In the typical circuit training health club, members alternate between resistance exercise machines and aerobic stations like jogging squares. Lively music plays at a rapid BPM (beats-per-minute) to help clients stay motivated and maintain their pace. At the same time, another stereo plays an audio cue CD that prompts gym members to “change stations” at set intervals.
In other words, in most circuit training health clubs members perform resistance exercises for thirty seconds (or sixty seconds), then “change stations” to jog in place for another thirty (or sixty) seconds.
The problem is that when you’re doing the same thing, day after day, it can get BORING!
To combat the boredom, and the inevitable member retention problems that accompany that boredom, some circuit training health clubs have mixed things up by adding new exercises and/or by changing the intervals between “change stations” cues.
Using specialty cue CDs designed just for the circuit training industry, such as those offered by
www.cuecd.com, many gyms are having their members perform new and exciting exercises at regular intervals. For example, when using a "Bicep Curls" cue CD gym members will be prompted to step away from the regular circuit and perform various dumbbell lifts every ten minutes. Adding a new exercise to a familiar workout is a sure way to keep interest high and keep gym members coming back.
But while many independent circuit training health clubs are doing a great job of using cue CDs to keep the workout fresh and exciting, Curves for Women has hit an absolute HOME RUN with their new Zumba workout!
Curves is now offering "the only 30-minute class that mixes the moves of Zumba with the proven strength of training of Curves for a wildly effective workout" (source: www.curves.com/the-workout/zumba-fitness). The Curves Zumba workout involves their regular circuit, with the exception that the typical aerobic stations have been replaced with Zumba dance!
Using a 60-second audio cue CD such as the one offered by
www.cuecd.com, in conjunction with a Zumba music CD, the Curves Zumba workout prompts gym members to "change stations" at 60-second intervals. Health club members thus spend sixty seconds on a resistance strength machine, followed by sixty seconds of vigorous Zumba dance.
The reason why this innovation has been so successful for Curves is that Zumba is one of the most popular workout routines in the world. Zumba is "..an exhilarating, effective, easy-to-follow, Latin-inspired, calorie-burning dance fitness-party that’s moving millions of people toward joy and health" (source: www.zumba.com/us/about).
To be more specific, the official Zumba website (www.zumba.com) offers the following explanation of the Curves Zumba phenomenon: "Zumba in the Circuit – Maximize your workout while still having a total blast. Zumba in the Circuit is 30 minutes of high-octane, Latin-inspired dance-fitness moves combined with circuit training, a series of strength exercises at timed intervals. Get the metabolism-boosting, strength-building benefits of circuit training while perfecting Zumba moves—all in the same class! Guaranteed to blast calories and thwart boredom, Zumba in the Circuit moves students from one exercise station to the next to the thumping beats of reggaeton, salsa, merengue, hip-hop and more. Be in and out in 30 minutes flat —this time-effective and efficient class can be adapted for all fitness levels."
By combining Zumba music, a 60-second audio cue CD, and the traditional Curves circuit training workout, Curves for Women has achieved what so many circuit training health clubs strive for: a circuit training workout that is not only effective but FUN.
The Curves Zumba CD has not only made circuit training fun again, but has also helped millions of women reach their weight loss goals. Curves has done it again, and if history is any indicator we’ll see countless independent circuit training health clubs follow their lead.
