We have thousands of gyms in Melbourne, VIC, Australia. But why get fit in a sticky room ...

Check out the Adidas Runbase in Tokyo. This new store concept turns the whole city into a gym. Runners rent a locker in the store and can borrow the newest Adidas shoes and clothing. They also provide showers and change rooms.

Wouldn’t that be a great idea for the Melbourne CBD?

Tags: Fitness, Running

I was a personal trainer for ten years but gave that up because I couldn't face motivating another person to exercise! Three years on and I am struggling to motivate myself. The most I was managing to do was a walk once a week and found it a struggle going up hills!

So, in an effort to get back on the road to fitness, I gather a group of girlfriends who had also not experienced Zumba yet and headed for a class.  I was very curious to see what many females were raving about. It involved music and dancing - it must be good. I am not ready to hit the gym or do anything else that is specifically designed as an exercise. Zumba may be the answer. I had attended a couple of salsa classes and loved it! I was even slightly good at it. This was going to be a breeze.
So I stand at the back of the class with my equally nervous friends. It's an all female night. 

The instructor turns on the music and starts us off on some easy first moves. Hey, so far so good. Second song comes on and the instructor starts shaking her hips like Shakira. She's good. The moves get harder and I am reminded of my horrid experiences with aerobics in the past where I couldn't keep up with the moves. I vividly remembered a gay instructor addressing me personally, via his headset microphone, to please keep up and move in the right direction! 

So I shook my hips and shimmied my way as Shakira-like as I could through the rest of the class. I looked around me to see if I was the only uncoordinated one there. No. There were a few who were really good at it but the majority were there just as bad as I was. The difference was that they were enjoying it! And why not? There was a bit of salsa, hip-hop, bollywood moves and great music.

The class finishes finally, but not before the instructor gathers us all to the middle of the room to put our hands together and shout - “ZUMBA!”

I have now experienced Zumba and will not be going back for more. My girlfriends enjoyed themselves and one is keen to do more classes. For someone who is good with sports and loves hitting a dance floor, I failed miserably at Zumba.

And after all that hip shaking and twirling, some of my back muscles are crying for help.  I need a massage in Doncaster East!

Tags: Zumba, sports, Fitness, gym