By Cory Lamz April 24, 2012

1. Zumba:
Group
fitness
that’s
not
just
for
women
By
Cory
Lamz
|
April
24,
2012

2. Denver
may
enjoy
300
days
of
sunshine
per
year,
according
to
Metro
Denver,
but,
despite
the
warm
weather,
some
residents
are
running
away
from
the
heat
and
towards
a
new
fitness
trend
instead:
Zumba.

3. umba
is
a
LaLn
fitness
rogram
in
which
aMendants
urn
calories
by
dancing
to
p-­‐tempo
music.

4. But
wait!
Before
you
enroll
in
a
Zumba
class
at
the
University
of
Denver,
answer
one
important
quesLon:
What
gender
are
you?

5. Gender
maMers
for
the
Zumba
classes
at
the
University
of
Denver.
Out
of
30
students
in
a
given
Zumba
class,
only
a
handful
of
them
are
ever
men,
says
Taryn
Brandt,
a
group
fitness
instructor
at
DU.
Are
these
men
missing
out
on
a
fitness
secret?

6. ParLcipants
can
burn
up
to
600
calories
per
Zumba
class,
according
LiveStrong.com,
yet
men
are
sLll
opLng
for
the
treadmill
or
free
weights
at
the
University
of
Denver.

7. Molly
Duran,
a
freshman
at
DU,
has
aMended
Brandt’s
weekly
Zumba
class
11
Lmes
over
the
course
of
12
weeks.
She’s
only
ever
seen
men
in
the
class
once
or
twice
since
enrolling
and
they
stay
“usually
in
the
back.”

8. Although
she
tries
to
remain
gender-­‐neutral
with
her
choreography,
Brandt
says
she
finds
herself
incorporaLng
more
feminine
dance
moves,
like
this
chest
pop,
into
the
Zumba
workout.

9. “I
have
one
song
that
is
from
the
movie
‘Burlesque’
that
is
definitely
geared
more
towards
the
female
populaLon.
I
would
tend
to
only
use
that
one
on
Wednesdays
rather
than
do
it
on
the
night
that
the
guys
were
there
because
it
just
felt
beMer,”
Brandt
says.

10. Brandt’s
workout
ranges
from
heavy,
fast-­‐paced
cardio
to
slower,
more
breathing-­‐
and
core-­‐intensive
training.
SomeLmes,
the
choreography
mixes
both.

11. Yet
one
male
student,
Nick
PiscioMa,
a
senior
at
DU,
doesn’t
let
any
of
that
stop
him.
He
is
only
one
of
a
few
men
that
has
aMended
the
class
more
than
once.
“The
fact
that
you’re
the
only
guy
is
kind
of
inLmidaLng.
I
think
I
might
have
been
slightly
more
comfortable
with
males
around
me
–
I’d
be
more
willing
to
go
all
out,”
he
says.

12. No
maMer
the
gender,
Zumba
can
be
fun
for
everyone
–
as
long
as
you
are
willing
to
stretch
your
body
and
your
mind.