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Lizy Groenewoud

Who am I?

My name is Lizy Groenewoud and I was born in 1968 in Zeeland, my mother is Dutch and from my father's side my roots are in Madagascar.

I have always been interested in dance and sports so it went without saying that I would also make it my hobby or work.

I have been taking dance classes from a very young age and have had a dance education in Sint Maarten (Netherlands Antilles) where I specialized in different styles such as Classical Ballet, Jazz Ballet, Streetdance, Latin American dances and have had several workshops in other styles.

In 2003 I did a Street-dance instructor training with Lars Wensink and from 2009 I started teaching Salsa Mix at 3 Combiwell locations in Amsterdam and after that I did the Basic Zumba training, later supplemented with workshops.

Because I really enjoy taking Bootcamp lessons myself, I followed the STRONG Nation course, which is more intensively focused on all muscle groups. The Zumba as well as the STRONG Nation classes are a fun and effective way to get fitter and because everything is done on music you don't notice that you improve your condition very quickly.

By exercising (any kind of sport) you stay healthy and makes you less susceptible to diseases, which is very important in this day and age.  Also by doing sports together we get out of our isolation and we can have fun together. 

About Zumba

Most people will know or have heard about Zumba.  It was started by the Colombian man Beto Perez who started as an Aerobics instructor, because he was forced to do his class on his regular playlist with Latin American music, he found out that the rousing and cheerful beats gave the class a completely different character.  After that, the Zumba classes grew enormously. In any case, it's a party to get through the dance together, using all Latin American dances and other music styles for that matter. 

Zumba is a party where fun comes first and you immediately learn to get in shape in an accessible way and learn to move.  Again, the party starts with a Warm up and ends with a Cooldown.

About Strong Nation

Strong Nation (first Strong by Zumba) has improved group lessons to an intensive cardio and conditioning program with movements that fit exactly to the music to achieve optimal results with your workout. The music has been specially created for Strong Nation by well-known DJs around the world.

Strong Nation uses the traditional High Intensity Interval Training but in a slightly different way. The program is called HITT Training (High Intensity Tempo Training).

The tempo and power of the music will drive your muscles and cardio system to gain strength, speed, endurance and freedom of movement. Optimize your workout and make every minute count as you go to the limit to discover and push your limits!

Who is the Strong Nation participant

Strong Nation is designed for participants who are looking to increase their intensity of training and see faster  real results from their efforts. This class is an interval or intermittent intensity style program that is characterized by high intensity movements such as high knees, jumping jacks alternating with low intensity movements such as lunges, rope jumping, body stretching and twists, kickbox movements which alternate throughout the workout and still making the class suitable for all fitness levels.

Lesson structure Strong Nation

A Strong Nation class is divided into 4 Quadrants, a Warm Up and a Cooldown.

Warm up : gentle movements to warm up the body.

Quadrant 1: "ignite" Ignite - start up the body / move a little faster - this is easy to follow and prepare your body to start, breathing is still calm -can be best described as  small bumps on the road.

Quadrant 2: "Fire up" light the fire - speed and power is increased, you get a little out of breath with some movements but you should still be able to manage without too much effort -rolling hills.

Quadrant 3: "Push your limits" Boundaries - you will be out of breath more often, but intermittently to recover. Do look for your limits, because you can do much more than you think. Intensity: peaks and valley.

Quadrant 4: "Floorplay" floor work - these are exercises on the ground/mat, mainly abdominal muscles and core training. Think of planking, push-ups, sit ups. The last part but certainly no less important. The intensity is the same as in Quadrant 1

We finish with the Cooldown in which all muscle groups are stretched and breathing returns back to normal.