1000 Calories in 1 Hr of Zumba- Really?!

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  • deeray
    deeray Posts: 103 Member
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    I'm 5'5 currently at 190. My Zumba class this morning I burned 902 calories. I have a HRM and chest strap. I was around 220lbs when I was hitting 1000-1200. But, it could also depend on the instructor. When I first started going I didn't know any of the moves, so first couple of times I ranged around 500-600. Now that I know the songs/dances, it's like I'm starring in my own music video, lmao.
  • sugarkissprincess
    sugarkissprincess Posts: 2,595 Member
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    Very possible. In a 60 minute class I can burn around 800 :) In a 45 minute class I burn around 600
  • MrsSenecal
    MrsSenecal Posts: 312 Member
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    Ive burned 1000+ calories in Zumba wearing my Polar HR monitor. I believe it, you can really work up a sweat and if you have a hyper instructor, well, its possible!
  • megsi474
    megsi474 Posts: 370 Member
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    I am 5'6" and at 135-140 lbs, I would burn around 500 calories doing Zumba on the Wii wearing a chest strap and HRM. It's entirely possible for someone heavier to burn more, even if it's not the norm.
  • bluefox9er
    bluefox9er Posts: 2,917 Member
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    folks should detach themselves from the '' hugh burn of calories'' whilst doing cardio and focus on the quality rather than the quantity...
  • hungryhobbit1
    hungryhobbit1 Posts: 259 Member
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    It's all individual, depending on weight, age, sex, physical fitness etc. I burn a maximum of 500 calories an hour doing vigorous exercise, and falling. It's getting to be tough to get to 500 without tacking on another 10 minutes or so.

    You don't burn more calories because someone went to the trouble to trademark the name of the exercise, but it's probably possible for *someone* to burn 1000 calories doing an hour of Zumba.
  • LoriBlew
    LoriBlew Posts: 1
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    I am 37 yrs old, 5'9" and weigh 253 lbs and I do Zumba 7 times a week. I wear a calorie burn counter and I burn between 1050 calories and 1175 calories depending on the routine. It is possible!
  • Sjenny5891
    Sjenny5891 Posts: 717 Member
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    It depends on how much you weigh. When I weighed 190 I burned twice an hour as I do now.
    MFP gives me 485 an hour for Zumba. Another website gives me 450 so I'm going to say it is close to accurate without using a HRM. With everything else I do, I usually end up with an extra 400 calories to eat back (according to MFP) on the days I do Zumba......

    On a side note, MFP gives almost the same for an hour of Karate class :) As a beginer, I only log it as half an hour. If I was quicker, I could see the burn.
  • chanel1twenty
    chanel1twenty Posts: 161 Member
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    I'm an avid Zumbaer.
    Definitely possible.

    Also one thing a lot of people don't know is that there's 5 different types of Zumba, & that it's Latin-based. Latin music/dance is some of the most intense lol.
    In a class there is no rest between songs, so you truly are going solid for a straight hour.
    Upon leaving a class everyone I know is sweating like Niagra.

    I notice that people who don't Zumba don't believe it, & people that do Zumba do believe it lol. Moral of that story? Don't knock something you've never done & don't talk about something you know nothing about as if you do know :)

    Everything comes down to weight & effort, bottom line.
    Does the lady in my class that hardly does the moves & is very half-assed burn 750-1000 calories? No.
    Now the woman behind me who does huge, exaggerated movements who guess double time? Yeah, she probably does.
  • Foxxyfiercefitness
    Foxxyfiercefitness Posts: 44 Member
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    Turbo Jam is advertised in the same way! The most I have ever burned from Turbo Jam is around 500 calories, and that is when I was about 30 pounds heavier than I am now.

    On the other hand, I do have a friend who was wearing an HRM with chest strap who was actually pretty close to that 1000 calorie mark during the same workout.

    So it really depends on the person. It's just that those outrageously high calorie burns are outliers and not the average...but they wouldn't sell as many home videos by telling you the average burn, lol.


    I'm gonna agree on this. I'm 29 ( 30 in 2 months!) 243lb and I do Turbo Jam and Turbo Fire and I think I've broken the 500 cal burned mark once. Usually I'm around the high 400s according to my Polar FT4 with an average heart rate of 180ish. I've tried Zumba once and really hated it, but I blame that on a packed 6:00pm class (as in mirrors fogging up and floor getting slick packed!) and an instructor that really didn't instruct. Since I'm off during the summer, I'm going to try it at the 8:00am class with my HRM and I'll let you know what I burned!
  • chanel1twenty
    chanel1twenty Posts: 161 Member
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    folks should detach themselves from the '' hugh burn of calories'' whilst doing cardio and focus on the quality rather than the quantity...

    The quality of my calories burned? Lol, I don't get it.
    This obviously makes sense for strength training, but isn't the point of calorie-burning cardio to, well, have "huge burn of calories"?
  • WDEvy
    WDEvy Posts: 814 Member
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    I'm 203 and I burn normally between 650 and 780 for an hour as per my HRM.
  • MrsSenecal
    MrsSenecal Posts: 312 Member
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    I'm an avid Zumbaer.
    Definitely possible.

    Also one thing a lot of people don't know is that there's 5 different types of Zumba, & that it's Latin-based. Latin music/dance is some of the most intense lol.
    In a class there is no rest between songs, so you truly are going solid for a straight hour.
    Upon leaving a class everyone I know is sweating like Niagra.

    I notice that people who don't Zumba don't believe it, & people that do Zumba do believe it lol. Moral of that story? Don't knock something you've never done & don't talk about something you know nothing about as if you do know :)

    Everything comes down to weight & effort, bottom line.
    Does the lady in my class that hardly does the moves & is very half-assed burn 750-1000 calories? No.
    Now the woman behind me who does huge, exaggerated movements who guess double time? Yeah, she probably does.

    Right on Sista!
  • sarajeanelles
    sarajeanelles Posts: 55 Member
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    I have only done Zumba one time and I am WAY too clumsy and rhythm-less to do that but it did not seem like I could have burned more than 300 or so calories. Perhaps the class I went to was easier than others, or maybe I was too clumsy with the moves to burn as much as someone who is familiar with the routine I do spin class 5 times a week and I burn between 500-700 calories and that is WAY harder than any Zumba, I pretty darn sure, lol. With that being said, every body is different and the heavier you are the more you burn, I'm 5'10 and 152 lbs...... I suggest getting a HRM, I have the Polar FT4 with the chest strap and I love it.
  • GCAsMom
    GCAsMom Posts: 120 Member
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    I've been doing Zumba twice a week for several months now. (LOVE IT! :happy:) Our class is about 50 minutes long and my chest strap HRM says that I burn 510 on average. My personal burn record is a bit over 600. A full hour would, I'm guessing, put me well into the 600-700 range. (If I eat any of my exercise calories back, it's only 1- 200 if I'm truly hungry.)

    These are what I'd call moderate intensity classes, although a couple ladies also take Zumba at the Y and they've said that the instructor at the Y wasn't nearly as intense. I do break a good, drip-into-my-eyes sweat, but I try to put in as much effort as I can. For comparison, I also have TurboJam - the 45 minute routine only gives me a ~325 calorie burn, though it is a completely different type of workout, imo. I'm 41, 5'9", 193lbs.

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