Since I started attending Zumba classes a year ago, I've lost forty pounds and gained so much more than I ever expected. Zumba is more than a great workout for me. It is my time for myself, my time to de-stress, and time that I get to spend with an amazing group of friends. Finding a workout that I love has made all the difference for me. With some adjustments to my diet and the addition of Zumba, I not only look better, but I feel great!  Brandi Darnell

Hey, zumba chicks! Stephanie requested that I brag... I mean, share my success story... on this page to provide some motivation :) I joined the Y's weight loss challenge last January and have been regularly attending Zumba class for one year as of today. In that time I've officially lost 53 pounds! Zumba is so much fun and it WORKS! Stick with it!  Julia Schroeder

My name is Michelle. I hope my story on my journey to getting fit & healthy will encourage you to do the same. My journey started Dec.7th and I have currently have lost 20 pounds. It wasn't easy to start this to be honest and I’m pretty sure you thought or are thinking that same thing. So what I did was gradually make the change in my eating habits & workouts. This made it easier to stick with my goals and keep going. To be more specific: I gradually changed from eating junk food (fast food, sweets, snacks & sugary drinks) to healthy foods (mainly fruits, veggies, nuts, lots of water). And for working out? Most people think vigorous workouts like jogging 5 miles a day or benching like 5x their weight is the most effective way to burn the weight off. Which is partially true in my opinion. But I believe that you can do the same by doing what you yourself can do, not what others can do. What was best for me is low impact, easy & effective workouts because of my bad knees, ankles and a minor neck injury from the past. I did this by starting easy then gradually building up my workouts each time I did them (example first doing 5 pushups then the next time doing 7, then so on). I started going to the YMCA to start working out and I mainly did the new R.I.P.P.E.D. Classes and used the elliptical, treadmill & did strength training (pushups, crunches, lunges, squats, etc.) for other workouts. For example, I would do a combined workout of the elliptical on resistance 14, cross jump 10 or 15min then walking on the treadmill backwards on level 16, speed 2.0 for 15min, then 10-15min of strength training. Giving a total of 30mins of cardio with 10-15mins of strength for 4-6 days a week. So making time to workout was a little difficult but I believe anyone can do it if they are determined to do so. With my strong faith in God, my job as a fulltime hairstylist & part time college student this change helps me to stay focused, feel great and happy. Hopefully, this will encourage others to make a change too.