VIDA THORINGTON

My journey to become fit began on my front lawn in May, 2000.  My youngest son and his date
were posing for prom pictures in front of our house.  I had this "summer jumper" on with the big
flowers — looked more like a tent —and a cast on my right leg (I had broken my ankle six weeks
earlier and needed to have surgery).  As a matter of fact, I was recovering from neck surgery
when I broke my ankle and prior to that I had lower back surgery in 1991.  During this time, at a
height of 5’4”, I weighed 200 pounds.  I felt bad both physically and spiritually.  I think most of my
injuries were a direct result of living a sedentary lifestyle in front of the TV and no exercise.  
When I saw the pictures from that day in 2000, I knew it was time to do something about my
weight.

Fast forward to 2004 and 40 pounds lighter.  While on vacation in Miami, I went to a Gold’s
Gym.  By this time in my life I was doing some kind of workout at least 4 times a week.  I heard
Latin Music coming out of an exercise room in the gym.   I looked inside and there were people
dancing.  I was too scared at the time to enter the room.  The sign on the door said “Zumba.”  
When I got home I Googled “Zumba”, found out what it was all about, and ordered the DVDs.  
For almost a year, I was doing Zumba in my basement every opportunity I got.

I kept looking at gyms in our area to see if they were offering Zumba classes, and couldn’t find
any.  After a while, I got bored doing the same DVDs.  One night about 6 months ago, I saw a
new Zumba infomercial!  Wow!  Brand new DVDs.  I couldn’t wait to get them, so I started back
up again.  This time the Zumba website provided information on finding local classes. I was so
excited that there were actual classes that I could take.  I visited three different Zumba classes
around the city.   I did a couple of her classes, and thought to myself, “I would like to be a Zumba
Instructor too.”

I like Zumba because of the music, the moves are not hard to learn, and it is more like going to
a club than working out.  Zumba is a whole body workout, and it really strengthens your core.  
This is really important to me because of my back problems.  It is important to me to stay active
because I KNOW TOO WELL THE AFFECTS OF A SEDENTARY LIFESTYLE.

I became a Zumba instructor because I think everyone—both young and old—can enjoy
Zumba.  I heard somewhere that ''EACH ONE, TEACH ONE".  I guess this is my way of helping
people to become more active.

Fitness motto: Have fun!! Love life!! SMILE!!

Email: [email protected]