Dance Your Way to Fitness with PE 107

November 15, 2016 by Zoe Herron

It seems, sometimes, the world is divided into two camps of people: those who love to exercise, and those who loathe the very idea of the activity.

If you happen to fall into the latter category, you might struggle with staying active or maintaining a regular fitness routine. Maybe you feel embarrassed working out at gyms, don’t have a lot of time to devote to working out, or maybe you truly just don’t enjoy it.

If you identify with one or more of these, Zumba might be the perfect Processed with VSCO with f1 preset option for you.

Princess Fox, Director of Student Programs, will be offering Zumba as “dance aerobics” for PE credit again in the spring 2017 semester. Fox is shifting the focus of the sessions from traditional Zumba exercise into a more free-form dance class.

The class will meet on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 4-4:50 PM in the Morse Event Center Activity Room. Anyone, regardless of skill level or past experience, is welcome to join for the entire session or just a dance or two.

Those who have participated in the past say the class is a safe, non-judgmental environment. “Zumba is a place where you can go have fun and dance with your friends and not be judged,” said Lauren Oliver, a sophomore, “whether you can dance or not, we all just have fun together.” Oliver has regularly attended the class since last year.

The class includes a wide variety of newer songs, “throwback” songs, and Christian music across all genres. No special equipment is required, only clothing that is easy to move in and comfortable shoes.

Besides being purely enjoyable, dance aerobics are an easy form of interval training. Unlike running or other similar cardio-based activities, dancing movies your heart rate at varied levels for periods of times. This can burn more fat than running alone, and may also activate certain muscles, such as core muscles, that aren’t used during most cardio.

Those interested in Zumba can participate just for fun, or can sign up for it as official credit. The class is listed as PE 107, Dance Aerobics, and can earn you one PE or elective credit. E-mail or schedule an appointment with your academic adviser if you’d like to join the group and get dancing.