Chizue  Rudd’s long, black ponytail is usually swishing back and forth. 

That’s because Rudd is usually moving, and her hair illustrates the daily jumps, slides, kicks and general non-stop movements of her lithe, athletic body that seems never to be at rest.

Rudd is a fitness instructor and the group exercise director at Island Athletic Club in Freeland. She teaches about 12 classes per week of mostly intense cardiovascular exercises, and it shows in her lean, muscular body.

On this Monday morning, she wears mostly red in honor of American Heart Month, which she has been promoting through various programs.

“OK, everybody,” she says to the Zumba class with her endearing Japanese accent, “Let’s go!”

She turns on the Latin-soaked tunes and begins the warm up, the tassels on the back of her “Zumba pants” moving in time with her ponytail. The well-attended class of all women of a certain age follow the spunky Rudd as best they can, never quite extending limbs as long, or jumping quite as high, as the seemingly superhero woman on the demonstrator’s stage. But she still gets them to break a good sweat. And they always come back for more.

Rudd introduced the Zumba Fitness program in 2009, and it has become one of the most popular group fitness classes at Island Athletic Club. The Latin-inspired dance-fitness program blends international music with easy-to-follow steps, and is billed as a “fitness party” rather than just another workout. 

“After I introduced Zumba, it just exploded,” Rudd said.

“The movement is natural for the body; you don’t have to be a dancer to do it.”

According to the Zumba Fitness website, since its inception in 2001, the program has grown to become the world’s largest and most successful dance-fitness program, with more than
10 million people of all shapes, sizes and ages taking weekly Zumba classes in more than 90,000 locations across 110-plus countries.

But Rudd just wants to get people to move.

“I watch the people’s faces and they’re smiling,” she said. “I never get tired of that.”

And, apparently, the hoards of women (and sometimes a man or two) who crowd the Zumba classes at the gym never tire of Rudd or her team of instructors who share Zumba duty.

Rudd was born in Tokyo and raised in Kobe, Japan. She began her career in the fitness industry in 1983, and made it to the National Aerobics Championships, no small feat for those who were the pioneers of the aerobics fitness craze. She held a variety of positions during her career, including personal trainer, fitness instructor trainer, fitness consultant and manager.  

Rudd moved to the United States in 1998 after the devastating Kobe earthquake three years earlier made living there a challenge. She moved to Whidbey Island in 2003, and began working out at the Freeland club, where she was handpicked by the former group exercise director to teach, and took over the position of director in 2005.

In the dance studio, the Zumba Fitness classes include the original Zumba, which integrates some of the basic principles of aerobic, interval and resistance training to maximize caloric output, cardiovascular benefits and total body toning; Zumba Toning, a conditioning class that offers a safe body sculpting workout; and Zumba Gold, which takes the popular Latin-dance inspired workout of Zumba and makes it accessible for beginners, seniors or others needing modifications in their exercise routine. 

Rudd recently introduced the newest of the Zumba classes, Aqua Zumba, for those who wish to workout using water resistance.

“We have the only athletic pool on the South End,” Rudd said, “so I wanted to introduce Zumba for those who like to work out in the water. It’s easier for those who have knee or back problems, or for those who are overweight.”

Rudd is also excited to introduce Zumbatomic for children, a program that will partner with the South Whidbey Parks & Recreation District to create a dance workout for children. 

The after-school program is slated to begin in April, and will open the world of dance fitness to children, who will perform for parents at the end of each session.

But besides the Zumba classes, Rudd and her fellow instructors also teach an array of other aerobics and conditioning classes, including BodyStep, BodyPump and BodyFlow. The club also offers regular classes in yoga, group cycling, Pilates and other conditioning workouts. 

Some classes at the Island Athletic Club are available to non-members with the purchase of a one-class, 10-class or monthly card.

The club recently opened a second facility called “The Studio” next door. There, members and class-card holders can try kettlebells, sandbags, sledge hammers, ropes and tire workouts, in addition to kickboxing and circuit training.

Rudd talks about everything that is happening at the club with the enthusiasm of someone who continually looks for new ways to get people to move their bodies. Working out sometimes two or three times a day doesn’t faze her, she said, because she wants to be just as active at age 70 as she is now.

“I just love it. I’m so lucky to be able to be doing something I like,” she said.

Visit the Island Athletic Club website for membership info and schedules atclick here, or call 331-2582.