About Me
Hi, I'm Debs and I'm a Licensed Zumba Instructor.
Originally I'm from Scarborough, which has to be one of the most beautiful places on earth. I've always loved exercise and sport, I was in the Royal Air Force for 18 years and so was lucky enough to have a go at just about everything!!! I retired when I had my children but was still really into fitness (well as much as you can be when you have little ones!). So, I was always fit and healthy until, in 2006, I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer - the treatment (surgery, chemotherapy and radiotherapy) which lasted about a year really took it's toll and I lost my fitness and really gained weight. After the treatment was over, my husband and I decided we wanted to start a new life for our family - we wanted to be with the children and each other as much as possible and so he retired from the RAF and we moved here to Scarborough - we thought it would be a wonderful place for our children to grow up. We soon settled down - children were really happy and loved school so we were happy too. I tried hard to get back in shape - lots of Nordic Walking (I'm a Nordic Walking Instructor) and lots of sessions in the gym. Although I was getting fitter, I wasn't losing the weight especially from around my middle. I honestly thought that I had 'middle-age spread' and that I was just going to have to accept it - it happens to all of us at some point in our lives - then I came across Zumba®
Discovering Zumba And How It's Helped Me
I first came across Zumba® while visiting friends in Holland. My friend was a big fan of Zumba® and had the DVDs - she asked my daughter (she was 12 at the time) and I, if we would like to try it I was hooked straight away - I loved the music and the different dance styles - we had such a giggle from start to finish - the time just flew by and without realising it we had worked really hard if the amount of sweat was anything to go by (sorry)! I've always loved exercise and I've tried just about everything over the years but I'd never come across anything like this before - it was so much fun.
I bought the DVDs when we got back to the UK and used them a couple of times a week at home. It wasn't long before I noticed how much my shape was changing - the weight round my middle started to disappear and my waistline started to shrink!! Not only was the weight going but everywhere was toning up - the routines were fun and I really loved my Zumba® time at home. I would have loved to have been able to go to a class but at the time no-one was teaching Zumba® in Scarborough so it wasn't possible. At the end of the DVDs there's some info about becoming an instructor - I was curious and wanted to find out more and after looking into what was involved I thought I'd go for it! Very scary but really exciting!
I decided to qualify as an Aerobics Instructor (Exercise to Music) first as I thought it was really important to have more professional fitness qualifications before enrolling on the Zumba® course and I'm really glad that I went down that route as the training was fantastic. I learnt so much both on a theoretical and practical level and felt the training was invaluable to equip with me with the skills and knowledge base that I needed to then go on to train as a Zumba® Instructor.
I trained to be a Zumba® Instructor in August 2010 in Worthing and loved every second of it. I then spent 6 weeks or so developing my own routines and choreography for my first class and practised, practised and practised! Venues were booked, the website designed and 'live' and a few leaflets later we were ready start!
I had no idea whether anyone would come along to the classes so it was pretty nerve wracking on that first night - so I was so happy (and relieved) to see 23 ladies standing in front of me looking almost as nervous as I felt! Once the music started to play and we started to move to the rhythms the smiles started - it was amazing! From that very first class in October 2010, the classes have grown in size every week and I'm really happy to say that the smiles from the girls that come along to class haven't stopped - we have a fab time. I've met hundreds of lovely ladies that have made the classes the best time ever - great sports that just want to come along and have a wonderful time, forget everything for an hour while they lose themselves in the music and shake everything they've been blessed with!
Already, we are seeing fantastic results in the amount of weight people are losing but more importantly how people are feeling fitter and more confident about themselves.
Zumba® has helped me to get my fitness and confidence back and it's really helped me to move forwards again. I've lost over a stone in weight and now know that you don't have to settle for 'middle-aged spread' - everyone can change their shape using Zumba Fitness® training if they really want to!
I absolutely love Zumba® and can never imagine it any other way - hope you get to enjoy it too!
Love Debs x
I bought the DVDs when we got back to the UK and used them a couple of times a week at home. It wasn't long before I noticed how much my shape was changing - the weight round my middle started to disappear and my waistline started to shrink!! Not only was the weight going but everywhere was toning up - the routines were fun and I really loved my Zumba® time at home. I would have loved to have been able to go to a class but at the time no-one was teaching Zumba® in Scarborough so it wasn't possible. At the end of the DVDs there's some info about becoming an instructor - I was curious and wanted to find out more and after looking into what was involved I thought I'd go for it! Very scary but really exciting!
I decided to qualify as an Aerobics Instructor (Exercise to Music) first as I thought it was really important to have more professional fitness qualifications before enrolling on the Zumba® course and I'm really glad that I went down that route as the training was fantastic. I learnt so much both on a theoretical and practical level and felt the training was invaluable to equip with me with the skills and knowledge base that I needed to then go on to train as a Zumba® Instructor.
I trained to be a Zumba® Instructor in August 2010 in Worthing and loved every second of it. I then spent 6 weeks or so developing my own routines and choreography for my first class and practised, practised and practised! Venues were booked, the website designed and 'live' and a few leaflets later we were ready start!
I had no idea whether anyone would come along to the classes so it was pretty nerve wracking on that first night - so I was so happy (and relieved) to see 23 ladies standing in front of me looking almost as nervous as I felt! Once the music started to play and we started to move to the rhythms the smiles started - it was amazing! From that very first class in October 2010, the classes have grown in size every week and I'm really happy to say that the smiles from the girls that come along to class haven't stopped - we have a fab time. I've met hundreds of lovely ladies that have made the classes the best time ever - great sports that just want to come along and have a wonderful time, forget everything for an hour while they lose themselves in the music and shake everything they've been blessed with!
Already, we are seeing fantastic results in the amount of weight people are losing but more importantly how people are feeling fitter and more confident about themselves.
Zumba® has helped me to get my fitness and confidence back and it's really helped me to move forwards again. I've lost over a stone in weight and now know that you don't have to settle for 'middle-aged spread' - everyone can change their shape using Zumba Fitness® training if they really want to!
I absolutely love Zumba® and can never imagine it any other way - hope you get to enjoy it too!
Love Debs x