Are you looking for a new workout routine that will make you never want to leave the gym?

Zumba, a popular workout routine that incorporates Latin dance moves with a core workout, is gaining popularity in gyms all across America. More and more people are jumping on the zumba bandwagon, which is revolutionizing the idea of working out.

On average, an hour on an elliptical burns around 500 calories and leaves you feeling less than energized. An hour of zumba can burn an average of 800, calories and you walk out feeling like you can run a marathon.

It only takes one session of zumba for skeptics to become hooked. I’ve been doing zumba for about eight months at the TAMU Rec center. Having absolutely no background in dancing or working out, I was a little nervous the first time.

The workout usually starts with a warm-up, where you step side-to-side, bounce from foot-to-foot, clap your hands, and loosen up your body. This may sound easy, but don’t let the first 10 minutes fool you, it amps up after that.

From there, you move into the first song, where the real workout begins. Simple dances like the samba, mambo and salsa are what the workout usually start off with. There’s a lot of clapping, arm waving and hip swaying with these dances and they are pretty easy to catch on to. Soon after, however, comes what is the most difficult for many people is the footwork.

Inspired by dances like the tango, the footwork seems a lot more complicated than it is. It’s mainly putting one foot forward and, bringing it back, over and over again. Other times, you put your left foot out, bringing your feet together and then putting your right foot out.

While these may not seem super hard, they do become difficult when you’re having to do them at the fast pace that zumba demands,- difficult but incredibly fun.

After my first class, I knew I wanted to continue doing zumba. I had a blast during the workout, hardly noticing that I was dripping with sweat by the end of class.

The fast paced moves, fun music and energetic attitude of the class makesit a much better option than jogging on a treadmill for an hour. Anyone who is looking for a new way to get up and get moving should try zumba!