Zumba During Lunchtime in Downtown Philly
Are you interested in doing Zumba during lunchtime in Center City Philadelphia? Please read on!
I work in Center City (that’s downtown Philadelphia, PA, for anyone reading this post not from around my way). The other day my friend at work did a Google search to see what Zumba classes are available in the area that we may participate in during our lunch hour. We figured that if we were searching online for Zumba classes during lunch time that others might be also! So I’m creating this blog post, tagged accordingly, so that others seeking to Zumba during lunch can find this post.
Why? Well, that’s the thing…
If enough people express interest in a class, I’ll contact a few instructors who I think will be very interested in teaching the class once they know there are people ready to join it.
My goal is to get about a half dozen to a dozen people interested in a class, and I’ll handle the rest by getting the class sparked! If you let me know you’re interested, I’ll contact you once everything is in order for a class.
Downtown Gyms with Zumba Classes
The official ZUMBA.COM website offers a quick and easy way to find Zumba classes in your area by entering in your zip code. We found a few gyms near our workplace in downtown Philly that provide Zumba classes for their members:
- Weston Fitness Center : 1835 Market Street | Zumba classes are every Monday and Wednesday at noon. Also Tuesdays at 6:30 and Thursdays at 5:30. Each class is 30-minutes long, and you have to buy a gym membership to participate ($65/month) or pay $20/class.
- Philadelphia Sports Club: 1735 Market Street | Zumba class on Tuesdays at 1:15. Same deal as Weston, must be a member.
Not very appealing options when we simply want to “get our Zumba on” DAILY, Monday thru Friday!
Most companies provide discounts for both of these gyms, so be sure to check with your HR Dept about discounts if you’re interested in a gym membership. But my hesitation with joining a gym is that I already belong to a gym near my home. It even includes daycare. So I’m not too keen on joining two gyms.
Today was actually National Walk @ Lunch Day™, and we saw someone conducting a Zumba class right out in the open outside City Hall.
So that sort of reminded/inspired me to create this post. If you are a Zumba reading this, please let me know if you are interested in helping with this quest.
What Is Zumba?
If you’re not familiar with what Zumba is, watch the below video playlist, a series of videos that showcase or demonstrate what Zumba is.
According to the official zumba.com website,
“Zumba® Fitness is the Latin-inspired dance-fitness program that blends red-hot international music, created by Grammy Award-winning producers, and contagious steps to form a “fitness-party” that is downright addictive.”
Zumba Is Not New… It’s Actually “Old”
The Zumba workout was invented in Colombia nearly 20 years ago, but imported to the U.S. only about 6 years ago, by a guy named Beto. I have two of the original VHS tapes to proove it! I ordered the tapes from what had to be the first Zumba informercial , and I loved it! (I’m trying to locate those tapes because we still have one of those dual players… it plays both VHS and DVDs). Zumba appeals to me because I find normal exercising to be rather boring. In fact, even though I have a gym membership, I rarely go into the gym and do what some might call a regular workout (e.g., treadmill, lifting weights, etc). I basically only go to classes, where there is an instructor telling me what to do, along with fun music and somewhat advanced steps (shout out to my favorite step class teacher, Jocelyn Moye of Fit2Inspire), and it helps being with other people who are all doing the same steps with me.
Sometimes I’m so focused on mastering the steps that I forget I’m working out and the hour flies by. (Some step classes are actually boring too, so you gotta find the right teacher.) But even though my gym has Zumba (they call it “Latin Heat”), it doesn’t fit my mom-of-a-toddler schedule. And the one weekend class I can make is a good workout, but not Zumba. (I found out that Zumba is supposed to be taught by “certified Zumba instructors,” so maybe that’s why my gym doesn’t call it Zumba.)
What Do You Think?
I’m very interested to hear what others think. Feel free to post comments below, whether you live in the Philly area or not. Have you lost weight doing Zumba? Does your gym have it? What are your experiences with Zumba? If you do live in Philly are you interested in Zumba during lunchtime in Center City? Is wanting to do Zumba every day unrealistic? Is doing Zumba twice a week for 30-minutes worth a $65/month gym membership in addition to a gym membership that I already pay? What should the price be for a daily Zumba class during lunch? If the price is $5/class, that totals $100/month for 20 60-minute Zumba classes. Any other suggestions or ideas? Let’s talk! (Scroll down to the comment section below to add comments.)
Thanks for the GREAT post, June! Right now I teach Zumba two ways. At the YMCA in Ambler and Roxborough. I love the Y and will never leave it, but no matter how many people I have in the class (2 or 50), I make the same hourly wage. I also teach at the Happy Hollow Rec Center here in Germantown where I charge $5/person for a 60 minute class. The city takes a small fee for the use of the space. That’s good for the folks in the neighborhood who can’t or won’t join a gym. That said, for the lunchtime CC crowd, I wonder if there is a rec center that’s convenient? You could get several instructors and divvy up the days if you wanted to offer it 5 days a week,which btw,is not too much!! I think the key is finding a venue where there is no membership required, and offer a “pay as you go” situation.I would love to get in on this if my schedule ever permits!!!!
Hi Christe! I need you to come teach at the Y in Lansdowne (smile) (that’s where I live). I have to look into rec centers in the downtown area. I’m also going to consult the fitness trainer at my workplace gym to see if she has any ideas. I’m also corresponding with Joselito about possible locations (I met him during the National Walk @ Lunch day and he was conducting a Zumba class right outside by City Hall). I wonder if it would be possible to get permission to just hold a class outside somewhere. Of course the day Joselito did it, he had a whole sound system setup. But these days most boom boxes can be set to blast and do the trick it seems. I don’t know tho! What is your experience with sound? Meanwhile, by word of mouth, I’m trying to collect names of friends and coworkers who may interested, in addition to this web page. I love your idea of multiple instructors. And $5/person sounds like a great price! Doing the math, if someone were to have perfect attendance for a daily Zumba lunch class, that would be $100/month… and they’d probably be in perfect shape by the end of the month (laugh). Thanks so much for commenting and further inspiring me to get this all figured out and making it a reality!
Did u ever figure this out? An express class during lunch time downtown woukd be awesome.
P.S. I just learned that there’s a “Zumbathon” this Saturday in Philly, May 14th, 12-2pm: http://zumbathon.zumba.com/details/1850
June,
I love love love Zumba. Use to go 3 days a week, but as temporary care giver now, I have been unable to go for a while now. I am excited about the idea of having a class downtown in which gym membership isn’t required and the cost isn’t extremly expensive. Joining a gym just to participate in the class is a negative. If you’re successful in gettng a 30 minute – 1hr class conducted 5 days a week during the lunch hour at a rate of about $5 – $10 a class, I am there!!!!!!!
Ok, Charlisa! Will definitely keep you posted :)
I’d love to find a Zumba class in CC during my lunch hour. I’m between Weston and Phila Sports at 1801 Market. Keep me in mind if you start a class. I also know an instructor who may be interested in teaching.
Great and informative. I hear so much about Zumba. I’ve yet to try it. As much as I like to dance you’d think I’d be all over it. I’ve committed myself to Crossfit and haven’t had time to add anything else. But I’m gonna try it.
@pauline, will definitely keep u posted!
@tisha, i actually didn’t know u dance!
anyone know how i’d go about getting “permission” to have the class conducted outside? do i need permission? like if we did it in that courtyard area on JFK?
Hi Ladies- My name is Emily, and June contacted Joselito who then contacted me. I am a Zumba instructor in the New Jersey area, in both south and north jersey. I also teach out of medifit in center city philly. So this does sound like a great endeavour, however the challenge would be to find a gym that would allow non-members to come in for a class. This is why a lot of Zumba instructors, myself included, have there own private classes. If you would want to do a class outside, you would need to ask the city if that is allowed, because police can shut it down, sadly. So whoever is in charge of the parks in Philly would be the person to contact. Also, how many days are you looking to do this, as well as since it is Philly, and during lunch time how would the women come to the class? Just things to keep in mind, you can email me personally, and I would be happy to teach a class!! I LOVE TEACHING ZUMBA!
Hi Emily! Thanks so very much for reaching out to us and posting. You are correct that the location is the challenge presently. A gym (rightfully and understandly so) is not gonna want us to hold a Zumba class at their facility when they already offer Zumba. I met with Weston gym weeks ago… not the manager but a sales rep, who kept trying to talk me out of my endeavor, stating that I should just join his gym (naturally).
As far as conducting Zumba outside, there are other groups that exercise outside. Granted, one that I know of meets super early in the morning, with yoga mats and all, but it’s so early in the morning that no one is outside to complain or report them. But it wouldn’t be fun if the police were to break up our class if we got one going outside. I am checking into how to obtain a license to have a class outside. There’s a couple of spots that seem ideal that would not be in the way of anyone.
I’m also checking with a couple of companies that might be willing to let us use a big conference room or other very large unused room.
We are looking to do it daily, so five days a week, to answer your question. But I’d be happy for three days a week, and another instructor suggested that we get multiple instructors involved who could rotate days.
And when you ask how would women come to the class, are you referencing getting changed? I was thinking we could all disrobe together outside, all at once. Juuuuuuuuuuuust kidding. Each person would get changed at her workplace before coming out to the class.
Let’s all keep brainstorming and I’m sure we can get something sparked before the end of the year!
Hi June,
I realize this post is from a while back, but I wanted to let you know that I will be adding a drop in lunch time ZUMBA class at The Ethical Society Building, 1906 Rittenhouse Square, beginning March 14. It will be a 45 minute class and the cost is $10 per class. After 10 classes you get the 11th free. For more info you can check my website http://www.phillyzumba.comTake care!