BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan - There’s a fitness party taking place and everybody's invited to participate. Zumba, a Latin dance fitness program scheduled here three times per week, involves dance and aerobic exercise methods.
The workouts include a little bit of everything - hip hop, mambo, merengue, samba, salsa, soca and martial arts to a little Bollywood and belly dancing.
“Adding Zumba to your workout is a good way to add excitement while getting in shape, staying active and making friends,” said Shanaysha Long, 455th Expeditionary Communications Squadron client systems technician from Sumter Air Force Base, S.C. “We like to take the person who says, ‘I can’t dance’ and turn them into a dancing machine.”
Even when there are a lot of people in the class, Long said no one is ever singled out and can blend right in without having to feel embarrassed because everyone there is there for the same reasons: to lose weight, stay fit and have fun.
“Even if you have never danced before, you can easily join in and learn to shimmy and shake with the rest of the class. People don’t like to get outside of that little box they are in but once you experience it one time, you will not be afraid to just jump right in,” said the native from Norfolk, Va., who only started instructing Zumba once she arrived at Bagram. “I want to thank the best group of students I have ever met. They have given me so much confidence and I know I have an international family for life.”
Zumba classes are held in the Clamshell gym each Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8 – 9 p.m.