A local gym is challenging people to dance their way to weight loss.

Hanover’s Club 2000 is beginning on Thursday a 90-day Zumba challenge, a friendly competition to see who can drop the most pounds and get fit primarily through Zumba.

For those who haven’t heard of it, Zumba is a Latin-inspired dance fitness program. Classes are energetic and focus more on moving to the music than counting repetitions, which is nice for those of us who don’t want our exercise to actually feel like exercise.

I’m still one of those people, and I’ve been taking Club 2000′s Zumba classes for at least two years now. For me, it’s a good way to move around after days of writing stories in front of a computer. And, because of the instructors, it’s always fun.

Still, you can burn more than 500 calories in an hour class, depending on the instructor and your own effort, one Club 2000′s instructors, Christianne Brennan told me as we talked about the challenge.

“It works every part of our body from head to toe, and how much you put into it is how much you get out of it,” Brennan said. “But the point of Zumba is to have fun while working out. You’re supposed to be smiling, having fun, singing, dancing, so it’s not just a boring environment. You’re enjoying what you’re doing. Nobody’s criticizing you. Nobody cares if you have five left feet. It’s all about having fun while you burn calories.”

And it’s the kind of exercise that people of any age can do, since you can move at your own pace or tailor the workout to your ability.

But enough about how much I love my non-workout workout. Let’s talk about the challenge part, because I think that’s a pretty unique thing.

“It’s the first Zumba challenge that we’re heard of around here,” Brennan said

And yes, I’m signing up.

Because I like a challenge?

Not really.

I just have some muscles in need of tightening after a lazy winter and before I even think of getting into a swimsuit (Oh, the horror. The horror.).

The challenge starts on Thursday, May 10, and will run through August 10, and it’s open to members and non-members of the gym. The cost for members is $10, since they can already take the Zumba classes for free, while the cost for non-members is $90, which includes unlimited access to 12 Zumba classes a week and the rest of the gym for those three months.

There will also be fitness and diet plans that participants can follow, and the plans are based loosely off of the official Zumba Weight Loss Program book.

The challenge kickoff at 6 p.m. on Thursday will include the dreaded taking of weight, body mass index and blood pressure. Then, at 6:30 p.m, there will be a 90-minute kickoff class featuring several of the regular Zumba instructors.

From there, participants log the number of Zumba classes they take and will get prizes for taking at least 30 Zumba classes during the challenge. With 12 classes offered each week, there’s at least one on every day, and two on most days.

At the end, the person who loses the largest percentage of their body weight wins the challenge.

The organizers say there will be a grand prize for the winner, and they’re still debating what it will be.

But I intend to find out.

Maybe I do like a challenge.