Agent profile:
Name: Lesley Petford
From: Redcar
Age: 46
Agent since: 2010
Customers: Four
Family: Married, one son
Occupation: Emergency Control Room Operator
Most people would just want their bed after clocking off from four straight 12 hour shifts at work. But Redcar Agent Lesley Petford is made of sterner stuff.
Instead of putting her feet up when she leaves her stressful job on a large chemical site near her North-East home, the 46 year-old heads over to her local leisure centre to take part in the latest fitness craze to sweep the globe.
Lesley said: “I like to keep active when I’m not working, so I had a look on the internet for some new fitness activities in my area and I stumbled across Zumba.
“I’d never heard of it but when I read that it was a workout to Latin American and salsa music, it sounded much more fun than plain aerobics so I thought I’d give it a try.”
Lesley hadn’t a clue what to expect when she went to her first class, but picked it up easily.
“It felt great to be doing a new and exciting activity,” she said. “The movements I do are totally new and different to those you do in aerobics. It is great fun with lots of shouting, singing and dancing around.
“I’ve also recently taken up running, but the Zumba class is a lot more fun. Latin American music is not something you hear every day and you really take part in the activity – the entire class gets involved.”
Lesley and family
It gets the blood pumping too. After Lesley’s first class, it took her over an hour to get her breath back.
She said: “My husband Andrew and son Alec couldn’t believe how red I was and how long it took me to return to my normal colour. But after four or five classes it felt much easier.
“Thankfully now I am a lot fitter and only have a nice aerobic glow afterwards. Plus, in the eight months since I started I’ve lost 22lb! I’d been a yo-yo dieter since Alec was born and couldn’t get below eleven and a half stone. But now I’m ten and a half stone!”
Lesley pays £3.25 for each 45 minute ZumbaFitness class, with men and women between the ages of 17 to 70 attending.
She thinks you should try it too:”Even if you go by yourself, everyone is so nice and you’ll make new friends.
“It doesn’t matter if you’re looking to get into shape or if you’re already fit, it’s easy to learn and get dancing!”
Read more about Zumba.
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