This past week, I purchased a group fitness pass at the recreation center. I had been looking for fun new workouts to supplement my regular training, and the diverse array of class options available fit the bill.

The first class I tried was Zumba. I had been intrigued by this dance-inspired workout since it blew up in the mainstream fitness world several years ago, but I had never had the chance to try it. Having had very little background in Latin dancing or dance-inspired workouts in general, though, I was understandably a bit nervous. Overall, though, I had fun, and I also made some interesting discoveries about Zumba that I might not have otherwise:

For a newcomer, Zumba can be difficult to follow. Staying in time with upbeat songs meant that the instructors sometimes had to switch rapidly between moves, and I had to learn the new ones as they were thrown at me. Adding to this inherent difficulty, I was hardly able to see the instructors during the entirety of the class because they did not have a raised platform on which they could lead. As a result, I was always following the people immediately in front of me and consequently learning a move at least a half beat or so late. The regular attendees didn’t seem to have too much of a problem, though, and I was under the impression that there were certain set routines that corresponded to certain songs that were repeated on a regular basis, making learning the routines almost a matter of muscle memory.

For somebody who already can’t dance, it can be challenging to look cool while doing Zumba. I was relieved that I had a spot at the back of the dance floor and couldn’t see myself in the mirror through the maze of people standing in front of me. Still, I was pretty conscious of my very un-smooth swiveling and hoped that nobody around me took notice.

That being said, Zumba may push you out of your comfort zone (and that’s almost always a good thing!). Despite feeling a little bit silly, I eventually relaxed and enjoyed the workout, gyrating dance moves and all. Some of the songs and routines in particular made me loosen up and forget my reservations because they were just so fun. Besides, I realized that everyone around me had to do the same moves, and even though my personal rendition might not have been particularly suave, at least I wasn’t alone.

You might not get as good an aerobic workout as you’d think. While I can imagine that Zumba could be used to get a great, heart-pounding workout, the particular class I took wasn’t especially challenging aerobically. There were substantial rests between most of the songs, and the individual routines didn’t make me break into too much of a sweat (not that that’s necessarily a bad thing).

In the end, while Zumba may not be one of my favorite workouts, it still has plenty of fun elements and I’d be willing to try it again.