I got off the spinning bike, finishing up my last couple of minutes on the workout cycle I was doing. Thirty minutes of hills and inclines-- I was feeling good. My mom walked past me and opened the door that led to the gym, turning around and gesturing for me to follow.
We walked into the gym where 7 or 8 women were standing around, some stretching their legs, others chatting, a couple rolling up their sweatpants.
Well, this should be interesting, I thought as Shakira's "Hips Don't Lie" started playing on the stereo. All at once, a short, blonde-haired woman sashayed over to the front of the group. She was wearing purple gym pants and a bright pink t-shirt that had Zumba! written across the front in bright letters.
Her hips never stopped moving as she called for the ladies to get in rows and follow her movements. I looked uncertainly over at my mom, who smiled back encouragingly.
"Just follow her. The movements aren't that hard if you just memorize the routine," she said.
The instructor then began a long series of hip-shaking, grapevine-ing, and arm waving. The other ladies followed suit while I stood there, smirking, and watching. The other Zumba-goers all seemed to be in their 50's and 60's. More power to 'em, but I couldn't help feeling out of place. Not only did everyone look absolutely ridiculous...they were shaking their hips better than I could ever hope to.
But I dove in anyway, trying to mirror the instructor's moves, but somehow always seeming to be off a beat. The Latin music filled the room and obviously inspired the instructor because she suddenly began a complex combination of kicks, twirls and shakes that no one could keep up with. The ladies kept trying, however, and I couldn't help but giggle a little bit at the slight chaos of it all.
So, I mostly stood there, watching, silently laughing, and thinking about what I was going to eat when I got home...
But oh, I'm definitely going again.
