My Zumba Journey

The picture of me with Sophia on the left was taken the summer 2008.  

This is my story....

I look at this picture and think, "Oh my, I look five months pregnant!"  Although, I was busy raising my children, helping my husband with his business and doing all the other things women do I didn't let this stop me from working out.  I worked out regularly at our local YMCA doing step classes and some weight training.  Maintaining a healthy weight has been a struggle for me and something that I always tried to achieve.  As a matter of fact, one of my prayers is, "Lord keep me near the cross and away from the refrigerator!"

My family has a history of high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol.  So I work hard to feed my family well and keep them physically active and healthy.  About two months after this picture was taken I was in my step class.  The instructor said, "I got this music from an instructor friend of mine and I want to play it for you and do something called Zumba."  Oh my goodness.  It was instant Zumba Love!  In that five minutes of doing Zumba I was hooked.  I found several classes in my area and began attending a couple of days a week.  I was moving in ways I hadn't in years and because I didn't feel like I was working out, it was really easy to stick with it. 

I made radical changes to my eating habits (I eat healthy foods, but I was eating a lot of healthy foods--you know too much of a good thing can be a bad thing.)  Within months I really started to see my body go through a radical transformation.  My mid-section was getting more tone, not bad for a 40-something year old lady!  I attribute this new love for fitness to Zumba.  I started really getting excited about fitness and adding more variety to my workout regiment.  

It was then that I decided that I wanted to become an instructor of Zumba and impact other's lives the way my life had been impacted.   

I have been a student of African dance and Latin dance throughout my life. So for me, becoming a certified Zumba instructor was the right fit.  It combined dance and fitness and was so much fun.  After earning my certification I then began to pursue certification as a group exercise instructor.  I took the AFAA Primary Group Exercise Certification and passed the written and practical exam on the first try.  God is good!  I later became CPR/AED Certified.  Now today, I am a healthier, happier person and I have tons of energy.  

Now I am teaching Zumba classes on a regular basis.  My desire is to help others reach their fitness goals and be the best person that God created them to be! (Pictures below taken a year later--summer 2009)