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!

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.