It’s that’s time of year again—when all the New Year’s resolutioners hit the gym hard. Or plan to. For me, looking good is a priority, sure. But feeling good is what I tend to focus on the most. There’s one exercise class where you can do both. I’m taking Zumba Fitness and it’s the one class where even if I have gained a few holiday pounds, it doesn’t matter. I still feel inspired to go because I always walk out feeling just a little ‘hotter’ each time.
Truth be told, I owe said hotness to Kristi Tramposch, a fierce fitness instructor at Evolusion Fitness in Miller Place who is makes the hour shaking off the Christmas cookies literally fly by. Kristi (who also teaches Piloxing, Pound and Insanity at Evolusion) is also a personal trainer and she really knows how to get her students motivated. If you’re on the fence about Zumba (I certainly was at first!), read on because you don’t need dancing skills to reap the rewards and join the party.
 Kristi Tramposch, a fierce fitness instructor at Evolusion Fitness in Miller Place. Kristi makes the hour shaking off the Christmas cookies literally fly by. |
I can’t really dance my way out of a paper bag, yet I can really follow along. What do you typically tell new students who may be intimated to take a class or think they need to be a ‘dancer’ to enjoy it?
Kristi: This is one of my biggest challenges…getting students to walk through the door. A lot of times they are standing outside watching and way too intimidated to come in and try a class. I am very honest with my students. I tell them MY story. I have never danced a day in my life–I took a Zumba class for the first time and tripped over my feet. If it weren’t for my instructor I would have quit right then. She encouraged me to stay and though it took me a few classes, when I got it, it felt GREAT!
I let my students know that I have everyone in my classes from older teenagers to 70-year olds, dancers and non-dancers, male and female and everyone moves differently and that’s okay. Any movement is better than NO movement and Zumba is a FUN, effective way to meet your fitness goals!
I always leave feeling empowered and invigorated. I would never put on lip-gloss for spin class or any other class (!) but for some reason I like to get a little dolled up for Zumba. Is that common?
Kristi: I LOVE that you get dolled up for Zumba. After aging a bit, becoming a mother, and a wife I started to get into a slump. I realized after a while that feeling sexy IS empowering and I decided that I would make sure that no matter what was happening in my students’ lives at the time, during that one hour they spent with me in my class that they were going to feel sexy. Every woman needs to feel sexy!
When you first started taking my class I saw you as a little bit on the shyer side and you were very quiet. You stood near the door which made me think that sometimes you wanted to escape! You very quickly came out of that shell and it was obvious not only to me but to other students as well. People love to watch you flip that long gorgeous hair of yours and your smile lights up the room! I’ve noticed that you’ve become closer friends with the ladies that share the spots next to you on the dance floor and that’s what it’s all about. A party atmosphere! Like I said it is always my goal that my students feel sexy and to hear that it makes you feel empowered and invigorated is really the best compliment I can receive!
Ooh, thanks! YES, I do flip my hair and YES I have made some very good friends from taking Zumba class. I used to hide in the back at first… Do many students have issues with letting loose during class and feeling too self-conscious?
Kristi: So many of them hold back because they are shy to “shake it” in public but I think I shake SO much that they start to loosen up really fast. Over the years that I’ve taught Zumba fitness classes I have seen so many shy students go from “I can’t dance” to OMG they are really shaking it! It is so rewarding to see a student who once hid in the back make her way up to the front row and get really into the dance moves. One of my students said to me recently, “I never even knew I could move like that before taking your class!” Two months later, she became an instructor.
I love your (ahem) sexy routines. Are they the most requested?
Kristi: Like I said before it’s so important to me for my students to leave feeling sexy and good about themselves. I love to choreograph a routine with easy to follow, yet sexy moves in it knowing that every woman in that class can do it! Yes these routines ARE my most requested and it’s fun to watch even the women in the class who are too shy to shake it, become confident enough during those songs to execute each step with all the sexiness inside of themselves!
