Every decade seems to bring a new fitness craze for the weight-conscious masses. With the 1980s came aerobics, complete with leotards, grapevines and leg-warmers. The 1990s saw the advent of the step workout, reinforced with home video offerings by the likes of the singer Cher, which was a personal favourite.
And to open the 21st century we have had Zumba, a Latin-infused dance aerobics craze that is now practised in more than 75 countries, including the UAE, but about which I knew nothing before last week - aside from a few vague references by friends and colleagues.
Having spent the best part of three years boxing, I have all but mastered the art of rounding my shoulders and have lost a great deal of flexibility in the process.
So it was with more than a touch of trepidation that I headed, lycra-free, towards the clubhouse at Al Murooj Rotana, Dubai, on Wednesday evening, for my first taste of Zumba with Core Direction's instructor Lucy Melton.
"Don't be nervous, it's fun," the bubbly 23-year-old British dancer promised me before the class began. "The majority of the class is based around beginners and everyone at this class started quite recently. You don't need to be very co-ordinated. The steps are straightforward and it's quite repetitive so you'll pick it up."
I am told that Zumba was created by the celebrity fitness instructor "Beto" Perez, who forgot his music for an aerobics class he was taking in Colombia during the 1990s. He grabbed a tape from his rucksack containing a compilation of his favourite Latin salsa and merengue tunes and improvised his way through the class.
It proved such a hit that he added several routines and it has gone on to be a global success, with more than six million people participating in classes every week at more than 50,000 locations.
Core Direction has been running its Zumba class for about six months from its Dubai Marina location, where at least 15 participants, including two men, are put through their paces at one of three weekly sessions, according to Melton.
A fortnight ago it began two more classes - Mondays and Wednesdays - at Al Murooj Rotana residential complex, at the request of Dana Daher, a 35-year-old Canadian who lives at Al Murooj.
"I kept reading about the class online but I don't drive and so wanted something a bit closer," she said. "This is my sixth class and I'm really happy it's here. I like the music, it's fun and you feel like you're in a club dancing around."
Daher hates the gym but wanted to break out of the sedentary lifestyle that is all too easy to slip into in the UAE. On this occasion there were nine of us - all women of various ages, nationalities and sizes - in the modest, stark white residential hall. To my relief, there were no mirrors.
As the clock struck seven we each found a space on the tiled floor and Melton led us through a straight-forward aerobic warm-up to relatively recent dance tracks.
"I change the routines and the music every couple of weeks to keep it fresh for those who come regularly and to make it easier for newcomers to get involved," Melton explained.
Having been put through some relatively simple, albeit energetic, dance moves with lots of arm stretching and knee-bending designed to get all the major muscle groups working, we began to make our way through some basic salsa, tango and merengue moves, complete with dramatic arm movements.
Counting to four became surprisingly difficult at one part of the routine as I tried to negotiate a leg kick and mini-trot within a four-beat while trying not to look like an extra in Disney's Fantasia, but Melton laughed and told us that when in doubt we should throw our arms and just have fun.
Midway through we stopped and spent a track focusing on leg-strengthening, with a series of squats. I was warm and sweating by this point but as we giggled our way through the routine, sometimes messing up the timing but never particularly upset when we did, I never felt out of breath or as if I needed to stop.
This class is the perfect kick-start for anyone looking to start a healthier lifestyle who breaks out in a cold sweat at the thought of joining a gym. When 8pm arrived and the cool-down began, I was genuinely surprised at how fast the hour had gone and, as quickly as they arrived, everyone headed home again.
loatway@thenational.ae
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Gulf Men's League final
Dubai Hurricanes 24-12 Abu Dhabi Harlequins
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The specs: 2019 Infiniti QX50
Price, base: Dh138,000 (estimate)
Engine: 2.0L, turbocharged, in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 268hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 380Nm @ 4,400rpm
Fuel economy: 6.7L / 100km (estimate)
THE NEW BATCH'S FOCUS SECTORS
AiFlux – renewables, oil and gas
DevisionX – manufacturing
Event Gates – security and manufacturing
Farmdar – agriculture
Farmin – smart cities
Greener Crop – agriculture
Ipera.ai – space digitisation
Lune Technologies – fibre-optics
Monak – delivery
NutzenTech – environment
Nybl – machine learning
Occicor – shelf management
Olymon Solutions – smart automation
Pivony – user-generated data
PowerDev – energy big data
Sav – finance
Searover – renewables
Swftbox – delivery
Trade Capital Partners – FinTech
Valorafutbol – sports and entertainment
Workfam – employee engagement
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: ten-speed
Power: 420bhp
Torque: 624Nm
Price: Dh325,125
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
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Race card
6.30pm: Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 (PA) US$100,000 (Dirt) 2,000m
7.05pm: Meydan Classic Listed (TB) $175,000 (Turf) 1,600m
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm: Nad Al Sheba Trophy Group 2 (TB) $300,000 (T) 2,810m
9.25pm: Curlin Stakes Listed (TB) $175,000 (D) 2,000m
10pm: Handicap (TB) $135,000 (T) 2,000m
10.35pm: Handicap (TB) $175,000 (T) 1,400m
The National selections
6.30pm: Shahm, 7.05pm: Well Of Wisdom, 7.40pm: Lucius Tiberius, 8.15pm: Captain Von Trapp, 8.50pm: Secret Advisor, 9.25pm: George Villiers, 10pm: American Graffiti, 10.35pm: On The Warpath
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Gully Boy
Director: Zoya Akhtar
Producer: Excel Entertainment & Tiger Baby
Cast: Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Kalki Koechlin, Siddhant Chaturvedi
Rating: 4/5 stars
The rules of the road keeping cyclists safe
Cyclists must wear a helmet, arm and knee pads
Have a white front-light and a back red-light on their bike
They must place a number plate with reflective light to the back of the bike to alert road-users
Avoid carrying weights that could cause the bike to lose balance
They must cycle on designated lanes and areas and ride safe on pavements to avoid bumping into pedestrians
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
MATCH INFO
Tottenham Hotspur 0 Everton 1 (Calvert-Lewin 55')
Man of the Match Allan (Everton)
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The biog
Favourite hobby: taking his rescue dog, Sally, for long walks.
Favourite book: anything by Stephen King, although he said the films rarely match the quality of the books
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption stands out as his favourite movie, a classic King novella
Favourite music: “I have a wide and varied music taste, so it would be unfair to pick a single song from blues to rock as a favourite"
RESULTS
Bantamweight title:
Vinicius de Oliveira (BRA) bt Xavier Alaoui (MAR)
(KO round 2)
Catchweight 68kg:
Sean Soriano (USA) bt Noad Lahat (ISR)
(TKO round 1)
Middleweight:
Denis Tiuliulin (RUS) bt Juscelino Ferreira (BRA)
(TKO round 1)
Lightweight:
Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR) bt Joachim Tollefsen (DEN)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 68kg:
Austin Arnett (USA) bt Daniel Vega (MEX)
(TKO round 3)
Lightweight:
Carrington Banks (USA) bt Marcio Andrade (BRA)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 58kg:
Corinne Laframboise (CAN) bt Malin Hermansson (SWE)
(Submission round 2)
Bantamweight:
Jalal Al Daaja (CAN) bt Juares Dea (CMR)
(Split decision)
Middleweight:
Mohamad Osseili (LEB) bt Ivan Slynko (UKR)
(TKO round 1)
Featherweight:
Tarun Grigoryan (ARM) bt Islam Makhamadjanov (UZB)
(Unanimous decision)
Catchweight 54kg:
Mariagiovanna Vai (ITA) bt Daniella Shutov (ISR)
(Submission round 1)
Middleweight:
Joan Arastey (ESP) bt Omran Chaaban (LEB)
(Unanimous decision)
Welterweight:
Bruno Carvalho (POR) bt Souhil Tahiri (ALG)
(TKO)
The%20pillars%20of%20the%20Dubai%20Metaverse%20Strategy
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The Little Things
Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto
Four stars
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The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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The biog
Favourite book: You Are the Placebo – Making your mind matter, by Dr Joe Dispenza
Hobby: Running and watching Welsh rugby
Travel destination: Cyprus in the summer
Life goals: To be an aspirational and passionate University educator, enjoy life, be healthy and be the best dad possible.