Zumba

It may rhyme with the lazy way to vacuum, but Zumba is making waves in the exercise industry. Beto Perez invented the Latin flavored craze in the 90s, but it's expanded all over the world in recent years.

Zumba combines the beats of Latin and international music to transitions in a workout that targets different muscle groups in the body.

"I chose Zumba, because I love to dance. I get bored easily from just lifting weights and walking. I have tried step classes and aerobics but just got bored," said Barbi Hampton Reyes, who attends Zumba classes at The Kroc Center.

The Kroc Center offers Zumba classes on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. Reyes said that the Wednesday classes take place in a gym and usually have about 50 people each time.

"The instructor on Wednesday is a salsa dancer so that helps with routines. It's extremely popular there," said Reyes.

Reyes said that she has had a lot of success with the routines.

"The energy level is great after class, you feel that class just started but you're already sweating and an hour has already passed. I would love to be able to go more," she said.

Reyes added that she has noticed more definition and not just weight loss while working out with Zumba. "I also like that its fun for all ages and both women and men," she said.

Zumba classes are available at Salem Fitness Center, RJ Dance Studio, Courthouse Athletics, and The Kroc Center.

CrossFit

An hour of nutrition counseling, a few sessions with a personal trainer or

a couple of months attending a gym can run $100 each.

CrossFit combines all of these and more for the same price per month: personalized workouts and nutrition plan, weekly BMI testing, fitness education, gymnastics and strength training.

"CrossFit includes gymnastics, weightlifting, core strength and

conditioning, Olympic weight lifting and broad range cardio. It's kind of a sport, too; we compete with each other," said Tim Mahoney, owner of Mahoney CrossFit in Keizer.

The personalized aspect allows all ages to practice CrossFit. "Everybody

can do CrossFit," said Mahoney, a certified nutritionist and a U.S. Marine

with a background in wrestling and football.

"I design the workouts to fit your capabilities," he said.

Aside from the nutrition plan which focuses on food first and supplements

only after a balance has been reached, Mahoney is enthusiastic about

fitness education.

"CrossFit is coached rather than trained. I teach you how to do a squat,

pull-ups, gymnastics and cartwheels," he said.

Mahoney CrossFit also offers Saturday clinics, where trainees learn tips,

such as how to run better, use resistance bands, working with partners,

increasing the range of motion and more.

"There's a lot of education I want to put out there that a lot of other

fitness facilities aren't doing," said Mahoney.

Mahoney CrossFit is offering one week free trial. Members of the military, school district staff and firefighters enjoy discounts. Mahoney CrossFit, 3800 River Rd. N, Suite 120, Keizer. Monday to Saturday, 6 a.m. - 9 p.m. 503.997.6048

Tai Chi

This soft-style martial art is commonly practiced in parks without a kimono - no, not naked, but with any comfortable attire, and with or without shoes.

Because of its low impact, tai chi can be practiced by anyone regardless of age and physical ability.

It may not feel like a strenuous workout, but it is a full-body exercise.

"The slower it is, the more difficult it gets. With a fast kick you don't

have to think, but in tai chi, you have to know how to lift it up and how

to put it down. It requires more strength," said Salem instructor Luo

Yufang, who has been practicing tai chi for over seventeen years.

She said tai chi movements are influenced by the animal kingdom. "Humans

always walk forward, using only the muscles in the front. We use the

opposite muscles too, because if you don't use it, you lose it," she said.

"We have monkey and tiger movements, moving the hips, the knees, the upper

body. Everything moves. Your mind is empty and the only focus is on your

movements."

This is why tai chi is also considered a mental exercise, designed to empty the mind of other preoccupations, a sort of meditation through

concentrating on the movements and the breathing. "It's very effective to

relieve stress, it creates balance and calmness," said Yufang.

The sessions begin by drawing the chi, or life force, concentrated in the

earth into the fingertips and then moving that chi around and using it as a source of strength.

"Most exercises make you tired, you feel like you've lost energy, but tai

chi accumulates energy in your body and makes you feel refreshed and ready

to go to work or go do something," said Yufang.

While chi is absorbed, toxins are exhaled out of the body. Yufang said tai

chi can lower blood pressure, relieve symptoms of cold hands and feet by

improving circulation, increase flexibility and actually provide a cardio

work-out without even trying.

Lastly, although most people practice tai chi for health reasons, it

teaches principles of self-defense, including a heightened awareness of

one's surroundings and using chi to increase the force of each punch or

kick.

Luo Yufang teaches tai chi on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 9:30

a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at the South Salem Senior Center, 6450 Fairway Ave SE.

The classes cost $5 and are all ages. Drop-ins and non-members are welcome.

She is also looking for a people interested in practicing tai chi at Bush

Park. The sessions will start after four to five people contact her and set a convenient time. She can be reached at yufangluo@gmai.com and

503.871.2295.

"Dance like nobody's watching"

The twist, the mashed potato, the monkey, the robot, the Charleston. There

are no limits to what dances can be performed in this weekly hour of

Expressive Dance.

"It's a free-style movement with no real instruction. It's self-directed,"

said Julie Masters, whose role is to be an example for others. "I help

people let go and feel safe and experiment with different kinds of

movements by doing it myself."

The only requirement is "to be able to trust yourself" although Masters

said expressive dance can be helpful to exercise security and "find out

more about what you're feeling and what your body is capable of."

Masters started the dance parties about five years ago and now has a core

group of people who have attended from the beginning. However, she said the students who used to frequent the workout have since graduated and she

hopes newcomers will try it.

The music is eclectic, featuring, she said, "A lot of new stuff. Rock,

alternative, techno, dance, jazz, classical, old stuff ... whatever sounds

good, is positive and makes you want to move."

She starts out with softer melodies to warm up, then the beat picks up and ends with a slow soundtrack and meditation.

"There are no rules whatsoever. The space is big enough for people to run from side to side, do cartwheels, or they may lay on the floor while others dance around them," said Masters.

"There's no particular partner but we all kinda dance with each other a

little here and there," she said. "I could just do it by mself in my room,

but having a really big room and other people is great."

Masters was inspired to create Expressive Dance after a similar Silverton

group called Ecstatic Dance.

"I've never been good at following directions, I have no ballet training,

but I love to dance. It's fun and you experience freedom!" She said.

Expressive Dance takes place on Thursdays, at 7:30 p.m., at Riverfront

Dance and Fitness, 241 State St., street level. It costs $5 and $3 for

students.