Latin dance- inspired aerobics class offered

Ladies Workout Express is offering classes in Zumba, a Latin danceinspired aerobics class that burns calories in a cardiovascular training as participants move to a Latin beat.

Zumba incorporates salsa, flamenco, tango, and meringue, and originated in Miami in 1999, according to Zumba Fitness LLC.

Teachers of dance aerobics claim that participants can burn up to 300 to 700 calories in a class.

Zumba gives a cardio boost by incorporating interval training, alternating higher- and lowerenergy exercises. Fastmoving songs often segue into slower ones with smaller movements. This helps to burn more calories than staying at a steady pace, according to Marilyn Moffat, former president of the American Physical Therapy Association.

Zumba also keeps classes interesting by shifting from popular Salsa steps to classic Mambo step to a simple side-to-side "Zumba Shuffle" and other dance moves.

The twisting movements in Latin dance work the core muscles which support the upper body and spine. Dancing works muscles that don't get challenged in other types of exercise, such as a spinning class.

For those that want to continue their strength training with dancing, the facility offers "Circuit-Zumba," which mixes the circuit training with Zumba replacing the cardio portion.

Ladies Workout Express is in Paseo MarketPlace at 3677 E. Thousand Oaks Blvd., Westlake Village. For more information, call (805) 371-8710.