(MENAFN - Khaleej Times) Aqua Zumba combines everything you love about Zumbas traditional routine with effective water resistance for a workout thats too fun to pass up

The idea that aqua aerobics is reserved for the likes of pensioners is so outdated that its probably kept many people away from the many new water-based fitness classes on offer today. No matter your age or ability diving into fitness should be everyones priority.

Doing some laps on your own in the pool is always an option but if you prefer an organised class with an instructor Aqua Zumba is a great way to turn up the intensity and fun on your next workout.

Zumba the incredibly popular fitness movement that combines different elements of dance with aerobics is the foundation of its aquatic sister. It still insists on the same manic energy levels from participants but feels infinitely more comfortable and easier to cope with. As someone who suffers from constant joint pain and muscle fatigue who also happens to dance like a reject from Footloose the liberating sensation of water immersion does more good than I probably realised.

At a recent Aqua Zumba session I found myself surrounded by a good mix of people with drastically different fitness levels which let me know that this was an unintimidating workout that appealed to everyone. After a quick warm-up of jumping jacks and stretches our instructor turned up the music and began to move in a manner that suggested she was more ready for a night club than a gym.

Ive tried the standard Zumba that millions have praised but it somehow fell outside my comfort zone for various reasons (dancing skill level: zero). Transfer this workout to the water and a lot of those inhibitions suddenly dont matter anymore.

With our instructor leading poolside we begin a series of movements that are drawn from resistance training. Since theres no impact in the water muscles end up working smarter rather than harder.

A majority of the workout is obviously aimed at the legs including squats side lunges and kicks. There was also consistent jumping throughout the 45-minute session to keep our heart rates going and calories burning. The workout does well at turning exercise into a pool party something that should appeal to anyone not keen on hitting the conventional gym.

Increased energy is probably the most important thing that youll walk away with when it comes to Aqua Zumba. As someone whos tried (and failed) with a lot of different types of classes this is one workout thats pretty difficult to get wrong. If youre in the mood for a fun workout thats going to leave you fresh and rejuvenated its probably time to hit the water. kadrykhaleejtimes.com

Try out an Aqua Zumba class at Dubai Ladies Club (971 4 349 9922) or at Al Murooj Rotana Residence (971 4 3073438).

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Try Aqua aerobics for a fun workout

Hot and sour, tom yum is another signature Thai dish that can be whipped up in a second by street vendors. Lemongrass, kaffir lime leaves and galangal are essential ingredients. The soup is rumoured to even cure colds.

A ubiquitous rice noodle dish, pad Thai is stir fried in a tamarind, fish sauce, chilli and palm sugar mix, and commonly offered with shrimp. Natalie Paris

Vietnam

Originating in China, pho tiu is a noodle dish that captures the essence of Vietnamese cuisine salty, sweet, sour and spicy. Contrasting textures are provided by silky fresh rice noodles, tender lean shoulder of pork, the crunch of peanuts and crispy shallots. Its aesthetically pleasing, too, when delivered to the table with the freshest tangle of noodles on top. Mark Lowerson, guide at Street Eats Hanoi (streetfoodtourshanoi.blogspot.com)

Pho

Pho is the most famous Vietnamese street food. You can find steaming bowls of it in the city and the countryside, but it is more popular in the north. The dish is made using fresh flat rice noodles, with a good broth made from oxtail bones or marrow bones. It needs to be clear, not muddy and dark, and fragrant with beef, anise and ginger. You can serve this soup with several toppings of beef, chicken and pork, adding spring onion, beansprouts, basil and a piece of lemon.

Hu tieu soup is so popular that local people have it for breakfast, lunch, dinner or even a late night meal. It is made of round yellow or skinny white rice noodles. Similar to pho, it can be made with beef, prawn, chicken or pork. However, due to the hot temperature all year round in Ho Chi Minh City, local people prefer to put some sugar on their soup, so it normally tastes sweeter than pho.

You can find com tam (broken rice) anywhere, from street stalls to fancy restaurants, at any time of day. Ingredients are strikingly simple - broken rice with grilled pork, pork skin, egg and fish sauce - yet the tastes are unforgettable. Huong Tran, guide for Urban Adventures Saigon Street Food by Night tour (urbanadventures.com)

Laos

Khao tom is an addictive steamed dessert sold on the streets and made with a mixture of sticky rice, black bean and fresh coconut cream which is then steamed in 4in-long banana leaf parcels. It can also be made with ground rice powder, and other ingredients can be substituted in the mix, such as peanuts. Its cheap, filling and delicious, and widely available.

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South-East Asia's best (and worst) street food

Its been a long path for Oregon State University biology professor Dee Denver, working to identify the common ground between science and Buddhism and a Monday presentation on the topic is just another step on the journey.

Denver, an associate professor in OSUs Department of Integrative Biology, is the featured speaker at the October edition of Corvallis Science Pub, scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday at the Old World Deli in downtown Corvallis. The event is free.

Heres a bit of a spoiler alert: Denver, whos been studying the topic for more than 10 years now, believes that there are many unexpected points of harmony between science and Buddhism and he plans during his talk Monday to test key Buddhist tenets by subjecting them to the scientific method.

Denver is looking forward to Mondays talk as a chance to share his research to a broader audience of people with a scientific bent. And it should help him as he gears up for the next leg of the journey: Hes under contract with the Harvard University Press for a book on the topic. A first draft is finished, and Denver said hes working on rewrites.

In a recent interview with Mid-Valley Health, Denver talked about how he started exploring the links between science and Buddhism, and previewed just a bit of his Science Pub presentation.

It started at another intersection of faith and science.

Denver was working as a graduate student at an evolutionary biology lab at the University of Missouri-Kansas City, at a time when the region was embroiled in a controversy over whether science textbooks should carry disclaimers about evolution.

His laboratory, Denver recalled, inevitably was drawn into the debate.

And Denver was very much shaped by an anti-religion view that is common among evolutionary biologists. That attitude, he said, just gets projected onto everything else thats not science. You assume that everything else just has to be baloney.

Flash forward a few years, as Denver tackled postdoctoral work at Indiana University. As it turned out, the head of the universitys Buddhism studies program was the brother of the Dalai Lama and invited his famous brother to Bloomington to help dedicate an interfaith temple.

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Corvallis Science Pub speaker Dee Denver explores connections between spirituality and science