How effective is zumba dance for weight loss


Is It Effective and What You Should Know

Zumba — a high-energy form of aerobic exercise inspired by Latin dancing — can be a fun way to increase your physical activity and daily calorie burn.

To lose weight, you’ll need to create a calorie deficit by burning more calories than you’re consuming. You can do this by reducing your daily caloric intake, increasing your physical activity, or a combination of the two.

You may be able to burn between 300 and 900 calories during one hour of mid- to high-intensity Zumba. Doing Zumba two or three times a week, combined with weekly strength training sessions and a balanced diet, may help you meet your weight loss goals.

Read on to learn how to incorporate Zumba into a healthy weight loss plan.

A small 2012 study of 19 healthy female Zumba participants ages 18 to 22 burned an average of 9.5 calories per minute during a 39-minute class. That totaled up to an average of 369 calories total in about 40 minutes. That was more calories burned than spending the same amount of time kickboxing, doing step aerobics, or power yoga.

How many calories you’ll burn during Zumba depends on a number of factors, including:

  • age
  • weight
  • current level of physical fitness
  • genetics
  • intensity during workout

If you want to increase the number of calories burned during Zumba, upping the intensity of the workout can help. Wearing a heart rate monitor can help you confirm you are working between 55 and 85 percent of your maximum heart rate.

You may also burn more calories and fat by participating in a Zumba variation class, such as high-intensity interval training (HIIT) Zumba. Or try a Zumba strength class that includes weights.

While a calorie deficit is important for weight loss, it’s equally important to consume enough calories to keep you energized and to get a healthy balance of vitamins and nutrients.

Losing weight too quickly can be dangerous for your health. To keep your energy up, eat a healthy diet full of whole grains, fish, lean protein, vegetables, and fruit.

How many calories do you need?

Unless instructed by your doctor, healthy women should never eat less than 1,200 calories per day and healthy men shouldn’t eat less than 1,500 calories per day.

If you’re burning extra calories while exercise, aim to eat enough calories so that the calories your taking in minus the calories you’re burning still equal 1,200 (women) or 1,500 (men) calories of more. For example, if you burn 300 calories in a Zumba class, aim to consume at least 1,500 calories if you’re a woman or 1,800 calories if you’re a man.

How often you’ll need to participate in Zumba to lose weight depends on your health and fitness goals. In general, the American Council on Exercise recommends the following for realistic weight loss: Aim to burn 300 to 400 calories per workout session, a minimum of three days a week.

Also keep in mind your body quickly adapts to exercise. Try to alternate Zumba with other forms of cardiovascular exercise like swimming, power walking, and jogging.

And on days when you don’t practice Zumba, consider strength training. Benefits of strength training may include toning up and losing body fat faster. Keeping your body challenged is crucial for continuing to lose weight.

Your diet will also be an important factor for weight loss. To lose one pound per week, you’ll need to expend 500 more calories per day than you take in. A pound of fat equals about 3,500 calories, so it’s estimated you need to burn 3,500 calories to lose a pound, according to the Mayo Clinic.

Work with a nutritionist on a healthy weight loss plan if you need help figuring out your daily diet.

Participating in Zumba classes means you’ll be getting plenty of cardiovascular exercise. To meet your weight loss goals, you’ll also want to eat a healthy diet.

  • Fill your plate each day with whole grains like quinoa, brown rice, and oats.
  • Avoid empty carbohydrates like white bread, pasta, and cookies.
  • Eat plenty of lean protein such as chicken, fish, egg whites, and tofu,
  • Add fruits and vegetables to every meal.
  • Eating every three hours or so will help keep your energy up. Just make sure you’re choosing healthy snacks. For example, an apple with nut butter, string cheese, or a Lara or RX bar can help you feel energized without consuming a lot of empty calories.

Losing one to two pounds per week with a well-balanced diet and exercise routine is considered a healthy goal.

In the past decade, Zumba has increased in popularity around the world. Now most gyms offer a Zumba class several times a week. You may also find Zumba at your local community center or YMCA near you.

If you don’t have any Zumba classes in your area or prefer to work out at home, you can also find workouts online. There are online Zumba videos for beginners, Zumba for weight loss, and Zumba full-body toning.

You won’t need a lot of equipment for these workouts. You’ll just need lightweight clothing, sneakers, and an optional set of one- or three-pound dumbbells.

You’re more likely to stick with exercise you enjoy. Zumba can be a fun way to work out. If you enjoy Zumba classes, you’ll be more committed to attending them each week.

Some other potential benefits may include:

  • strengthening your core and become more flexible from the hip and midsection movements
  • boosting heart health from aerobic exercise
  • improving coordination from dance movements
  • improving mood
  • increasing energy

Zumba can be an enjoyable way to fit in aerobic exercise each week and help you meet your weight loss goals. Combine Zumba with strength training and a healthy diet for best results. Always check with your doctor before starting a new fitness routine.

Does Zumba Work for Weight Loss? Zumba Calories Burned, Benefits and Myths

Lots of people swear by Zumba for weight loss, but does it really work?

The answer is of course yes, Zumba can help you lose weight but the important thing to realize is that the dance sessions are no magic fix for dropping pounds, it just happens to come in a package that most people don’t detest; instead of slaving away on a treadmill, you get to spend an hour or so dancing with friends and strangers to loud music. Because people find the classes fun, they keep attending, and that is what makes it work. My theory is that whatever gets you moving is good, and if it keeps you coming back because you enjoy it, even better.

If you want to use Zumba for weight loss, or if you’ve already been trying and haven’t seen the numbers on the scale budge yet, there could be several reasons why.

The problems with Zumba for weight loss

Not all classes are equally intense; you may be getting much less of a workout than other Zumba-ers.
I’ve done it a handful of times, I’m not a huge fan of it but it can be a good way to break up the monotony of the gym. Different instructors (and different gyms) have different class formats, songs, and dances, which leads to varying intensity levels when it comes to energy expenditure. In short, I have been to classes where in an hour and a half I break a sweat, and really get my heart rate up. It feels like a workout and it’s fun. The majority of the times I’ve tried it, however, I find that in 90 minutes, the dance moves have me barely moving, I haven’t broke a sweat, and I’ve got enough spare oxygen that I’m literally yawning.

If you’re trying to lose weight with the dance classes, be aware of how challenging it is for your own fitness level. If the Zumba classes you’re taking don’t get your heart rate up and you don’t feel challenged, don’t expect to start dropping weight just because you’re present for the class for an hour or two. It is a great starting place for those new to working out but you may need something more intense as you get more fit, depending on the difficulty of class.

Zumba does NOT burn 1000 calories an hour
The Zumba 1000 calories an hour myth is untrue and a misleading hype that is unfair for those who are truly trying to drop weight. Read More

There’s no strength training component to Zumba.
Strength training is important for many reasons; a toned body that burns more calories at rest being among the more superficial motivators. It also prevents bone density loss, reduces chances of injury, improves posture, joint health, and the ability of the body’s muscles to support those joints, just to name a few benefits. If you want to use it for losing extra pounds, make sure and incorporate a strength training component as well and you will likely see that you lose weight faster.

Check out Fitness Blender Workout Videos to find home workouts that use bodyweight moves to build strength and tone the body.

What is Zumba?
It is a Latin inspired dance fitness class that usually lasts between 60-90 minutes. Typically instructors start with a very short warm up (after calling out all of the “newbies” to the class) and then go straight into the dance portion where you will be expected to burn calories shaking your thang to the tune of a blend of Salsa and hip hop music. Don’t be intimidated if you “can’t dance”; the majority of Zumba dance classes take place in the dark, often even with a disco ball spinning lights across the room. Plus, you can take comfort in the law of physics that everyone looks foolish when they dance.

If you don’t feel comfortable dancing around in front of strangers, you can always try the Wii Zumba Fitness game in the comfort of your own living room. Here’s a list of other games that let you draw the blinds and work up a sweat; Wii Games for Weight Loss.

What is Zumba and how to lose weight with it

May 21, 2021LikbezSports and Fitness

A way to lose weight for those who hate training.

Iya Zorina

Author of Lifehacker, athlete, CCM

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What is zumba?

Zumba Zumba is a group fitness program that combines basic aerobic movements with simple elements of Latin dance, hip hop and belly dance. The lesson takes place to the rhythms of salsa, rumba, merengue, flamenco and other styles.

Zumba is positioned as a dance party - bright, driving and not like regular weight loss workouts.

In addition to the classic zumba, there are CLASSES nine more fitness areas - from Aqua Zumba® in the pool to Zumba® Toning classes with dumbbells for an additional load on the upper body.

There are also separate Zumbini™ tracks for kids aged 0-3 and STRONG by Zumba® high-intensity training for those who want to push their workout, diluting their cardio workouts with dance combinations to music.

How fast can you lose weight with it?

Zumba is essentially an interval workout that alternates high and low intensity dance moves. Thus, the process does not require rest, and you can move at a high heart rate for the entire 40-50 minutes of the session.

You can burn yourself in one workout Zumba®: Is the “Fitness-Party” a Good Workout? about 369 kcal. If you exercise five days a week, even without a calorie deficit, you can get rid of a kilogram of fat in 3-4 weeks. And in combination with a soft diet - in 1.5-2 weeks.

At the same time, unlike running or other cardio, vibrant dance rhythms and the pleasure of moving to music reduce perceived effort.

In other words, you sweat and breathe quickly, but you don't suffer.

This increases the chance that activity will become a part of your life, and this is useful not only for reducing body fat.

What is Zumba good for, besides losing weight?

During dance practice, the pulse is kept at Zumba®: Is the “Fitness-Party” a Good Workout? within 64–94% of the maximum heart rate and averages 79%. This is enough to pump the cardiovascular system and improve the endurance of the body.

In addition, Zumba strengthens the muscles of the body. Many dance steps and movements involve the abs. Jumps and lunges strengthen the hips and buttocks. The traditional zumba puts little or no stress on the upper body. If you want to tone your arms, chest, and back, try the dumbbell variation.

Zumba also pumps flexibility and coordination, makes the body more flexible and obedient.

Is Zumba suitable for those who cannot dance?

Zumba choreography includes only the basic movements of dance styles and does not require any dance or sports experience in the past.

Any movements are learned in a few minutes, and combinations are usually repeated many times in a row, so it is not difficult to remember them.

In addition, like any party, Zumba is devoid of the formality of the classical direction. As part of the basic movements, you have room for improvisation.

The main thing is to move actively and enjoy the process.

Who shouldn't practice Zumba?

Since Zumba is a fairly intense training method, it is worth approaching it with caution during pregnancy. Before starting classes, consult with your doctor and inform the trainer.

You should also tell your instructor if you have knee or back pain, arthritis, or other joint or spinal problems. In some Zumba combinations, there are sharp and intense movements that can harm existing problems.

If you have diabetes, unaccustomed physical activity can cause your sugar levels to drop dramatically. Before you go to the first workout, consult with your doctor.

Also be careful about joining intense dancing if you have cardiovascular disease. Go see a cardiologist first.

How often can I exercise?

Since the classic zumba doesn't include strength movements and doesn't tire the muscles and the central nervous system, you can do it every day. So you quickly lose extra pounds and pump endurance.

What do you need to do Zumba?

First, find a certified Zumba instructor in your city.

The owner of the ZUMBA® brand (Zumba Fitness LCC) develops programs and choreography, selects music, teaches and licenses instructors.

Check out trainers with a valid license at zumba.com. Find one and come to his class.

If you are going to work out at home, you can do it with a DVD from the same Zumba Fitness LCC. Training discs are sold on the official website, as well as on Amazon.

All you need is space, comfortable clothes and running shoes to practice.

Is it possible to do Zumba for free?

Since Zumba does not require detailed analysis of technique and does not contain complex elements, you can learn combinations from YouTube videos. Remember about the possibility of changing the speed to 0.25 - so you have time to make out any element.

Here are some short workouts from certified instructors ranging from 4 to 48 minutes.

Try it, enjoy the music and lose weight with pleasure!

Read also 🧐

  • How to lose weight quickly and not harm your health: a scientific approach
  • How to learn to dance: video lessons for those who are not afraid to try
  • How to learn how to dance the shuffle
  • How to track your weight loss progress

Zumba for weight loss: exercises, reviews and results, contraindications

Forget boring, exhausting workouts! Zumba is a sports dance with proven effectiveness, which relieve extra pounds, cheer up and improve posture. Get fitness complexes for training at home!

ContentHide

  • Zumba Slimming Benefits
  • Varieties
  • Zumba Gold Concept
  • Activity Description
  • Exercises
  • Fitness for Kids to Do at Home
  • Contraindications and warnings
  • Reviews and results of weighty
  • Reviews of doctors and specialists

Author: Kristina Lobanovskaya, doctor, practitioner dietary scientist

Article updated: 9000

Zuma - this , invented by a Colombian fitness instructor, and suddenly became popular all over the world. This sport combines dance and fitness activities, reinforcing them with the concept of a healthy lifestyle, joy, friendship and connection of people of all nationalities and ages. Today it is already a promoted brand that trains its own instructors, has its own line of clothing, shoes and accessories. In addition, this set of exercises is easy to perform at home, using special DVDs with training materials or videos on the Internet with recordings of workouts. Currently, Zumba mania has covered about 150 million people from 180 countries. Let's learn more about this phenomenon and how it helps to lose weight.

Zumba Slimming Benefits

Zumba is a Latin American workout with African dance and hip hop moves. It forces all muscle groups to work, evenly distributing the load. The desire to become slim has already led many of the fair sex to the ranks of the Zumba movement, because it not only tightens the whole body, but also charges with positive emotions.

It is the question of whether it is possible to lose weight with the help of Zumba that makes people look for information about this direction of fitness. Any coach will tell you how many calories the average person burns in one session. This is about 500 Kcal, but it all depends on the type of training, its intensity, as well as on the characteristics of the human body.

Important! For an hour of intensive training, you can lose up to 900 kcal!

Can exercising at home help me lose weight? Spending time at home with the help of light and pleasant physical activity accompanied by music helps to burn calories, improve well-being and mood. Positive reviews show that the Zumba fitness complex at home is very popular and effective.

As with any phenomenon, the Zumba fitness complex has its pros and cons.

Pros:

  • energizes, helps to maintain a positive attitude towards life;
  • targets all muscle groups;
  • helps you burn extra calories and stay in shape;
  • is a great weight loss workout at home or at the gym;
  • accessibility for people of all fitness levels;
  • does not impose strict demands on the execution of movements, so a beginner can easily join an already formed group;
  • suitable for people of all ages, including the elderly;
  • you will gain new friends and self-confidence;
  • playing to music is a real pleasure.

Cons:

  • you need to have a sense of rhythm and love for music;
  • to get the desired effect, you need to exercise regularly;
  • is not suitable for professional athletes who need a more intense workout.

The stories of people around the world not only speak of the effectiveness of Zumba for weight loss, but also its positive impact on life in general. The Zumba movement invites anyone to become an instructor through a fast course and an official certification. And becoming a certified trainer, you get the full support of the official community, of which you have become a member, as well as the opportunity to earn money doing what you love.

Varieties

Today there are many Zumba branches, each with several other branches. Each set of exercises is unique, because the instructor always brings something of his own to the program. Among this variety, the following main types can be distinguished:

  1. Zumba Toning. Exercises are performed using maracas - special dumbbells filled with sand. When moving, they make a sound to the beat of the music, which gives the lesson a special flavor. Cardio and strength training change, with a change in musical directions. Zubma toning is primarily aimed at making your body toned.
  2. Zumba Pilates. This direction will please both lovers of measured Pilates classes and those who like incendiary workouts to music, as it includes alternating exercises in both areas of fitness. Zumba Pilates is very effective for weight loss.
  3. East Zumba. The training takes place with elements of oriental dances, accompanied by appropriate music. Helps strengthen the muscles of the abdomen and thighs, burning excess fat and shaping the perfect figure.
  4. Zumba Basic or Zumba Fit. Includes classic fitness with music. Zumba fit acts like a cardio workout, forcing all muscle groups to work, strengthening the cardiovascular system. Such workouts are called Zumba cardio dance.
  5. Zumba Aqua. Exercises are performed on the shore of a reservoir or in the water, which gives an additional load on the muscles, strengthens the respiratory system and intensively contributes to weight loss.
  6. Zumba Step. For an additional load, the complex includes exercises with a step.
  7. Zumba Kids, Zumbatomic, Zumbini - varieties of complexes for classes with children of different age groups. It plays like a game with fun music.
  8. Zumba Gold. This is a fitness program for older people or those with disabilities, as well as those who are in rehabilitation after illnesses and injuries.

The concept of Zumba Gold

Zumba Gold, or a fitness complex for the elderly who have entered the golden age, first gained popularity in Western countries, and is now gaining momentum in Russia. Fitness for the elderly is relegating its effectiveness for weight loss to the background, giving way to such goals as strengthening muscles, developing flexibility, maintaining good coordination and overall tone of the whole body. As a result of regular visits to Zumba Gold, people over 50 receive:

  • positive emotions;
  • communication with like-minded people;
  • strengthening of the muscular system;
  • improvement of body control functions;
  • maintaining cardiovascular and respiratory health;
  • increase in the duration and quality of life.

There are also Zumba Gold programs for people with disabilities or disabilities. With the help of such Zumba projects, the movement has an important social function in society.

Activity description

Think of your workout as a dance party: just move to the music and have fun. This is not training in the usual sense of the word. There are no heavy and complex exercises and loads, there are no professional dance pirouettes. You seem to have come to spend time dancing with friends. If you prefer to study at home, you have a chance to involve all members of your family! It is unlikely that anyone can resist not to dance to incendiary music.

If you realize that Zumba is exactly the sport you dreamed of, then here are the basic steps for beginners :

  1. buy bright clothes and special shoes that are comfortable to dance in;
  2. find a trained and certified trainer;
  3. when you get to the training, stand in front, carefully repeating the movements of the instructor;
  4. Attend workouts regularly and it will turn into your lifestyle.

Even low-intensity activities can be beneficial: at least you will loosen yourself up and move more gracefully. What is the benefit of Zumba for any person? It straightens the posture, improves coordination and the condition of the muscular system as a whole.

In addition, there is no doubt that this complex helps to reduce weight, and its effectiveness is confirmed by the reviews of millions of people. Yes, yes, millions! Take only 40 minutes for a fun and pleasant dance, and the result will not be long in coming.

One Zumba workout brings 40 minutes of benefits to the body!

Exercises

The structure of the fitness lesson will be clear even for beginners. First, you will find a light exercise - a warm-up. It is necessary for the muscles to prepare for the load. This is followed by a block of power loads to the music chosen by the instructor. Here a set of exercises for squats or push-ups is possible. In some types of fitness complex there are exercises with dumbbells. In the final part, dance fitness movements are waiting for the participants, where they can relax and improvise.

When exercising at home, you can come up with a lesson plan yourself, but be sure to always start with a warm-up. Start with jumps and side steps. Complete them with rotational movements and gradually move on to the dance.

The main movements of the Zumba fitness complex are as follows

  1. Marching, or rather, dancing in place to the music. First we march with our feet, then we connect our arms and hips, we use the whole body in the dance.
  2. Two steps to the right, two steps to the left. We step to the music with side steps, then to the right, then to the left.
  3. Skating. With your hands behind your back and assuming the pose of a skater, you need to perform sliding movements in place.

The step-by-step movements that make up the zumba exercises for beginners will look like this:

  • bend your elbows, place your left foot on your heel, and lunge with your right foot to the right side and also place it on your heel;
  • putting your left foot to your right, stand on your toes and turn your body to the left;
  • repeat on the other side.
  • Step and clap:

    • stand with your feet shoulder-width apart, lower your arms along the body;
    • step to the right and clap your hands;
    • put your left foot to your right and also clap your hands;
    • repeat again;
    • repeat the same on the other side.

    Twist (heel-toe turns):

    • stand with feet shoulder-width apart, arms along the body;
    • bend your elbows, standing on your heels, turn your body to the right;
    • stand on your toes and turn your body to the left;
    • turn right again on your heels;
    • turn to the left on your toes;
    • repeat on the other side.

    As you exercise, remember that you are dancing.

    For kids

    If you want to get your kids off the computers and teach them about healthy lifestyles, Zumba Fitness for Kids is here to help. Today there are several directions for children of different ages. For example, Zumba Kids classes are designed for children from 4 to 11 years old, Zumbini - from birth to 3 years old, and the Zumbatomic program is designed for children up to 12 years old. Zumba will help your child develop coordination and sense of rhythm, strengthen muscles and posture, as well as have fun and useful time. Each system of classes is designed for a certain age of the child and the peculiarities of his physiology at this age.

    Perhaps the child will be bored with studying at home. Therefore, sign him up for the nearest fitness club, where he can not only exercise, but also communicate with peers.

    Weight Loss Fitness You Can Do at Home

    Home weight loss fitness is an effective and easy way to lose weight. To exercise at home, you do not need to sign up for a fitness center, spend money on clothes and accessories. Home workout can take place at a convenient time for you. Working out at home will save you time and money. Just choose the type of workout you want to learn and start dancing. For beginners, Zumba Basic is best, and for the elderly and people with no training, Zumba Gold is best. Most importantly, do not allow yourself to relax and skip lessons.

    To enhance the effect of losing weight, do not forget about proper nutrition. Eliminate sweets, as well as fatty, fried and salty foods from the diet.

    Contraindications and warnings

    Like any other sport, this type of fitness also has contraindications.

    List of contraindications:

    • serious pathologies of bone tissue;
    • pregnancy;
    • hypertension;
    • cardiac pathologies;
    • varicose veins;
    • diseases of the brain.

    Therefore, when you decide to go in for sports, be smart about your choice of exercises and consult your doctor. Start exercising with low loads, gradually increasing them. The main thing is to carefully monitor your well-being during training.

    Reviews and results of those who have lost weight

    In theory, Zumba for weight loss at home and in the fitness room are effective. But how do fitness for weight loss evaluate the reviews of those who are already engaged?

    Irina Vladimirovna Fursenko, fitness trainer, Moscow

    My acquaintance with Zumba began when I myself thought about losing weight. Stepping on the scales, I realized that I urgently needed to do something about it. I signed up for classes and got so hooked that I decided to take a Zumba instructor training course and now teach myself. In addition, I lost 15 kilograms and am completely satisfied with my body.

    Elena Petrovna Zakharova, retired, Samara

    I am 60 years old and for a year now my friend and I have been attending Zumba Gold classes for the elderly. During this time, I radically changed my attitude to life, began to look at the world and the people around me more positively, stopped complaining about my health. I lead an active lifestyle and travel. I think this fitness complex is a wonderful invention that inspires millions of people around the world!

    Maria Nikolaevna Kononova, housewife

    After the birth of my child, I didn't have time for sports. A friend gave me a CD with Zuma Toning exercises. I started exercising and realized that Zumba for weight loss at home is the best option for women like me. I started with 1-2 classes a week, now I can’t live without 4. Weight is reduced, and the mood is always upbeat.

    Reviews of doctors and specialists

    Igor Vitalievich Berdman, nutritionist of the weight loss center

    My attitude to fitness is generally positive, and the use of such a variety as Zumba for weight loss not only maintains muscle tone, but also improves the psychological state of a person.


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