Zumba benefits many aspects of your life. Zumba is more like a dance party than a workout where all participants wear gym clothes instead of being all dressed up. It is Latin inspired dance workout and is extremely popular across the World. There is nothing better than having lots of fun while burning calories. This article will discuss the main benefits that Zumba brings.
Here are ten excellent benefits of Zumba:
- Helps with weight loss
- It helps to relieve stress
- Improves your mental health
- Instantly improves your mood
- Improves your metabolism
- Improves your confidence
- Improves your social skills
- Improves your body posture
- It is good for your heart
- It is a full-body workout
Zumba Helps You Lose Weight
The easiest and fastest way to lose weight and get your body toned is through cardio or aerobic workout. Zumba is a cardio type of workout but a fun one.
Zumba workouts last between 45 minutes and one hour. One hour of Zumba workout can burn between 300 to 800 calories depending on your weight and the level of intensity. For example, someone who weighs 180 pounds can burn up to 643 calories per one hour of Zumba, according to Zumba Calories Burned Calculator. Check here if you want to find out how many calories you could burn while doing Zumba based on your current weight.
If you do Zumba a couple of times per week, you will see your weight melting away. Of course, proper nutrition is a must to see the best results. The best part of losing weight when doing Zumba workouts is that you will not feel like working out!
If you can commit to Zumba workouts a couple of times a week with a proper diet, you will see significant weight loss just in the first month.
For example, if you do Zumba three times a week, considering you can burn 800 per hour, you could burn 2,400 calories just in one week, and with a proper diet, you could see your pounds shedding quickly away.
Zumba helps to tone the whole body, particularly your abdominals and back.
Zumba Can Help You Relieve Stress
I like taking Zumba classes in the middle of the week because that is when my stress levels are the highest. As soon as I come to the class and start listening to the uplifting music, being surrounded by energetic people, and performing those fun moves, all my problems and stress of the workday go away.
Don’t forget that music also has a calming effect on your brain. With a combination of Zumba and music, you are giving your brain lots of benefits, and it will help induce those happy hormones such as serotonin and dopamine that will last up to 12 hours after a workout.
If you can, take Zumba class in the morning because you will rip the benefits that Zumba offers throughout the day. Many of us work 9-5 jobs, and it is not always feasible to take Zumba class in the morning. However, try to go to Zumba class at your local gym as soon as you finish the work, and I promise you, you will not regret it.
Zumba Improves Your Mental Health
Zumba workouts help switch your brain from having negative thoughts to positive ones. And when your brain has positive and happy thoughts, there is less room for mental health issues in your life.
I am not a mental health professional, so I will not go technical and scientific with you. I am just conveying information on how Zumba workouts affect my brain and thought process.
If you go to Zumba class, you will notice everyone smiling, and that positive and happy energy is contagious. If you surround yourself with positive rather than negative people, your mood will improve.
Positivity in your life is essential for your mental and emotional wellbeing. If you feel depressed before the workout, you will notice a change in your mind during and right after the Zumba class. As I mentioned earlier, those feel-good hormones will keep your mood elevated for at least 12 hours, and if you participate in Zumba class at least a few times a week, it will do wonders for your mental and emotional wellbeing.
The best part is that you will want to come back to Zumba classes to get that feeling back, which will be an addiction, but a good one, where you feel great by doing something amazing for your overall health.
Zumba Is An Instant Mood Booster
Zumba will boost your mood instantly because it is a form of cardiovascular exercise where your body produces hormones such as serotonin, dopamine, and norepinephrine, which are also called happiness hormones.
Your stress will fade away when your mood increases. As you are dancing and working out, you will notice that your mind switches from negative to positive thoughts, which is precisely what you want to happen.
You will notice how you slowly stop thinking about the stressors of your day, and you will become more present and focused on the music and what your instructor is doing.
Just watch your instructor, listen to the music and allow yourself to immerse in the experience.
Zumba Will Improve Your Metabolism
Zumba helps to build lean muscle mass, and when you build muscle mass, your metabolism improves drastically, which helps to burn more calories efficiently even when your body is resting.
Zumba utilizes many functions that your body executes throughout the day, such as digestion and respiration. The cells are fuelled to carry out their activities efficiently and smoothly, which improves your overall health. That is why Zumba is an excellent alternative to a traditional full-body workout.
Zumba Improves Your Confidence
You probably have noticed that you feel more confident whenever your body moves, and you feel like you could conquer the World.
Your confidence increases every time you take Zumba class. My confidence has improved by taking Zumba classes and other dance lessons. The first time I took Zumba class, I came early to choose a spot at the back of the room because I didn’t feel confident to dance in front of other people. I just wanted to be invisible, and that is how I wanted to be in other areas of my life.
I was terrible at dancing, and I didn’t want other people to see my silly dance moves. But as my confidence has grown with every Zumba step, I started to care less what others might think, and I emerged ultimately in what my instructor was doing and enjoying the music and workout.
My confidence has improved in all areas of my life, and I try to maintain the same mindset outside the Zumba class.
Here is a disclaimer. Nobody will think that your dancing is silly or funny. Zumba classes consist of a group of amazing and supportive people who come to Zumba classes to have fun, relieve stress, enjoy, relax, socialize, and work out.
Zumba Improves Your Social Skills
Zumba classes usually consist of a larger group of people, and it provides an excellent opportunity to make new friends and build personal relationships. All Zumba classes I have attended contain a group of warm and welcoming people to newcomers.
Zumba classes sometimes can be crowded, but the benefit of that is that the energy levels get even higher, so you will be more motivated to move your body at a higher intensity and burn more calories than you usually would.
If you feel uncomfortable interacting with people before class, wait after the class because your confidence will boost your mood.
Zumba is even more fun if you come with a friend, relative, or special someone. Both of you will have fun and will feel energized and happier after.
Zumba Improves Your Body Posture
Having a good body posture is very important for your overall health, and research has shown that having a good posture improves your mood and confidence.
How we carry ourselves has a significant impact on how we perceive ourselves and how others perceive us. Slouching makes us feel weak and lousy posture affects how we think about ourselves.
Research has shown that when we are sitting slouched, it is more likely that negative thoughts will enter our minds. Sitting upright promotes positive thoughts and reduces stress. So next time you notice that negative thoughts are wandering around your mind, just straighten up your posture, and you will notice a drastic change in your mood and confidence.
This is an excellent trick if you have an important meeting at work or talking to someone you are intimidated by.
If you are working an office job and sitting a lot, you probably have noticed how your posture worsened over time.
Zumba improves your flexibility and posture, and the longer to attend Zumba classes, your posture will naturally improve in your day-to-day activities.
Zumba improves your posture by targetting multiple muscles groups in your body that will help you sit and walk more straight up.
Zumba Is Great For Your Heart
Zumba is a form of workout and dance that consists of low and high intensity intervals. It is an excellent cardio workout that will benefit your heart health greatly.
Since it is a cardio workout, Zumba will lower your blood pressure and reduce the risk of heart disease. Zumba can enhance cardiovascular endurance and cardiorespiratory functions.
Zumba Is Full-body Workout
Zumba is a full-body workout that benefits your legs, strengthens your arms with swaying motions and pushups and planks, and helps you gain abs and grow your booty by doing squats.
Zumba is effective in toning your entire body in one workout. You know you worked out your whole body when you noticed soreness in places you didn’t think you could be sore.
One hour of Zumba workout targets many different muscle groups that will speed up the process of toning your body.
Zumba helps to build lean muscle in your body. Your body is more efficient at burning more calories when you have more muscle.
What is Zumba?
Zumba is a type of Latin-inspired fitness program that involves fast cardio movements. These workouts involve choreographed dance movements to upbeat Salsa and other Latin music.
Zumba is a high-energy and fun workout that you will be excited to keep coming back to.
Zumba consists of high and low-intensity cardiovascular training while improving coordination, balance, agility, and to some extent, strength too.
Zumba class is very uplifting energetic and consists of upbeat Latin music. You will start the workout with slower songs to warm up, and then intensity increases gradually as the training progresses.
You will pick up on the choreography even if you are not a good dancer after a few Zumba classes you take. All you need to bring to the Zumba class is a good spirit and good pair of shoes.
Zumba classes are usually held in gyms and are 45-60 minutes interval training. Females are generally keener on Zumba than men, but they are welcome to sweat to Zumba.
Zumba originated from the United States in 2001. Alberto Perez, a Columbian dancer, established Zumba. Zumba was born by mere accident. He was teaching an aerobics class when he realized that the class would be more fun with his favorite Latin music.
Zumba became very popular in Columbia at first. After a while, Alberto Perez opened up Zumba fitness in the United States, and it quickly became extremely popular.
Types Of Zumba Classes
There are ten types of Zumba:
- Zumba Gold is a lower-intensity and low-impact Zumba style.
- Zumba toning is specially designed to target your abs, arms, thighs, and other muscle groups in your body.
- Zumba Step is a combination of aerobic workouts, Zumba movements, and Latin music.
- Zumba circuit is intense 30-minute training that consists of strength exercises in timed intervals on various stations.
- Aqua Zumba is held in a swimming pool where the instructor shows the moves to members in shallow water.
- Zumbini is designed for children up to three years old and their parents or caregivers.
- Zumba Kids is specifically designed for children ages seven to eleven.
- Zumba Gold Toning targets older participants interested in improving posture, mobility, coordination, and muscle strength.
- Strong Nation is a Zumba class that combines high-intensity training with Synced Music Motivation.
- Zumba Sentao focuses on using body weight to strengthen the body by using a chair as equipment.
Final Words
Zumba is a fun and effective workout that benefits your whole body and overall health, and it is a form of exercise that doesn’t feel like a workout. I hope that this article has helped you shed some light on the most important benefits of Zumba.
