Archive for "Zumba"
2014 Zumba Instructor Conference — Day 1
Posted on February 8, 2014 by Ching under Travel, Zumba.
Here’s a photo of my travel mates — Lisa, Pat, and Stephanie — at breakfast.
The three of them traveled together because they flew through United. I used Brian’s frequent flier miles (thus, my airfare only cost me the $10 handling charge roundtrip) so I had to use American Airlines. I arrived only an hour behind them so it wasn’t too bad. Although, they had a nonstop from Los Angeles to Wichita on the way home so that was nice. I, on the other hand, had another layover in Dallas.
I can’t complain, though. Even though my choices were limited, using the frequent flier miles saved me almost $500.
I’m glad that I saved money on airfare because our hotel was not cheap. We stayed at the JW Marriott at LA Live which is right across from the Staples Center and just a short walk from the Los Angeles Convention Center (LACC). That convenience came at a price. It’s worth every penny, though.
Check out the view of our hotel from the LACC.
The one nice thing about the Los Angeles Zumba Instructor Conference compared to the Zumba Instructor Convention in Orlando is that there were no lines at registration. Probably because the conference is a much smaller event consisting of only about 5,000 or so Zumba instructors.
We got badges and goodie bags in no time. We didn’t get free conference shirts this time. However, we did get free Zumba sweat towels in our goodie bags.
The goodie bags are just like the backpacks they gave us at the convention except they’re in the conference theme colors. Lisa is modeling hers below. She must have a sixth sense or something because her day 1 outfit perfectly matched the conference colors. Even her Asics and cellphone case matched!
Here’s a photo of Stephanie, Pat, and Lisa, on our way to the kick off session.
And then here they are at the kick off session.
It was insane! I think there was enough energy packed in the conference hall to power a small village for a month. LOL. Zumba instructors are so energetic!
There was an LA Lakers game that same night at the Staples Center but we had a date with the Augie’s Quest Fitness Concert. A basketball game would be something fun for Brian to do if he does go with me next time so I made a mental note of it.
Here are some pictures from the fitness concert…
If you think this is a lot of people, wait until you see the size of the crowd at the fitness concert at the Orlando convention. This is nothing compared to that.
That was pretty much all of day 1 in a nutshell. I’m amazed that I lasted the entire fitness concert considering I was running on 3 hours of sleep that day and I was up for almost 24 hours the night before. I must have absorbed some energy from my fellow Zumba instructors. What an amazing experience!
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Zumba World Party Party
Posted on January 15, 2014 by Ching under Events, Games, Zumba.
What do Zumba instructors do when they get together on a Saturday night? Well, we WORLD PARTY PARTY of course! LOL. Get your own copy of the game here
P.S. There are a ton of photos so be sure to click on the left and right arrows.
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Pictures from Missy’s Birthday
Posted on December 31, 2013 by Ching under Zumba.
Here are some pictures from Melissa’s Zumba birthday party at Zeal last Friday. We did almost two and a half hours of Zumba and it was super fun. So much fun that it’s got me thinking about having my own Zumba birthday party.
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Catching Fire
Posted on November 26, 2013 by Ching under Movies, Zumba.
Saturday was busier than usual. Started out with my last Saturday Zumba class of the year at Evergreen Recreation Center. After that it was off to Chipotle for a quick lunch before our dental appointment.
We arrived at the dental office early hoping that they could get us in earlier than our scheduled appointment. No such luck. Instead we ended up going to Pier 1 to pass the time. But it worked out because I got to pick up some new Christmas decorations.
Lucky for us the dentist was running on schedule so we were both able to get out of there shortly after two o’clock, which meant I was able to make it to the Zumbathon at Bishop Carroll High School on time. That was a lot of fun.
After that Brian and I had to shower and get ready quickly so we could head to Cheddar’s and put our group on the waiting list. They don’t take reservations or call ahead. They are strictly first come, first served. The hostess I spoke with on the phone on Friday night was pretty adamant about that. LOL.
We had to wait at the bar for our table because of the 40-minute wait. And, Cheddar’s isn’t able to accommodate large groups so we were actually seated in three different booths. Thankfully, the booths were pretty close to one another so at least we weren’t in opposite sides of the restaurant.
I took some pictures while we were waiting because that’s what I do.
I had two of these yummy concoctions that night.
Booth number one…
Booth number two…
Cheddar’s does pretty well for a restaurant that just serves okay food. I think the one thing they’ve got going for them is their proximity to the movie theater. I bet they do extremely well whenever there’s a big movie out.
Their croissants are pretty good too. Brian and I always order some when we’re there. So there is that. The food prices are pretty reasonable also so you can’t really go wrong there. It’s an easy choice for a pre-movie dinner. I just wouldn’t recommend them for large groups like ours. We had a total of 17 people that night at the restaurant, with 16 going to the movie.
The movie was great. I definitely felt my two Maui margaritas during a couple of parts, but I managed to stay awake.
I think everyone enjoyed the movie and had a great time. Thanks to Andrea and Carla for hatching the plan to go to the movies together.
We’ll definitely need to do this again soon!
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Mastering the Warm Up and Cool Down
Posted on September 1, 2013 by Ching under Tips, Zumba.
I pretty much followed Tony around on the final day of convention. On Sunday morning I had Ballroom Beatdown, which he and his wife Jessica presented. Then in the afternoon I had the warm up and cool down workshop.
Here are some of the bits I learned (or re-learned) that day…
For best results classes should begin with five to ten minutes of warm up. The warm up is designed to increase blood flow; raise the body’s core temperature; stretch your core or postural muscles; loosen the joints, ligaments, and tendons; and preview movements that will be used during the workout. By starting with a good warm up you can prepare class participants for the workout and decrease the risk of injuries.
A good cool down consists of five minutes of diminishing intensity and five minutes of stretching. Moderate to low activity in the cool down is designed to return the body to a normal state and create the ideal state for stretching the muscles used during the workout. Doing a proper cool down also helps to prevent muscular and cardiovascular injuries. Remember to stretch all of the muscle groups including neck, upper and mid back, deltoids, chest and arms, core, quads and hamstrings, gluteal and hip regions, calves, ankles, and shins.
- Some reminders…
- Don’t lock your elbows or hyperextend the elbow joint
- Keep core tucked in and spine in line
- Control or avoid any major twist or torque in the core
- Don’t let knees go over your toes when doing squats or lunges
- Avoid twisting your knees away from the direction of travel
- Select warm up music that is around 120-134 BMP
- Avoid “dancy” movements in the warm up until your body is ready
- Avoid long breaks between warm up segments
- While the Zumba formula is still very important, it may be necessary to repeat movements or keep the same types of moves for different parts of the music to ensure that all of the appropriate parts of the body are properly prepared for the workout.
I’m going to try and incorporate all of these tips beginning with my playlist for Fall 2013. Saturday Zumba classes at Evergreen Park Recreation center start on September 21. Be sure to register for the 10-week session if you haven’t already. The cost is $24, or you can drop in for $3 a class. What a bargain!? See you all soon!
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