Zumba for Weight Loss. How to lose weight just by dancing?

Some resources say that you can burn up to 600 calories just by dancing. I am sure that any activity can help you to be in a good shape. But I was curious whether zumba for weight loss can give your significant results. So I made a research and happy to share the information with you.

What is zumba for weight loss?

Zumba dance was officially created as a fitness program for weight loss in 2011. This type of activity includes dancing movements together with jumping and other gymnastic elements. It combines different dancing styles like soca, salsa, hip-hop, samba, merengue and more.

The workout usually lasts from 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Being a combination of latin dance and a classical aerobics zumba uses the weight of your own body. So you don’t need any additional equipment and it may be suitable for most people even with some contraindications.

Types of zumba dance for Weight loss

Zumba Gold
It’s a classical fitness program based on Latin dances. It is ideal for beginners, people with contraindications, for seniors or people who are undergoing rehabilitation. Moderate physical activity that you get while dancing is very beneficial for your overall health. And as you burn many calories while moving actively it’s safe to say that zumba for weight loss can be quite effective.

Zumba Toning
In this type of zumba you perform rhythmic and slow movements that alternate each other to create an interval training. But in this case, you will need to use light sticks that were created for this kind of workout for additional weight. Zumba Toning is great for toning your arms and shoulders, abs and glutes.

Aqua Zumba
It’s an amazing activity for those who love swimming. You can perform almost the same exercises in the pool as you would do in the gym. But water creates extra resistance which makes this workout even more effective. Besides, water exercises help to reduce cellulite and tighten the skin. So if you have an opportunity to train in a pool, definitely give it a try!

Zumba Sentao
Sentao is a relatively new type of zumba for weight loss. But it gets more and more popular. Its main feature is that you use a chair for balancing and exercising. This type of zumba is good for beginners and obese people. It is gentle but gives results as allows to burn calories while building body muscles.

Zumba Step
Zumba dance is so versatile that you can even use an aerobic step platform for this. This type of zumba is amazing for those who want to have toned legs and glutes as it mainly focused on these parts of the body. It also very effective for burning fat as you perform highly intensive body weight movements.

Why zumba dance is effective for weight loss?

There are many reasons why zumba is a great workout for weight loss:

It allows to burn a lot of calories (up to 600 kcal per session)
You use almost all the muscles of your body during the dance
Zumba includes simple exercises that you can start doing right now
Zumba helps to speed up metabolism
This dance focuses on the most problem areas of the body — thighs, glutes, abs;
You sweat a lot during the session that helps to remove excess water from the body
It’s proved that if you dance 3 times a week you can lose up to 5kg weight a month

But besides weight loss zumba is beneficial for your health for the following reasons:

You train your respiratory system
Your joints become more flexible;
The muscles become more toned and developed
Zumba helps to fight depressions, stress and pressure
It regulates the activity of the cardiovascular system
It improves the posture
Your body becomes more flexible and strong
It improves digestion as during dancing you kind of massage your internal organs

How to dance for weight loss at home

Dancing for weight loss is a very effective and simple way to lose weight without going to the gym. You can do it just in your bedroom if you have enough space to move actively. You also don’t need any equipment or special activewear. Besides, home workouts can save a lot of time as you don’t need to commute.

But you have to dance in a certain way, to train consistently and adjust your diet to get the results you want.

The general structure of zumba dance for weight loss:

Warm-up

You should start every training with a warm-up. It may contain movements from your morning exercises: stretching, 2-3 minutes gentle jumps, leg and arm rotation, lunges and so on. The main goal is to stretch all muscle groups and prepare them for more intensive work, minimizing the risk of injury.

Strength training

It’s funny but when you are dancing you often don’t notice that you do strength exercises. It happens because music and rhythm make the training more fun and pleasant. But at the same time, you perform difficult exercises like squat or jumps that involve the biggest muscles of your body and allows to burn a lot of calories.

Cardio/dance

When you finished strength training it’s time for the best part – dancing. It includes the main zumba movements like Merengue march, Merengue Beto’s Shuffle, Beto’s Swing, Reggaeton and Cumbia steps, Salsa elements and more.
Zumba allows you to improvise and be free in expressing yourself. So don’t be afraid to dance in your own way. The main goals are to move your body, to sweat, to burn calories and to have fun.

Cool-down

As a conclusion of your workout do some stretching exercises. This part is very important so don’t skip a cool-down.

Basic movements of zumba:

steps — side, wide, small, with a turn of the body;
Body bends with different arm movements
Lunges and squads
Hand claps

What’s great about zumba for weight loss is that it combines strength exercises and cardio training. This way you may burn way more calories and achieve your fitness goals pretty quickly.

You can find many zumba videos on YouTube. I recommend to start with this one as it is pretty good for beginners:

How much time to dance zumba for weight loss:

One of the main aspects of successful weight loss is consistency. It applies for zumba as well. To see the results you need to train regularly. The ideal schedule is to dance 3 times a week. After you reach your goals and get the shape you want you can dance in a more relaxed way – 1-2 sessions a week will be enough to maintain the results.

How to double the results:

Zumba is very effective because it allows to burn a great amount of calories. But it doesn’t mean you can eat unlimited junk food and drink sugary coffee from Starbucks. If your goal is to lose fat you have to eat good quality, nourishing, real food. You don’t have to be on an extreme diet. But just be mindful about what you eat and how many calories you consume every day.

Try to include a lot of vegetables and greens in your diet as they contain few calories while providing you with healthy fiber and vitamins. Also, don’t forget about protein and healthy fats (in moderation). It’s a good idea to cut off sugar and excess carbs from your diet when you try to lose extra pounds.

Zumba Contraindications:

Zumba is an amazing and healthy activity. But it may not be for you if you have the following health conditions:

joint problems or bone pathology;
recent surgery;
severe mental disorders;
pregnancy;
postpartum period (about six months);
hypertension;
respiratory diseases;
severe shortness of breath, tuberculosis;
serious diseases of the cardiovascular system;
varicose veins and other problems;
brain pathology.

But even if you have any of the mentioned health conditions you still may dance. Just make sure you consult your doctor first in order to prevent any problems.

As a conclusion

In this final paragraph I just want to summarize why zumba is great for weight loss:

it provides a guaranteed weight loss (5-10 kg per month)
zumba includes simple and easy-to-learn exercises
it is beneficial for your health
it allows you to train at home (no need for the gym or equipment)
there are a lot of YouTube videos out there that can help you to get started right now
it reduces stress and improves your mood

Actionable steps: