Zumba

FITPOD Zumba® instructor Chantelle Nicholson has been sharing her contagious energy and enthusiastic passion for dance for more than 13 years.
The bubbly, Ballito-based mother of two is a self-confessed ‘clown’ by nature, who believes that having fun while moving your body is paramount when it comes to Zumba®.
“There is no seriousness in my classes. Everyone is always smiling and laughing – either at me or at themselves. It is not overly structured, and you do not have to follow me exactly – so if I go up and you go down, or I go right and you go left, it does not matter – as long as you keep moving and have fun!”
Chantelle offers two types of Zumba® classes at FITPOD – Zumba® Fitness and Zumba® Gold (which caters for older, active adults, beginner or those who are injured). Both are easy-to-follow, suitable for everyone from beginners to advanced and loads of fun.
With her strong Portuguese heritage, Chantelle adores Latin music and says she fell in love with the Latin-inspired dance workout when she did her first Zumba® class in 2010. “I had no idea what I was doing – I was going one way and everyone else was going the other – but I was hooked!”
A busy mother of two boys (aged 18 and 14), Chantelle is also the HR manager in her family’s civil engineering and construction business. She is a registered B1 Zumba® Instructor with many other qualifications, including Zumba® Aqua, Zumba® Toning, Zumba® Kids, Zumba® Sentao and Zumba® Gold. She also has a degree in psychology!
“Becoming an instructor seemed like a natural flow from psychology because it really does allow me to help people who are feeling down or suffering with depression. An hour of Zumba® is the most wonderful form of therapy and stress relief!”
Helping older folks move their bodies with her popular Zumba® Gold classes, Chantelle often adjusts her routines to ensure everyone is comfortable. Every class starts with a 9-minute warm up and then it is time to move!
Classes are high-energy and exciting, with the routines similar to interval training sessions, alternating fast and slow rhythms and incorporating resistance training. The end result: loads of fun had, and calories burned!
“While I am always there to make sure you do the movements correctly, so that you don’t injure yourself, I am not too worried about whether you do the routine perfectly or not – I just want to make sure you have fun!”