0I had never tried it, although I know a number of friends who love it. \u00a0About 6 weeks ago, I received a copy of the game, Zumba Fitness \u00a0to try. As a PlayStation Family member<\/a>, I am often trying different PlayStation games. \u00a0I couldn’t wait to get started on Zumba.<\/p>\n

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The first thing I noticed about the Zumba Fitness box was that it was unusually larger than a normal video game. \u00a0The Zumba Fitness<\/a> game comes with a Zumba Fitness belt, which straps around your waist and holds your PlayStation Move controller, making your play hands-free. \u00a0The \u00a0PlayStation Move<\/a> controller is part of an add-on, which includes a camera and a Move controller, and is available for separate purchase from the PS3.<\/p>\n

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The Music<\/span><\/h2>\n

The PlayStation Move controller gets placed in the belt on your hip so it can track your hip movements, which is a vital part of Latin and International\u00a0music. \u00a0And let me tell you, the music is lively and fun, even exotic at times. \u00a0Zumba Fitness\u00a0includes\u00a030 music tracks created by Zumba producers. \u00a0You really feel like you’re dancing at a hip Latin dance club. \u00a0Learn moves from sexy and hip dances like salsa, merengue, hip hop, and more. \u00a0Check out the Zumba Fitness website to get a sampling of all 30 music tracks.<\/p>\n

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The Dance<\/span><\/h2>\n

The Zumba Fitness video game uses actual Zumba routines in the game. \u00a0If you are a Zumba enthusiast in the gym, you will know some of these routines. \u00a0Other routines have been added exclusive only to this game. \u00a0I love the variety of dances you learn in this game. \u00a0In fact, there are nine different dance\u00a0styles\u00a0including:<\/p>\n

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  1. Reggaeton<\/li>\n
  2. Merengue<\/li>\n
  3. Salsa<\/li>\n
  4. Cumbia<\/li>\n
  5. Hip-Hop<\/li>\n
  6. Mambo<\/li>\n
  7. Rumba<\/li>\n
  8. Flamenco<\/li>\n
  9. Calypso<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
    From what I can gather (please forgive my\u00a0na\u00efvety), if you’re into Zumba, then you know the famous Zumba instructors, namely Gina, Tanya, and Beto (who created the Zumba Fitness program originally.). \u00a0Each of these instructors are featured in the game. \u00a0The producers of the game have taken great\u00a0strides\u00a0to make the game\u00a0authentic\u00a0and true to real life Zumba.<\/div>\n
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    I really appreciate the different levels of dance offered, Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced. \u00a0I have not ventured off the Beginner tracks yet, but my scores are getting high enough that I think I will try\u00a0Intermediate\u00a0beginning next week. \u00a0I’ll tell you, my first week was tough, I danced like a fish out of water! \u00a0There was no style, no skill, not even any resemblance to the dancer on my screen. \u00a0Really? \u00a0Was I really that uncoordinated I thought? \u00a0Fortunately, the next week I started getting the hang of it and improved my mirroring of the instructor.<\/div>\n
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    The Venue<\/span><\/h2>\n
    When you begin the game, you start out in a fantasy night club. \u00a0As you improve your moves, you open other venues in the game like a skyscraper rooftop and a Zumbathon stadium. \u00a0I haven’t made it out of the\u00a0fantasy\u00a0night club yet, but I know I’m getting closer to passing to the next level.<\/div>\n
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    Scoring<\/span><\/h2>\n

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    There is no numerical scoring to judge you on how you dance (Phew!). \u00a0Nonetheless, there is an “energy bar” at the bottom of the screen that you work on filling up. \u00a0It starts with no color, then goes to red as you begin to mirror the instructor’s moves. \u00a0As you become better, the energy bar lights begin to turn yellow then green. \u00a0If your dancing isn’t matching up to the instructors, you can lose color bars too. \u00a0Once you fill up the energy bar you move to the next stage and two back up dancers are added behind your instructor. \u00a0It’s a really good motivator to see a another pair of dancers behind your instructor. If you’re really good, you can add up to six extra people dancing behind the instructor.<\/div>\n
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    Your Workout<\/span><\/h2>\n
    I’ll be the first to tell you, you will break a sweat in this game! \u00a0I turn on my fan full blast when I’m dancing. \u00a0 Each workout Level (Beginner, Intermediate, and Advanced) contains a 20 minute or 45 minute option, so dependent upon your timing, you can still get in a workout. \u00a0You can also choose a Dance Party option to have up to three dancers dance at the same time.<\/div>\n
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    \u00a0 See? \u00a0An action shot. \u00a0I’m all a blur while I dance and mimic the onscreen instructor.<\/div>\n
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    One aspect of the game I really like is that the game assumes you are playing it because you want an ongoing Zumba class. \u00a0They have a calendar section where you can enter in your schedule for classes. \u00a0My class is every Tues. and Thurs. \u00a0Of course, I don’t receive a reminder by e-mail or anything, but it’s kind of like making a\u00a0commitment\u00a0to yourself when you enter in your days. \u00a0There is also a Journal area which keeps track of your workouts and which level you played. \u00a0As I look back at my past classes, I can see I’ve been pretty faithful, although this week I was off track due to fasting for an upcoming health test. \u00a0You can imagine my husband’s surprise when one morning I told him I started a Zumba class. \u00a0He naturally thought I was going to a gym somewhere!<\/div>\n
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    My Unexpected Result<\/span><\/h2>\n
    I wear my Striiv pedometer<\/a> everyday to measure my footsteps. \u00a0I usually walk about 5,000 steps or so in the mornings when I don’t do my Zumba class. \u00a0Surprisingly, I rack up about 3,500-4,000 steps just from my Zumba routine and I rack up those steps in less than half the time of my walk. \u00a0 \u00a0Pretty cool.<\/div>\n
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    But actually, my increased number of steps was not the unexpected result I wanted to tell you about. \u00a0One morning I was taking my Zumba class in my Family Room at 6:45am and I heard a noise behind me. \u00a0My son had heard the music from his room and he came down to see what was going on. \u00a0He was cuddled up on the couch with a blankie. \u00a0Soon afterwards, my daughter (she’s 9) had joined him. \u00a0They watched for about 10 minutes and then I invited them to join me. \u00a0My son (he’s 6) got right up and danced with me.<\/div>\n
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    Two days later, I turned my music a little louder and sure enough, both kids were on the couch with blankets watching me. \u00a0After asking who was going to join me, they both got up and all three of us danced. \u00a0We had so much fun and we snuck in a good workout…before school even started!<\/div>\n
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    At last, Zumba in the comfort of your own home. \u00a0Feel you’re not coordinated? \u00a0Woke up too late for your gym Zumba class? \u00a0Prefer a class of one? \u00a0Want to get the whole family moving without paying a fortune for class? \u00a0Love to have friends over for dance parties? \u00a0Zumba Fitness is your answer. \u00a0And the Zumba Fitness video game has been around for a little while now. \u00a0Zumba Fitness has been so popular, that it sold over 4 million games since it was introduced. \u00a0Want more Zumba? \u00a0Now there are even more Zumba video game to play: Zumba Fitness 2<\/a>, Zumba Fitness Rush<\/a>, and Zumba Fitness Core<\/a> – due out on retail shelves October 16th. \u00a0I danced with\u00a0Zumba Fitness Core at E3<\/a> earlier this year, it’s a great game too.<\/div>\n

    Zumba Fitness is available on the Playstion 3<\/a> with Move, Kinect for XBOX 360, and the Wii. \u00a0Zumba Fitness sells $26.79 from Amazon.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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    * I was given a copy of Zumba Fitness as a result of being a PlayStation Family Ambassador. \u00a0I only express my own opinions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Zumba Fitness for the Playstation 3 Move is more than a game…it’s a routine. Is your life too busy for exercise? Zumba Fitness helps you create a schedule and dance to fun exotic Latin and International tunes. You will sweat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":8425,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[698,13,14],"tags":[1327,993,972,718,1326],"class_list":["post-8410","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-games-2","category-kids","category-moms","tag-dance-party","tag-exercise","tag-fitness","tag-zumba","tag-zumba-fitness","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/p-content\/themes\/atahualpa342\/images\/articles\/2012\/10\/Zumba-Fitness-PS3-15.jpg?fit=2363%2C1484&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8410","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8410"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8410\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/8425"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8410"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8410"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wellconnectedmom.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8410"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}