By Robin Clough, SCV Senior Center Volunteer & Recreation Coordinator, and Diane Hedrick, Certified Fitness Instructor

Zumba Gold classes at the SCV Senior Center are not just for seniors but are also open to all in the community. Classes are hugely popular with a wide range of ages. You would never guess by their youthful demeanor that some participants are even octogenarians.

One of these vibrant senior participants, Jose Jimenez, has a passion for life and a passion for the salsa. His joyful fervor on the dance floor lights up the entire class.

It’s surprising to discover this happy soul had such an arduous past. Jose was in Cuba when Fidel Castro came to power. Jose was incarcerated as a political prisoner for 10 years, including five years in prison and five years of forced labor.

Jose vividly remembers when Castro announced that political prisoners would be allowed to leave Cuba. The Swiss embassy facilitated his passage to Spain, and he eventually came to the United States.

Jose and others enjoy Zumba class because it’s fun, nonjudgmental, and provides extraordinary health benefits. It’s a win-win situation. Classes can positively change your attitude toward life, others and yourself. Studies have found that these heart-pumping movements enhance happiness by boosting endorphins.

Experts agree that if you do only one thing to ease the transition of aging, choose to keep moving. Make it a point to engage your body physically every day.

Exercise lowers blood sugar levels, helps prevent heart damage and depression, and can aid weight loss. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends at least 150 minutes of moderate-level activity or 90 minutes of vigorous aerobic exercise each week and muscle-strengthening activities on two or more days a week that work all major muscle groups (legs, hips, back, abdomen, chest, shoulders, and arms). Light to moderate weightlifting exercises are important because they help offset muscle loss associated with aging.

Zumba Gold classes, like the traditional Latin-inspired Zumba fitness workout, incorporate many of the dance-fitness routines set to Latin and international rhythms but are performed at a lower intensity. The classes are aerobic and so much fun that the program is often called “exercise in disguise” with the tag line, “Ditch the party, join the workout.”

Get fit and be happy at the SCV Senior Center. Classes are every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at 3:30 p.m. It’s a 45-minute, non-stop cardio workout that includes some light-weight toning. Newcomers are always welcome, and it’s only $3 per class. Choose to move.