ZumbaFunk.com

Zumbaweak UK are the number 1 distributors for the UK & really do have an exciting collection of Zumba® clothing – bright, gorgeous colours, flattering styles and so comfortable to dance in – I wear mine to relax around the house most evenings as well!

Not only do they have an ENORMOUS amount of Zumba® clothing, but they also stock DVDs and music, bracelets and headbands, socks, bags, stickers, toning sticks and even tickets to some of the major UK Zumba® events.

Their service is BRILLIANT too, I received my last order within days and just love everything I’d ordered!

Now, here’s the treat… Zumbawear UK have generously offered an EXCLUSIVE discount* to readers of my Zumba® blog. 10% off your first order up until 31st October, 2011.

All you have to do is visit www.zumbawearuk.com, register and then use the code: ZFR to receive your special discount! Easy!

I do hope this is helpful for you, I’m always on the lookout for top tips and ideas for my fellow Zumba-ites, so stay tuned…..

* discount not applicable on gift vouchers or tickets to events, sorry.

If you fancy a quieter class where you can catch up on a little one-on-one tuition, there’s a new class with Rebecca at Maloca, 287 Putney Bridge Road, Putney at 9am and then again at 1pm – I’d love to see you there!

Rebecca

Zumba Fitness Rebecca Facebook page

What an awesome class this morning. I was asked to step in to cover a 9:45 class and it pumped! What a workout  

I feel ready and energised for the day – time to put together a new dance, I think, for my 2 Wednesday classes – trouble is, which song? There are so many that I love!

Don’t forget my next class is on Wednesday at 9am and then at 1pm at Maloca Putney, so please do send me any ideas for songs to: rebecca@rogoff.uk.com, would love your input!

A couple of years ago, a few things happened:

1. I turned 40 (ouch…) 2. I met a great guy (who I’m now married to) & 3. all my fitness routines seemed to stop working. An unwelcome ‘tyre’ began to appear around my middle & started to hang in a most unattractive way over my jeans! My bottom was expanding at an alarming rate, my arms were threatening to take off and my thighs were just giving up on me.

I got over the 'turning 40' bit, it’s really not so bad,' the guy’s' still great but the rest of it – that was something I had to put right but couldn’t figure out how without excessive amounts of dieting and painful exercise. I love my food too much, so a diet was out of the question, and I hate pain, so….

I was still frequently running good distances & regularly climbing at Westways, but I think a combination of metabolic rate change, because I was getting older (groan), and eating and drinking too much with my new beau (..it happens!) meant that these exercises my body was now used to doing weren’t having the desired effect anymore – however much fun they were.

And then I found Zumba®.

The love affair was almost immediate. I began to tone up. The 'tyre', reluctantly, began to disappear. My clothes started to fit again and, most importantly, I felt FANTASTIC!

My mind and body were in-tune with each other once again and with each class I went to, I felt more & more fulfilled in every single way.

Zumba® really does sculpt every single part of the body gently and elegantly, it’s really just a super workout for a woman. For the men (and we do have them in our classes), they seem to enjoy the cardio side of the class and really get into the ‘street dance’ side of things.

I’ve just got home after a double wammy morning of teaching Zumba®, we had a really full class for the 9:45, the energy was electric, and then I led the Mums & Babes Zumba®, which was just lovely. The babies sit or lie in their prams happily gurgling while mum gets to dance her socks off. The babies seem to love the music, mum gets a workout, I get to coo over the babies – everybody's happy.

It's Friday, the sun's shining and is set to stay for a while, it’s good to note that Zumba® doesn’t stop for the weekend though and not only do we have more classes at Maloca, we also have a really fun night planned at Fiesta Havana on Saturday evening starting with a Zumba® class at 8:30 followed by plenty of Zumba® and salsa dancing – great music, great company! We’d LOVE to see you there!

Stay tuned for updates on my classes, you can follow me on Twitter @ZumbaFitRebecca or find me on Facebook at Zumba Fitness Rebecca.

See you soon

This great article in Shape Magazine tells how certain celebs are LOVING Zumba® & how Zumba® has taken America by storm & is already doing the same over here.

And there are very valid reasons why…

Zumba® doesn’t just provide a really incredible workout but it’s so much fun doing it you actually don’t even recognise you’re DOING a workout – it really does creep up on you so that you suddenly see & feel the benefits – stomach definition & shape, the ‘Beto shuffle’ really sculpts those difficult arm bits, firm thighs & weight loss AND, most importantly, with all the arm work, it’s GREAT for the old ticker!

On top of this, it makes us FEEL good. I look around the class and, despite the high cardio efforts, everyone smiles from beginning to end and that’s no exaggeration!

We get all levels of ability and coordination in a Zumba® party and the wonderful thing is that it’s not a competition. No one judges, no one compares – as long as everyone’s happy and having fun and moving to the music – workout’s completed and goal achieved!

We’ve got some fantastic things planned at Maloca Putney, we never stand still and have a pre-masterclass Zumba® Pre-party Masterclass Party London set for the 15th October complete with Beto Perez’s backing dancers all the way from Florida and other International guest appearances PLUS a HUGE Party in Pink on Sunday 16th October in aid of breast cancer research – wow! Hurry if you want tickets for either (just click on the highlighted link) and tell your friends! The more people the more excitement!

So, take the plunge – come try a class and I guarantee you’ll love it!

Class tomorrow morning (Friday, 23rd September) at Maloca with me, Rebecca, at 9:45. Yipeeeee!

I’ve just received confirmation that I’m signed up for Zumbatomic training in February – so that I can take Zumba to the kids – I can’t wait!

My own children better get ready to help Mum as they’re going to have to help me practise practise practise!

Ladies, guys, all you Zumba lovers – I’ve just been topping up my Zumbawear collection here at the Zumba UK distributors - Zumbawear UK – and you’ll be thrilled to hear they have a sale!

Gorgeous colours and designs – great tops and pants, and killer wrist bands – it’s quite possible to go Zumba crazy on this site!

Zumbawear is so comfortable, I wear mine even when I’m not on the dancefloor!

Have fun shopping!

…let’s face the music & dance!

…which is exactly what I did this morning with the delightful and inspiring Martha. What a fantastic class!

Don’t forget that I’m teaching tomorrow (Wednesday) at both 9am and at 1pm – would really love to see y’all there! x

Personally, I think exercise should do more than just tone muscle and work towards a ‘body-beautiful’.

Exercise, aside from keeping us wonderfully healthy, can also work your brain (from figuring out new dance moves or climbing strategies to simply enjoying the surrounding scenery on a run or power-walk) – this, we can all agree on, yes?

I’ve always enjoyed ‘staying fit’ – from running a whopping Marathon distance to cycling to Canterbury on a whim, to taking part in events such as The London Duathlon, The Brighton Half Marathon, 10ks etc. – I love it, I do, and one enormous lesson I’ve learned is that no matter what your folly is, stretching is paramount to success and endurance.

I’ve dabbled in Yoga and Pilates and shamelessly stolen stretching techniques from both areas but when I started Zumba dancing, which is very ‘hippy’ and gesticulatory by nature, I started to suffer on the sides of my hips, an area I was blissfully unaware even existed before.

I presumed my hips were being stretched more than they were used to because of the style of dance (being that I’m from Brighton and not South America…) and so thought about the best stretches for this area.  

I find that stretching the front of the hips by standing on one leg and (while balancing yourself, feel free to use a wall) folding your knee up so your foot touches your bottom and gently thrusting your hip forward or lying on one side and bringing your knee across your body while easing it across with the weight of your hand are both relevant stretches. (Does that make sense?).

I have also found a link you may find useful here:  Zumba Stretches

I do hope you find these useful, should you have any questions, don’t hesitate to fire off a message to me and I’ll get back to you as quickly as I can.

I’ve just received a request to cover the class at Maloca tomorrow (Monday) at 9:45 – so, dust off your dancing shoes and we’ll see you there!