TORRINGTON – Do you have a sense of adventure? This, along with a towel, water bottle, and $2.50, is everything necessary to attend one of local Zumba instructor Teresa Brott’s new pilot classes at Eastern Wyoming College.

Until Aug. 2, on Tuesdays and Thursdays in the Fine Arts Dance Room 47 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Brott will offer STRONG by Zumba – an all-new fitness class.

“Zumba Strong is completely different from any other … HIIT (high-intensity interval training) classes,” Brott, who has been teaching Zumba in the area for nearly two years now, said. “Zumba took it a step forward, using high-intensity tempo training.” 

Brott explained top-recording artists, including Pitbull and Steve Aoki, create music specifically designed for the fitness program’s choreography.

“Everything is custom-made,” she said. “It’s for everybody … there’s modifications, we can modify the workout. We run the gamut for age groups.”

Zumba is an aerobic program inspired by various styles of Latin-American dance. Brott traveled to Aurora, Colo. for instructorship training, and most recently, Rapid City, S.D. for a specialty endorsement to teach STRONG by Zumba.

“Honestly, I like STRONG because people who say they can’t do Zumba because it’s dancey – this is a different animal. we don’t dance,” she said.

“In this new high-intensity Zumba class, you will stop counting reps and start training to the beat of the original music that has been designed specifically to match every single move,” an official description of the class reads. “STRONG by Zumba combines body weight, muscle conditioning, cardio and plyometric training moves. Every squat, every lunge, every burpee is driven by the music helping you make it to the last rep, and maybe even five more. In a one-hour class you burn calories while toning arms, legs, abs, and glutes. Plyometric or explosive moves like high knees, burpees, and jumping jacks are interchanged with isometric moves like lunges, squats, and kickboxing. Music and moves are changed up frequently to make sure you are always challenged to the max.”

Tuesday evening, several women – although the class is open to everyone – filled Fine Arts Dance Room 47 for a test run of the pilot program. Following the one-hour session, many thanked Brott for the workout. Brott’s mother, Marina Hill, stayed late to speak to the Telegram about the program.

“When the women come, … it’s team building,” Hill said. “They can walk on the treadmill any place. Here, they’re jumping and screaming with other women.

“I do it not just because she’s my daughter, but because I’ve got thyroid (issues) and my doctor told me to stay physically active, and I kid you not, this is physically active.”

While the pilot program runs through Aug. 2, a regular session of STRONG by Zumba will begin this fall. Brott is also endorsed in and is offering Zumba Gold classes in the mornings, a lower-intensity workout designed for older active adults or those who want to “baby-step” into Zumba.

To participate in Zumba Gold, the STRONG by Zumba pilot program or any other EWC Community Education class, call Donna White at (307) 532-8323.

“I am not an uber-fit person, and this is a workout that doesn’t feel like a punishment to me. You don’t need anything else but a little bit of a sense of adventure,” Brott said of STRONG. “The only person you’re in competition with is yourself … this is about you.”