To Zumba or not to Zumba? Can I get it with a coupon or on Wagjag? – asks savy shopper O’Hara.

By Sara O`Hara

BURLINGTON, ON  March 13, 2012  I love Wagjags.  There is something attractive about getting up to seventy per cent off an item, even if it is something I don’t need.  I buy so many Wagjags I had to create a new file folder in my cabinet devoted to these handy little coupons.  Last summer I sent my five-year-old to acting camp for a fraction of the regular cost.  I have bought bowling Wagjags, restaurant Wagjags, and even hair and spa treatments.  It is a great way for consumers to discover new places and for businesses to increase their customer base.

You don't start a Zumba class looking like this - you go to Zumba and hope that you end up looking like this.

Last summer my friend Christy and I got a wagjag for “Buts and Guts,” a four-week boot camp at SST Fitness on New Street and Guelph Line.  The class started out with about twelve people.  By the end of the first hour two of the women were laying on the pavement, exhausted, and one man actually vomited.  Christy and I stuck with it.  By the end of the four bi-weekly workouts we were doing burpees“ and squats with the best of them.  I think it was the best shape I have ever been in.

This class ended right before Christy’s and my family rented a cottage for a week on an island up north.  Needless to say after a week of too much barbecued steak and beer, both consumed while lying on loungers reading trashy magazines, we were right back in the sloppy shape we started in.

Christy and I ended up buying a Zumba Wagjag around Christmas time, but we just kind of let that one linger in the above mentioned file folder.  With winter comes a type of hibernation in my home.  The cold weather makes me crave comfort food and lazy evenings on the couch.  The thought of us venturing out after a long day to a gym wasn’t too attractive.

We both kept talking about getting back into it, but as always, life gets in the way and we let it slide.  Finally we decided we need to get back into some kind of exercise routine.  Christy and I both have young children.  Christy is a professional business-woman and I am a full-time university student who spends my limited “free time” studying or writing essays.  We both desperately needed some “me” time, and we still have those lingering memories of the endorphins kicking in as we did our Buts and Guts last summer.

One of the largest Zumba classes every held had 400 people in it. More then 7.5 million people attend a Zumba class each week.

Tonight we headed over to Burlington Zumba at 1160 Blair Road, unsure of what we would find.  I have done Zumba at the Y several times, but this was a first for Christy.  Both of us were expecting to find a class full of toned twenty-something’s, wearing mid-riff baring tanks and leggings to show off their perky behinds.  We were pleasantly surprised to find a room full of women of all sizes and ages.  There were a few teens, but mostly women our age or older.  Mark, the instructor, was a lively man with a huge smile and an enthusiastic personality.

When he pressed “play” we couldn’t help but begin to move our feet as the room filled with vibrant music that recalled holidays on salty beaches.  As Mark began to move and point to his feet (Zumba instructors don’t call out moves, one is expected to mimic them) the class followed as best as they could.  I bumped into the women on my left and right repeatedly, but they merely laughed and I saw them bumping into the people on their other sides, too.  One woman got a bit carried away shaking her stuff and actually fell right down.  As terrible as it may sound all I could think was thank goodness that wasn’t me!  Of course I made sure she was okay, and although slightly embarrassed she got right back into it.

Zumba is for all sizes and shapes - all you have to want to do is get into shape.

I can’t explain the thrill of shimmying and samba-ing with thirty other slightly awkward women.  No one was looking at anyone else, no one had time to.  The moves change so fast that as soon as you get one move down you’re onto the next one. Zumba isn’t like the step-classes of the 90s where the instructor will single you out if you get the move wrong – as Mark said, “as long as you go left when the rest of the room goes left, you’ll be okay.  Oh – and SMILE.”

I noticed everyone had a big smile on their face throughout and the mood was one of fun and energy.  The hour passed quickly.

If anyone sees a wag jag for Zumba and is scared to try it for fear of looking silly or uncoordinated, I urge you to put those fears behind you.  I can almost guarantee you will not be the only one who doesn’t know the moves!  I also think you will enjoy it.  On the drive home Christy and I were hyped up after the kick the exercise gave us, along with the kid-free time we got to enjoy together.  Our plan is to continue twice a week until our ten classes run out.  Then we want to start another boot camp we also bought through – where else? – Wagjag.

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1 comment to To Zumba or not to Zumba? Can I get it with a coupon or on Wagjag? – asks savy shopper O’Hara.

  • Petie Simms

    My friend and I bought the same Wag-Jag vouchers and can’t stop smiling for the whole hour.Mark is great when he “shimmies” across the room. I too love buying all kinds of Wag-Jag vouchers. Petie