Zumba Dance Shoes Are They Really Needed or Is It a Big Marketing Ploy

If you're like most people who are just getting started taking zumba, you're probably contemplating whether or not to spend a small fortune on a new pair of sneakers that you may or may not even need.

What is zumba anyway? Zumba is a high-calorie, fat burning, supersonic exercise program, that's easy to follow. (of course, the better the instructor the easier it is to follow). However, the moves are simple and the instructors use non-verbal leads.

Zumba is exhilarating and the red-hot Latin music takes your mind off of all of that fat burning, weight loss stuff. For a matter of fact, you won't even realize you're exercising until you get home.

Now at that point, don't be surprise if your stomach ends-up feeling like one person set on you and held you down, while someone else proceeded to beat your stomach like a drum.

Anyway, zumba is a craze that has taken the world by a storm and has been going strong for over 10 years. So if you're still questioning whether or not to purchase special shoes for zumba, don't think twice, unless, you want your feet to feel like your stomach.

Now the difference in a zumba dance shoes and regular athletic sneakers is all in the construction of the shoe. Think about how all of the other sneakers were created. Most sneakers were designed or created for a specific purpose or what the industry would call "a need"

For instance, runner shoes were designed for runner's specific problems. Next there were cross-training sneakers, which were designed to be more durable to handle the harsh punishment from the physical exercises.

All that being said, the Zumba founders and instructors, realized that the sneakers that were on the market was missing important elements: (1) a much lighter-weight shoe was needed (2) more flexibility was cruel (3) it needed to be multi-directional.

As a result zumba dance shoes were created. I've read numerous of testimonials of people whose feet would hurt them after taking zumba and once they switch their sneakers and purchase a much lighter, more flexible shoe, it made the world of difference.

Keep in mind that the "zumba brand" of sneaker isn't the only company manufacturing this type of sneaker.( which is called a dance-fitness sneaker) Other company's such as Nike, Puma and others have come up with their own version of dance-fitness sneakers.

There are many problems that can be associated with wearing incorrect shoes for specific sporting activities. According to recent research, it states that runners could apply as much force as 8 times their body weight, which could potentially injury their knees, feet, and ankles and other injuries.