We are now almost through the end of the second month of 2019. This is the time where people typically lose their stamina to keep up with their new year's resolutions. It's no secret that the majority of the population's goals for the new year revolve around fitness and health.

While I am not a fan of making goals for the new year just for the sake of a new year, I know plenty of people do and there is nothing wrong with that. A lot of people's fitness goals include weight loss, muscle toning, muscle strengthening, and so on. One unpopular fact is that to fully reach these goals you have to pair whatever exercise plan you're on with cardio.

People's relationship with cardio is always on two extremes. Either they love cardio or they hate it. I am one who falls on the side of not being a fan of it. However, in order to effectively burn fat, calories for weight loss, reduce your risk for heart disease, and aid in muscle strength cardio has to somehow become your best friend.

When I started my fitness journey, My relationship with cardio was that I saw cardio as that annoying friend that's always bugging you to hang out — but you really don't want to — but you hang out with them anyway because it's the nice thing to do. So then I would also include cardio in my workouts but hate myself the entire time.

Eventually, I met this wonderful friend who turned out to be a Zumba instructor. I've never done Zumba before, I mean, hello, that's hardcore cardio for a full hour — no, thank you. But she was teaching a class on my campus, and girls support girls, so I went to her first class of the semester and died.

The prideful person in me did not enjoy the fact that I was ready to give up and go take a nap at about 10 minutes into the 60-minute class. So for weeks to come, I kept going. Each time I found myself actually enjoying myself as I continued to learn the dance moves and physically go to see my own personal growth in cardio as I found myself being able to handle more and more of the songs in consecutive order without needing to stop and take a nap.

I also enjoyed the atmosphere. Everyone there is in the same boat as you, they're just trying to do something to get a workout in. They're all just as tired, they're all just trying their best, they're all just trying to improve themselves. Anyone and everyone is welcomed. It's an inclusive environment where we all get to die together while we have fun while doing cardio.

The best thing about Zumba is that you're not alone in your cardio workout. You get to move and groove with everyone instead of running on a treadmill hating yourself with your headphones in. It's also not just a cardio workout, you also get an arm, back, abs, and leg workout all in one. Talk about killing five birds with one stone.

If you're in a rut in your fitness goals for yourself this year, or you need to figure out a better way to get cardio in, or you need to find a way to include cardio in your workouts, I would recommend joining a Zumba class.

For college kids, the majority of schools provide Zumba classes on campus for free. For my fellow GCU students, I recommend joining Aly's Zumba classes on Monday and Wednesdays at 6:30. It's an upbeat Zumba class that is all welcoming class for men and women from any exercise background whether it be beginner or expert. Her class also dabbles in salsa and hip-hop, so there are songs and dance moves for everyone!