Zumba fitness started in the 90’s by a fitness instructor called Alberto “Beto” Perez. Zumba is a Latin-based dance program which was brought into the United States. There are a couple of variations across the world but today, we won’t be focusing on its roots. We will be talking about its benefits.
Zumba fitness is a dancing based exercise class and with most dancing based activity, you will burn lots of calories. What makes it unique is the combination of Latin and aerobic moves.
As with most things in life, what you get is what you put into it. If the Zumba workout is paired with a healthy balanced diet, there will be a significant reduction in calorie changes to the body.
With Zumba, your workout won’t feel like a workout. It is fun and you will love it. The music is quite fast and contagious, so you can’t help but move your body.
Here are some amazing health benefits of doing Zumba
1. Calorie and fat burning
When done properly, Zumba classes can burn a lot of calories through aerobic activity.
Depending on your body features such as weight, sex and fitness level, Zumba classes will provide a large calorie burn for you which will be equivalent to what you will achieve at any fast social dancing club such as at the disco or salsa.
Fitness moves are often incorporated into the dances. The average person can expect to burn as much as 600 to 1,000 calories in a Zumba class. On healthytop10s.com, you will realize that the classes are often choreographed to provide different intervals of intensity in terms of pace of music and movements in the class. Members energy levels will be maximized to burn fat so you shouldn’t be surprised if you find yourself moving from a fast beat to a long, slow set of push-up movements on the walls. It’s been designed to be dynamic, fast and energy demanding. Another benefit you can expect when you join a Zumba class is that you will have improved coordination which is important for adults as we grow older.
2. Full workout
One interesting thing about Zumba is that it creates a full body workout for the totality of one’s body. It’s a unique dance and fitness class that works on the whole body.
It will work on the muscles around the head, shoulder rolls around the neck and warm up the upper body as well as the footwork that strengthens the calves. It touches most muscle and joint in the body.
As with most Latin dancing styles, the hips and the muscles at the butt often end up getting sore at the end of the class. There are regular warm-ups and cool-downs at a regular Zumba class so you can be more flexible and relaxed after each class.
3. Aerobic Benefits
If you have a target heart rate that you’re trying to reach, with Zumba it becomes relatively easier to achieve your heart rate goals. It uses songs that plays at 145 beats per minute with the fast pace making the move more natural and quickly set you on the path to true aerobic exercise.
If building endurance is the main goal, you can dance your way into firm endurance with dance steps on Zumba.
All in all, exercising for prolonged periods at the rate of a Zumba dance will bring about the strength of your heart.
Continuous movement while working out is often tough and with the common breaks and short periods in strength training, you don’t get to build as much endurance as possible. Zumba’s hour-long classes will get your body accustomed to ongoing exercise which will make your next workout more fun and enjoyable
4. Improves Posture and Boosts Confidence
When you take a Zumba class, you quickly realize that the movements involved are not what most workouts often include.
It combines movements from merengue, samba, and mambo together which works on unique muscle groups and joints to create a unified muscular movement in stretches.
It reduces tensions allowing for an improved range of motion that boosts posture and flexibility. Thanks to the social aspect of doing Zumba which is more casual and laid back compared to other workouts, you get to feel more comfortable in your body as well as boost your own confidence by improving your dance moves and also serve as motivation for returning for classes after that. These changes will also reflect your mood. The stress accumulated during the day will be gotten rid of plus the upbeat moves required for this level of workout allows for the release of mood-improving endorphins.
5. Fast and Accessible
Zumba classes are a great place to meet and interact with other interesting and fun people.
Due to the amount of fun experienced at this workout, you could find yourself attending two to three classes per week. Plus, you also get to socialize and meet new friends among your classmate.
It’s very accessible with more than 200,000 class locations in over 100 countries across the globe, there won’t be a problem locating a nearby location closest to you. Thanks to the style of the workout, Zumba classes are winning other workout programs as more fitness enthusiasts all over the world are being certified as Zumba instructors to take the classes.
Zumba is based on music and dance, which is a universal language people can relate to irrespective of the language they speak. This is why the instructors get to explain little with words and more with their body movements and hand motions.
This allows the class to flow smoothly and make it easy to follow for everyone. You don’t have to follow what I say. Just do as I do and follow the flow. It’s normal to have whoops and hollers while dancers have fun dancing to infectious rhythms and specialty songs that they are used to.