Anuj, a Zumba instructor, says that he sustained his injury while receiving instructions some years ago. “I think I adopted a wrong posture while jumping and this added a knee injury to my list of experiences,” he says.
Post his injury, he turned to yoga to flex the kinks out and begin his stint as an instructor. Having suffered an injury, he is cautious with his students as well. “I advice them to bounce or march instead of a jump, if they have a strain in their knees or back.”
“I watch for facial cues in order to judge if a particular student requires my attention. Like any other workout Zumba requires a buffer of 16-18 hours recovery time before it is undertaken again. Zumba instructors must retain the warm up and cool down portion of their routines. In any routine the heart rate goes up to 112-120 after the workout. It needs to be brought down to 72-80. Students must also keep themselves hydrated during the workout,” he adds.
Addressing gym newbies who juice up on protein shakes, he says that, “protein shakes help maintain muscle. They don’t supplement your natural energy. That is dependent on your sleep cycle, water retention and food intake.”
(The writer is an intern with The Hindu)
