How Does Zumba Help Weight Loss?

A Body in Motion

Zumba is a very good cardiovascular activity. The body is always shifting, stepping and dancing in rhythmic cadence. This causes a high caloric expenditure which leads to weight loss. Factor in the fact that there is little recovery time and the body has no choice but to burn a lot of calories.

Bring in the Weigthts

Part of the Zumba workout involves the addition of weights. This is twofold. It increases the energy expenditure while simultaneously toning and strengthening the muscles. Muscle is very metabolically active, so this will cause more overall calorie expenditure.

Speed Down

Zumba is done in an interval fashion. This means that there are slow and fast rhythms being incorporated. The slower rhythms are the rest periods. This type of training has been known to burn more calories and also raise the body's metabolism for hours after the event.

Fun Before It's Done

A lot of times conventional exercise can be boring. This more often than not can lead to burnout and cause people to stop altogether. That is where Zumba differs. Being that it is "out of the box" and so different than the average step aerobics classes, people are generally left thirsting for more. When something is fun and interesting, adherence rates go up and weight goes down.

Disciplinary Action

Zumba can also help aid weight loss because it creates discipline. When an exercise routine becomes habitual and people enjoy it, this will bleed into other aspects of their lives that can further increase weight loss, such as diet. It is like a built in accountability factor that is going to make them stay on top of their eating habits and make only one trip to the buffet table instead of three.