My introduction to HOT HULA fitness®

HOT HULA fitness® is no joke. My entire torso, my thighs, my calves, my shoulders, even the muscles in the top of my feet and shins are super sore after my seven hour instructor training yesterday at Studio K in Orlando. HOT HULA fitness® is a new and exciting workout inspired by dances from the Pacific islands. It is very low impact, and emphasizes core movements with a focus on thighs, glutes, abs, and arms.

I discovered HOT HULA® fitness on the internet. Another Zumba® instructor posted a YouTube video of people doing it on Facebook, and I was intrigued. All the participants looked like they were getting a great workout and having a blast. The music was also extremely captivating. It's a fusion of traditional Polynesian drum beats with reggae and hip hop, and makes you want to move! Although I had never taken a live class, I registered for the instructor training, and am hoping to introduce this brand of fitness to the South Georgia area.



The program was developed in 2009 by Anna-Rita Sloss, based on her Samoan heritage and fitness background. It was debuted by 24 Hour Fitness at the IDEA World Fitness Conference in August of 2009. I am blessed to have discovered this program still in its chrysalis. I feel as though I learned a lot at the training workshop that I will use along my journey as a fitness professional.

When I arrived at Studio K yesterday morning, I was very surprised when Anna-Rita Sloss herself walked in. She is a very respected and knowledgeable figure in the fitness community. She has worked closely with Chalene Johnson, the creator of Turbo Kick, Hip Hop Hustle, and PiYo. I expected the training workshop to be conducted by an authorized trainer, but I was lucky enough to have registered for one instructed by the creator of the program!

We started off by introducing ourselves and listening to Anna-Rita describe how the HOT HULA fitness® program came into existence. There were only 12 of us attending the training. I am accustomed to Zumba® workshops with dozens, sometimes hundreds, of participants, and it was very nice to actually have contact with every person that was there. We were all given lava lavas, the traditional Polynesian sarong, which makes anyone look fabulous while moving her hips!

Then the dancing began. Anna-Rita demonstrated each basic move, going slow at first, then speeding up the tempo, and she walked around making sure everyone was practicing with perfect technique. Polynesian dances are quite different from the Latin dances my body is familiar with. In HOT HULA, we keep our shoulders relaxed, and our upper torsos relatively still while just moving the hips. We stay as low as possible, with a constant bend in the knees. It's like doing hundreds of ab crunches while in a half squat the whole time! Dancing to the beat of the music makes this kind of exercise extremely enjoyable. There's no jumping or hard stepping, and I could not believe how much I was sweating, and how fast my heart was beating from such low-impact movements!

We practiced the basic movements over and over, to the beat of Pacific drums, until Anna-Rita felt that we were ready for a combination. She then walked us through some combinations, and we rehearsed those until we were ready to put them together into a song. She blasted "Get Busy" by Sean Paul, and we all got busy on the floor. By then, my legs and abs were on fire, but I was having a great time!

Next came the one hour master class! We all really worked it! It was a blast, but I would have been lost if I hadn't previously gone over the basic movements. Whenever I do start teaching, I will make sure my students practice those basics until they're ready to move on. Some of the women in the video are moving their bodies in what looks to be an almost impossible way, but everything gets better with practice, and we will begin our classes at the most basic level.

The remainder of the workshop concentrated on our instructing skills. We divided into groups and practiced cueing and demonstrating the movements to one another. Other attendees who are already teaching were more than willing to help the beginners with our techniques. Cueing is the area that I will definitely have to drill myself on quite a bit in order to become a successful instructor. In HOT HULA, I will cue verbally, and I must keep count of the musical phrases. In Zumba® I just memorize the music and cue visually that a transition is about to take place, but I'm up for the challenge!

Lastly, each participant took a turn teaching the class, showcasing her instructing and cueing skills. Anna-Rita critiqued each of us, and determined whether each individual was ready to teach a class or not. If she thought we needed a little more practice, we are required to send her a video of us instructing to the camera for approval before we begin teaching. I really love that about the HOT HULA fitness® program. Anna-Rita wants to ensure that each instructor is qualified before sharing the program with others. This way it can be known that any HOT HULA class will be a good representation of the brand.

Anna-Rita said my voice was well projected, and my dance technique was good, but that I needed to be a little more comfortable in my sexiness. I think I appeared a little uncomfortable only because I am completely unfamiliar with Polynesian dancing. Anyone who has taken my Zumba® class knows that I am very comfortable in my sexiness, but I will need to practice the HOT HULA moves many more times before I am ready to teach them to a class. I am very excited to continue learning, and bring HOT HULA fitness to Valdosta. Attending this workshop, learning Polynesian dance moves, and meeting an awesome group of girls has been a phenomenal experience.

Some photography from the Studio K Facebook page