Workout Series: ZUMBA

Trying a new exercise can be a scary experience, especially if you don�t have any clue about it. For Arina, her first taste of Zumba was addictive! Once you�ve taken the first steps though, you�ll find that it�s not as difficult as you thought it would be. Just ask Arina Syazwani, who tried out Zumba for the first time in college, and now enjoys dancing for fitness is a self-professed Zumba enthusiast! 

Arina is 28 and works in a social media agency in Kuala Lumpur. When asked about her general fitness level, she says: �I am honestly very inconsistent with my fitness, even up to today. I spend most of my time traveling to work and it can get very tiring to make working out a regular habit. I do have irregular bursts of motivation though � one week I will be jogging and dancing every day, and the next week I�ll be doing nothing but eating and sleeping!� 

"My dance fitness journey started with Zumba, way back in 2012. This was when it was relatively new in Malaysia. It was all the rage � all of my friends were going for it! So I did a bit of research and found out that you can easily lose weight with Zumba. That got me hooked, and I looked up for videos online so I could try at home.� 

Although it was fun to follow the videos at home, it was getting boring doing it alone. Arina then thought of trying Zumba at a fitness centre, and went with some of her friends. It turned out to be more fun than she expected! �It was so enjoyable! The music was loud, I got to mingle with people who have the same interest in Zumba.� 

If you�re trying Zumba or a dance exercise for the first time, Arina has this to share with you: �There�s really nothing to be intimidated by if you�re trying Zumba out for the first time. The steps are easy to follow, like an aerobics set, once you get a hang of it. Even if you�re late for 10 minutes, it�s still possible for you to join in and follow the class!�

Zumba began in Colombia in the 1990s and was the result of an unexpected event. Back then, popular celebrity fitness trainer Alberto Perez was conducting aerobic classes at a fitness center. He forgot to bring his usual aerobics music along to a class one day. Not wanting to call it off, he improvised by conducting it with the only music he had on hand � Latin music � and conducted the very first Zumba class!