How to spend a Saturday morning in Edinburgh, mmmm let me think, usually I’d have a nice long lie in, then maybe head to Princes Street for some shopping, a leisurely lunch and let the day unfold.

Well, during my trip to home this summer I decided to change it up a bit.

I woke up feeling all excited and looking forward to my very first Zumba class. The sun was shining, yes even in Scotland the sun does shine on occasion, I donned by gym gear put on my MP3 and hit the road for the walk up to Stockbridge. The walk itself is fantastic, striding past all the morning fitness bunnies, jogging, cycling, boot camps going on in Inverleith Park, Rugby Practice, Women’s Hockey, there was all sorts going on and I felt great to be up and about.

Grabbed a bottle of water from the shop that we all used to go to during school lunch hour, the same man was actually serving, he’s been there for more than 20 years now! Oh how I love to reminisce while I’m in my old home town.

I’d arranged to meet up with my old school friend Bridget whose JNL Class I’d gone to a couple of days earlier, this is where I’d met Frances (the Zumba Instructor) and saw the flyer for Zumba for that weekend, they also do a coffee meet straight afterwards which is nice if you want to meet new people. I was on babysitting duties though so had to pass on the coffee but will definitely go when I’m back up in Edinburgh.

So to Zumba itself, I’m not the most graceful woman in the world, but this is a lot of fun and I do think you need to give yourself a few classes just to get used to the moves and the routines, but as it was my first class I was really concentrating on getting my footwork right, I always seemed to just get the hang of it right on the last set. Typical! I laughed a lot too, purely because I get a real manic smile on my face when I’m trying classes like this, there’s a bit of shimmying and hip wiggling which seems to reduce me to a 5 year old in a mad giggling fit, don’t ask why, I’ve no idea.

We were all boiling as well, Zumba really works up a sweat, plus there were quite a few people in the hall, but having just come from 38 degrees celcius at the gym back home, I didn’t mind this too much and hey, you go to these classes for a workout and that means getting a little sweaty!

I can totally see why people love Zumba classes, it’s fun, energetic and you really feel like you’ve worked hard. I love to dance (usually in the privacy of my own home though) but Zumba lets you release the inner diva or divo (there were a few chaps shaking their stuff there).

Will I go back to Zumba, yes, yes I think I will!