Fat burn exercise? Is zumba too intense??!!I

Loonymoon

I got myself a new HRM recently (Polar FT7) and it's brilliant, I can see that I'm burning a LOT of calories at my zumba classes - typically anything from 500 to just under 800 (no kidding it's true!) calories in a session. I'm getting pretty fit - BUT as my average heartrate is 144-150 and generally for 58 minutes of a 60 minute session I'm in "fitness" zone. I'm wondering if it's actually helping me lose weight as quick as perhaps a lower intensity workout?

OR - does the fact that I'm burning so many calories stop me putting more fat on in the first place? It's certainly meaning that I'm not getting anywhere near my 1750 calorie goal on days I do the classes!

Should I be looking to include some lower intensity exercise as well?

There's no way I'm giving up Zumba, it's the best thing for me EVER...LOL I feel great but I still have my spare tyres... and therefore am probably a lot fitter than I look ...and I want to look as fit as i am...!!

Loonymoon

any comments I was hoping some fitness guru's could comment on the "science" bit regarding fat vs carbohydrate burn and the training zones etc.

pcastagner

Disregard that garbage.

You work out to build fitness, you eat less than you expend to lose body fat. Period.

Frood42

Fat Burn Zone = Myth
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http://www.builtlean.com/2013/04/01/fat-burning-zone-myth/
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Exercise to get fit
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800 cals, pffft, try 2500cals from cycling 44 miles a day on my commute into and from work.
However, well done on getting up and about, keep going!
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medavidcook

I think you need to be max 50% of my BPM to be able to stay in fat burn zone. You can lock into each section when working out , so if the heart is on the left then click ok to stay in fat burn if right click ok for fitness.

hope this helps

luckynky

I'm not a fitness guru, but when you say "burning fat vs. carbohydrates," all I can say is that you're burning calories, not a specific type of calorie. If you have love handles, it just mans that's where your fat is more noticeable or being stored. It simply means that you have not reached the point where you've burned that fat off.

I do Zumba 3 times a week and I love it. I was doing it 4 times a week, but I've now replaced my hour of home Zumba workout with 3-4 half hours (per week) of strength training. From everything I've read and seen, to optimize your weight loss and to really get your body in shape, you should include some strength training in your regime. One piece of evidence I've seen is that my Zumba teacher teaches at least 6 times per week. She is middle aged and in really good shape, however, she still has some flabbiness (I notice especially in her upper arms), and that is something I'd like to not have. I've also seen pictures on this site where women have shown impressive before and after photos demonstrating cardio alone versus lifting or cardio and lifting. I'm almost 40, and I really liked starting with Zumba because I was very sedentary before, and I felt like Zumba really whipped my heart and lungs into shape and gave me a lot more stamina in a relatively short amount of time. This certainly has been helpful now that I've started strength conditioning.

p2smommy

I LOVE Zumba! I think the fact that it keeps us moving (and is UBER FUN!) is phenomenal, and I can't see that it's too intense.. if it were, there'd be a warning lable attached LOL

I have seen other ladies who have done 3-4 zumba classes a week and dropped a bunch of weight while also toning and looked awesomely fit! There are also Zumba Toning classes and Zumba water aerobic classes.. Just can't seem to find any of them around here in rural SE Ohio.

Doubt this has helped you much, but keep your chin up! Good luck!

Ainar

Intensity doesnt matter... it's calories. There is no such things as "fat burn zone"...

Some people burn 500 cals by 1h of slow walking cos it's very intense for them and some barely burns 300 clas by 1h of running. So just stick to what works for you, if you burn 500 cals from Zumba then it's good for weight loss.

As for burning 500 cals with low intensity vs 500 cals with high intensity... it's still 500 cals, therefore same results. Like I said, it's your preferance.

If you are in caloric surplus you will gain, if you are at maintenace you will maintain and if you are in deficit you will lose weight. Cardio is good to bring you to that deficit by burning some calories, that's all.

Loonymoon

Cool thanks all, I hoped that would be the case but wondered why there's quite an emphasis on the "fat burn vs fitness" zone on these type of watches so thought there must be something in it.

I'm glad you burn so many on your cycle Frood but I would assume you take rather more 1 hour to burn all those and would need to eat more to make sure you don't burn out. I can feel when I hit a wall just doing zumba if I haven't eaten enough in the afternoon before the evening class.

I am 200lbs so a far weight to throw around in a Zumba class, but I think getting near 800 in one hour doing something that I really enjoy is great, though that is only when I do a particularly high impact class. My normal average is around about 550 to 650. I try to do a class at twice a week through the summer (some classes stop for the holiday period) and then combine it with an extra class and a dance class (street jazz which also includes some toning/stretching exercises like squats and sit ups and that kind of thing) when they start again in the next school year,.

I also am a photographer and help my husband who is a DJ so I'm often heaving heavy kit around (my camera and a big lens can weigh 2-3Kg) so I do get some inadvertant strength training in as well.

pcastagner

Cool thanks all, I hoped that would be the case but wondered why there's quite an emphasis on the "fat burn vs fitness" zone on these type of watches so thought there must be something in it.

I'm glad you burn so many on your cycle Frood but I would assume you take rather more 1 hour to burn all those and would need to eat more to make sure you don't burn out. I can feel when I hit a wall just doing zumba if I haven't eaten enough in the afternoon before the evening class.

I am 200lbs so a far weight to throw around in a Zumba class, but I think getting near 800 in one hour doing something that I really enjoy is great, though that is only when I do a particularly high impact class. My normal average is around about 550 to 650. I try to do a class at twice a week through the summer (some classes stop for the holiday period) and then combine it with an extra class and a dance class (street jazz which also includes some toning/stretching exercises like squats and sit ups and that kind of thing) when they start again in the next school year,.

I also am a photographer and help my husband who is a DJ so I'm often heaving heavy kit around (my camera and a big lens can weigh 2-3Kg) so I do get some inadvertant strength training in as well.

If there is anything I have learned from all these fasted workouts (I do big sessions without eating for 16 hours), it's that I can't rely on "feeling low on energy" as an indication of how much or how little I've eaten.

Did a fed workout today, and it was the first time in ages I felt dizzy and as if I had "hit a wall". I almost feel like eating beforehand made me feel low on energy. Just thought I'd throw that out there for you.

Loonymoon

yeah I think there is something in that. I can't eat less than 1/2 hour before or it doesn't work. It has to be at least a amn hour and preferably more. Probably a lot to do with how tired you are too. Reading the instructions for my Polar FT7 it says it can sense how tired/stressed you are (how?? resting heartrate?) and it adjusts the fitness/fatburn zones accordingly.

Last night at a zumba class I felt qutie energetic to start but then soon ran out of energy... burned 522 which is a little low - mind you the time was only 56 minutes instead of the more usual 62 or so recorded on my watch.

I wonder how much difference the flooring makes too - two of my classes are on non-ideal grippy floors which makes some of the movements extra hard.

MelodyandBarbells

Well look at you, Ms. Cool career couple! :laugh:

Cool thanks all, I hoped that would be the case but wondered why there's quite an emphasis on the "fat burn vs fitness" zone on these type of watches so thought there must be something in it.

I think even if Polar did not believe in this, there's a market of people that do. So they keep those happy and the rest of us can turn off the sounds. I know I do! It kept beeping at me (everybody) during quiet classes like BodyFlow so it had to go

Loonymoon

Yeah first thing I did was turn off the sound!!