Bored With the Same Old Workout?

If you’re not sure whether Zumba is your cup of tea, Kelly McCollister will make a deal with you: Show up for her free class next week and decide for yourself.

McCollister, through the township , has been offering Zumba classes since February. Zumba can best be described as a high-energy aerobic workout based on dance steps borrowed from merengue, salsa and other Latin dances.

According to McCollister, the appeal of Zumba, a fitness craze that has caught on across the country and more recently regionally, is it offers an alternative to the usual humdrum workout routine.

“I always tell people, ‘How else are you going to work out other than running?’” she said. “Once you try Zumba, the hour flies by, and you don’t feel like you’re exercising.”

McCollister—who also teaches Zumba in Pemberton, Mount Holly, Westampton and Mount Laurel—just wrapped up her second six-week session. The class doubled in size from the first session to the second, and she’s hoping to grow again in her third.

She said offering the free class acts as an incentive for those who want to dip their toe in, but might be intimidated by the six-week, $66 commitment of the full class.

“They can just show up, see what the class is all about,” McCollister said.

Since so many of the people who show up for her classes are first-timers—“They’ve probably never done Zumba before, probably never danced before”—McCollister will gear the free class to novices, she said. “It’s definitely for someone who hasn’t taken a Zumba class before.”

The free class will be offered at 6 p.m. Friday, Jan. 6, on the third floor of the .

The regular Zumba classes begin Thursday, Jan. 12, and will be held at 7:30 p.m. every Thursday for six weeks, also on the third floor of the rec center.

No registration necessary for the free class. Register online for the regular session.