Calories Burned During Zumba
I’m a Zumba instructor and I was tired of guessing how many calories I was burned during Zumba class so I bought a Polar FT60 heart rate monitor. I’ve been wearing it for a couple of weeks now. Here’s a quick summary of how many calories I burned in recent classes:
Zumba
Minutes / Calories Burned
50 / 474, 60 / 733, 50 / 676, 60 / 734, 50 / 626, 50 / 810, 50 / 652, 50 / 790, 50 / 701, 50 / 779, 50 / 638, 50 / 668, 50 / 595
Average = 683 calories per class
Zumba Gold
Minutes / Calories Burned
50 / 461, 50 / 492
Average = 474 calories per class
What I learned is that the number of calories burned during Zumba varies widely depending on the content of the class. There are certain songs and dances that really get my heart rate up. For example, there is a significant increase in calories burned during those classes that include a quebradita (i.e. Zu Bailaito and Ritmo Caliente). Choreography that includes jumping or “riding a horse” also bump up the number of calories burned (Evacuate the Dance Floor, Jump in the Line, and Que Te Pica to name a few).
Stay tuned while I learn more from my new heart rate monitor! Zumba hugs!
Filed under Zumba, exercise | Tags: calorie, Calories, calories burned, Fitness, ft60, group, group fitness, group fitness instructor, heart, heart rate, heart rate monitor, monitor, polar, polar ft60, quebradita, rate, Zumba, zumba gold, zumba instructor | Comment (0)Heart Rate Monitor for Zumba
Enough guessing. I’m buying a heart rate monitor for Zumba.
I’m a Zumba instructor and I track my diet and exercise through a free online fitness diary called hotcal. Until now, I’ve been using the cardio exercise entry “Dancing, aerobic, ballet or modern, twist” to track Zumba. According to my height, weight, age, and sex; I should burn about 272 calories in one 50-minute Zumba class.
As an instructor, I exaggerate all of my movements and give 100% during each song of each class. After Zumba classes, I am drenched from head to toe in sweat. I don’t think 272 is an accurate measure of the calories I burn in a typical Zumba class. That is why I’ve decided to buy a heart rate monitor.
After a little research, I’ve settled on the Polar FT60 heart rate monitor. This hr monitor comes with the fabric chest band with the snap on/snap off electronic brain. The fabric band was important because I’ve used hr monitors with the plastic band with the built in electronics. It was very uncomfortable and I can’t image doing Zumba while wearing a hard plastic band around my rib cage. As I mentioned, Zumba makes me sweat hardcore. I need equipment that I can rinse or it will be ruined in no time.
The FT60 is not cheap, but I am also a long distance runner and biker. I don’t need a foot pod or gps capability now, but these are optional add-ons to the FT60. I would not like to buy another heart rate monitor any time soon, but I may want to accessorize later.
The other nice thing about the women’s FT60 is that it is attractive. The band is magenta and the face is white and silver with decorations on the face. If I have to wear this thing daily, I might as well like the way it looks.
Stay tuned as I try out my heart rate monitor for Zumba.
Should I Buy a Heart Rate Monitor for Zumba?
I love teaching Zumba. I teach high intensity Zumba 4 times a week and Zumba Gold 2 times a week. I smile a lot and sweat a lot, but how do I know much exercise I am getting from Zumba class?
Until now, I have relied on free online calorie calculators and exercise diaries like hot cal to tell me how many calories I burn during exercise, including Zumba. I enter every food and beverage I consume each day and I enter every minute of exercise I do each day into hot cal. The site software uses my 1) Basal Metabolic Rate or BMR, 2) daily calorie needs based on my activity level, 3) net calorie needs, and 4) exercise bonus calories to calculate whether I’ve stayed within my daily calorie target to meet my personal fitness or weight loss goals.
I currently use the cardio exercise entry “Dancing, aerobic, ballet or modern, twist” to track Zumba. According to my height, weight, age, and sex; I should burn about 272 calories in one 50-minute Zumba class.
272 calories? That’s it? That can’t be right… Can it?
I think it’s time I invest in a heart rate monitor so I know exactly how many calories I burn in each Zumba class – not only for my own personal fitness, but to also allow me to use the music and moves that will get my Zumba class participants’ hearts pumping (safely, of course).
Stay tuned as I shop for my first heart rate monitor for Zumba!
Filed under Zumba, exercise, group fitness | Tags: aerobic, aerobics, Calculator, calorie calculator, Calories, cardio, cardiovascular, Dance, diary, exercise, exercise diary, Fitness, group, group fitness, group fitness instructor, heart, heart rate, heart rate montior, instructor, log, training log, Zumba, zumba gold, zumba instructor, zumba music | Comment (1)How Many Calories Does Zumba Burn?
I recently saw a thread on MyFitnessPal.com discussing how many calories does Zumba burn. Not that I need a reason to do Zumba, but what a good question!
The Zumba FAQ does vaguely address the question:
How many calories can I burn during a Zumba class?
The number of calories each person burns per class varies. However, depending on your body parameters (type, composition, intensity, range of motion), you can burn hundreds of calories per class.
A good source for calories burned is the list of Calories Burned During Exercise list from NutriStrategy.
Calories burned during exercise is affected by body weight, intensity of workout, conditioning level, and metabolism. Calories burned per hour are listed below for the example body weights of 130, 155, and 190 pounds.
According to NutriStragegy, “Dancing, aerobic, ballet or modern, twist” burns 354 calories per hour for a 130-pound person, 422 calories per hour for a 155-pound person, and 518 calories per hour for a 190-pound person.
The only way to know exactly how many calories you are burning during any given Zumba class is by wearing a heart rate monitor that is able to take into account your heart rate as well as your age, height, weight, and gender to calculate your personal amount of calories burned.
Filed under Zumba, exercise, group fitness, health | Tags: calorie, Calories, calories burned, Dance, group fitness, heart rate montior, Zumba, zumba gold, zumba instructor, zumba music, zumba songs | Comment (0)Awesome Daily Needs Nutritional Calculator and Health Tools
I recently met with Beth, a personal trainer and wellness coach at my new gym to set goals for 2009. My original motivation was to simply get my trial membership host the free month he was promised for referring a new member.
I mentioned to Beth that there are days I have to cut my routine short because I’ve run out of energy. She recommended two sites I could use to make sure I get the nutrition I need to keep me going strong each day.
www.NutritionData.com
NutritionData.com has a great Daily Needs Calculator. You enter your height, weight, age, and lifestyle. AND you can list exactly what activities you plan to do and how long you plan to do them.
The Daily Needs calculator returns your BMI, calories burned, recommended daily nutrient (carbs, protein, vitamins, minerals) quantities.
I really like being able to customize minutes per day of exercise. My workout and level of activity each day is very different for me and I think this will help me get through my varying workouts more easily.
www.PreventDisease.com
While preventing disease is not something I keep in mind while I work out at this time, PreventDisease.com features a long list of Health Tools including several Body Composition calculators, a link to the USDA Calorie & Nutrient Information Database, and even Sleep Tools.
How Many Calories are in a Cup of Coffee?
Have you ever noticed there is no nutritional information on coffee packaging? How many calories are in a cup of coffee? Here’s a list of the nutritional information of the brands of coffee I keep at home:
Dunkin Donuts (20 oz.)
10 Calories
0 Fat Calories
15mg Sodium
0g Fat
2g Carbohydrates
1g Protein
0g Dietary Fiber
Caribou Coffee (Large)
5 Calories
0 Fat Calories
10mg Sodium
0g Fat
0g Carbohydrates
1g Protein
0g Dietary Fiber
Foldgers
I could not find nutritional info for Foldgers coffee, but according to the Foldgers website:
Our coffees are 100% pure coffee. Since coffee has no nutritional value, there’s no significant amount of calories, protein, carbohydrates, fat, sodium, or potassium. In fact, one serving of brewed coffee contains less than 5 calories.
I take coffee black so the information above does not include milk or sugar. Roast (light, medium, dark) and preparation method does not seem to affect nutrition. What does affect coffee nutritional information is what you add to your coffee – like milk, cream, sugar, sweeteners, syrups, whip cream, etc.
If you are looking for a way to cut calories and fat, quit adding unnecessary calories and fat to your coffee!
Easy as pie… Right? Not for me. My FAVORITE coffee drink is Caribou Coffee’s Mint Condition.
Caribou Coffee Mint Condition (Medium w/2% Milk & Whip Cream)
460 Calories
160 Fat Calories
145mg Sodium
17g Fat
68g Carbohydrates
13g Protein
0g Dietary Fiber
Wow. That is an eye opener compared to regular black coffee, which I also enjoy. It will be hard, but I will save money, calories, and fat if I drink black coffee more often and drink a Mint Condition less often as a treat or reward. *sigh*
