Aqua Zumba – Wowzers
Like I mentioned the other day I taught my very first Aqua Zumba class today. I’ve only had a week to memorize 10 songs and choreography so I was a little nervous about it. I ended up taking some notes about the dances (are they still called dances when they are in the water?) with me to class in case my mind went blank and I’m glad I did. I didn’t use them much but they were nice to have to glance at when I needed them.
Now remember that I have been teaching both Zumba and Aquafitness for a while now (Aquafitness for a few years, Zumba since March) so I’m not new to teaching either. Having said that, I sweated like a monkey today teaching that class, and I’m normally a pretty big sweater (as in I get really sweaty, I’m not a giant piece of clothing, geesh!). Here’s the proof:
see the little spots on either side of the word “aqua” that are a different colour than the rest of the shirt? Yeah, those are the only two dry spots left on my shirt.
And yes, I do have a Zumba shirt for every occasion, it’s part of the Zumba possession obsession.
Besides being a hot mess, it totally tired me out. I spent the afternoon curled up on the couch watching tv wondering how I was going to stay awake to teach two Zumba classes this evening.
Enter the Latte.
Mr. Latte didn’t give me a whole lot of peep but he certainly kept me awake for my classes. Thank you sir.
A few (I forgot to take pictures of most of the food I ate 
) of today’s nibbles:
A smoothie made from an organic banana (any time I go to spell banana I want to spell it banada, maybe it’s because I’m Canadian and am used to spelling Canada? who knows!), frozen strawberries, 1/2 cup yogurt, 1 scoop protein powder, and some cranberry/raspberry juice to thin it out.
Followed up by some tasty Havarti cheese
that Miss Ollie was desperate to have
Silly kitty, cheese is for peoples!
And my old stand-by,
Crepes!!! Tonight they were topped with cooked blueberries and raspberries in honey. Believe me, these babies are three million times tastier in real life than this photo indicates. I die.
Guess What!?
I’m getting a Flip Camcorder! It should arrive tomorrow, I’m pretty excited. I’m planning to make some Zumba videos to post on my Zumba Facebook page for my peeps to do over the holidays (can you believe I got “boo”ed when I announced the dates for the holiday break?) and when I do I was thinking about posting them on the blog too. Maybe doing a “Zumba song of the week” sort of thing. What do you think??
Eventually I’d like to start posting other exercise videos too but thought this might be a fun place to start.
Leave me a comment and let me know if you like the Zumba song of the week idea!
I laughed when you said you spelled banana as banada because I always spell Canada like Canana! HAHAHAHAHA.
Flip cams are so much fun. We recently bought one and love it. They are so handy. A Zumba song of the week sounds great. Plus, I would love to see some Zumba videos!
hahahaha that’s halarious!
my flip arrived today, I haven’t had much chance to play with it but I love what I’ve seen so far!
I would love a Zumba song of the week!!
I am really liking the look of your “new” blog!! And I’m very impressed that you did the switch on your own! You’re a rockstar!
Your food pictures reminded me that I need to make some smoothies to use up the last of my frozen fruit, thanks for the reminder!!
thanks dude! I’ve still got some more pages to create in the navigation menu but it’s coming along!
Don’t you love smoothies? Sometimes I really don’t feel like chewing (yes I know that’s a crazy thing to say) so I love making protein smoothies so I can drink my meal instead!
Hi Suzi. This is interesting. I too am an aquafitness instructor. Have been for years. I am Zumba certified in basic and gold, and am going for my aqua zumba hopefully in the fall. I did teach what I called a Zurribbean aquafit class for the 1st time and the ladies loved it. However, I think I am doing it too fast. I teach from the deck and cannot seem to slow myself down. Thus the ladies would be working fast in the water, well as fast as they can. Do I just slow down the moves on deck, half time. Anything you can suggest would be great as I am doing anaother class next week. Thanks.
Cheryl from Nova Scotia, Canada
Hi Cheryl!
To be totally honest, since my first Aqua Zumba class I’ve changed the class a fair amount. While I got a crazy workout, my participants were getting less of a workout than they were used to. I’m assuming since you are in NS you are Certified either trough CALA or the NSFA for your aquafitness? Personally I’m CALA, and at our pool we give a fairly instene water workout. I think that many aquafitness classes worldwide are more of a “jump around, do a little exercise but don’t really get a workout” type of class, in which case the Aqua Zumba issued choreo would be fine. I’ve altered the program slightly, still using the Zumba formula, and a few of th aqua zumba moves but in general I use regular aquafitness moves (the ski, jack, tuck, and swivel are all a part of the aquazumba program to begin with) and put them to Zumba music. Since doing that my participants are getting a better workout and in general enjoying the class a lot more. Obviously I try to add that Zumba flair with some shimmies, arm movements, etc. but other than that it’s pretty basic aquafitness stuff.
Honestly, my advice would be to find yourself some latin/world music (obviously not Zumba issued music as that would be a violation of your license agreement) and come up with a fancy name and just offer your own type of class. For a training aquafitness instructor and zumba instructor I think you are probably well equipped to create a successful class using the Zumba formula and save your money…
A lot of the moves are broken down into 1/2 or even 1/4 tempo, but in general probably 50% or more of the moves we were taught are basic aquafitness moves with a little “sumthin, sumthin” added to spice them up – I have no doubt you can do that on your own
If you have any other questions about it please feel free to email me suzi@confessionsofafitnessinstructor.com