ZUMBA calories? I give up; I have NO CLUE!

amarie35
amarie35 Posts: 333 Member
edited September 24 in Fitness and Exercise
I have been doing Zumba (on my Playstation Move) for a couple of months. Unfortunately, I don't have a HRM & I have NO real idea as to how many exact calories I am burning. I am 5'9" and I weigh around 144 pounds. For those of you who are around my height & weight, have a HRM, & know how many calories you burn doing Zumba for an hour, can you please let me know?

I bought a HRM a few weeks ago, but it didn't work right. I think it had a defect or something. Or maybe I was the defect.....I just couldn't get the darn thing to work right, so I took it back. LOL! It showed me burning the same amount of calories no matter what exercise I was doing. So it is possible that my hubby programmed it wrong. Anyway, it was a cheap one & I plan on getting a better one soon.

But until then, I'd love to at least have a calorie range so I'll know how to enter it into my exercise for the day. I once read online that for a person weighing around 150 pounds, they can burn up to 500 and 900 calories an hour doing Zumba. It didn't specify if that range was for taking an actual class or just doing it...period. I've never taken a class but I'm sure you would burn more in an actual class. So, to be on the safe side, when I added the Zumba to my exercises, I set it up to show that I burn like 458 calories an hour, just to be on the safe side.

Did I set it too high?? Did I set it too low?? These are questions I ask myself everyday. And I'm hoping that some of you can help me out. Otherwise, I give up because I have NO clue. :ohwell:

Replies

  • JennLifts
    JennLifts Posts: 1,913 Member
    I'd say your estimate is pretty good. I usually burn 500 in 45 minutes or 750 in an hour. I'm doing more of a hip hop based one though, and I'm overly intense. I'm only 115, so when someone 150 would only burn like 600, that's what I mean by intense.
  • ahappyapple
    ahappyapple Posts: 128 Member
    When I do Zumba I usually just type it in as dancing or aerobics and put the time that I did it. I figure that it's close enough as Zumba is technically aerobic dancing. I hope this helps!! :)
  • fasttrack27
    fasttrack27 Posts: 324
    Probably a pretty good estimate to use till you can find out for sure w/ a HRM. (I'm just basing it on what my wife averages). Not knowing how fit you are or how hard you push, that sounds reasonable to maybe a little low. Better safe than sorry I guess
  • skingszoo
    skingszoo Posts: 412 Member
    See I only burn about 350-400 calories in a 45min class (@ the gym). Im 160 and 5'2. Before I got my HRM I was WAY over estimating.
  • royam01
    royam01 Posts: 123
    I also took a HRM back because it told me I was burning the same amount of calories no matter what I did. I did not believe it one bit. So... I am 5'7 and 144 pounds. If I do zumba I usually put 400 calories burned into my excercise journal. I think it is probably a very low count considering I work my butt off for an hour straight. I figure its better to underestimate than overestimate.... so I think the 450 that you put sounds pretty good in my opinion. However, my zumba insructor burns 800 and she uses a HRM. I don't know all the moves so I highly doubt I am able to burn as many as her... good luck! :)
  • jlcghs27408
    jlcghs27408 Posts: 37 Member
    Trying entering dancing into the exercise diary and see if it's comparable. That sounds about right though.
  • msproducer
    msproducer Posts: 101 Member
    Yesterday I attended a dance aerobics class at my gym called groove. I burned 646 calories in an hour according to the Polar FT4 that I have. I will do Zumba next week and compare the calorie burn.

    Sharon
    198 lbs
    5'7
  • catwoodard
    catwoodard Posts: 22 Member
    I am 5'7 and 145 pounds and in a 45 minute zumba dvd at home, my hrm shows that I burn around 415-450 calories.
  • irisbear
    irisbear Posts: 14
    Are you a member of Sparkpeople by any chance?? It is totally free and a great website for those trying to live a healthier lifestyle. I am quite a bit heavier than you are, so the calories they say I burn may not be accurate for someone your size, but at least they have Zumba in their exercise/fitness gallery and if you take the time to complete your settings/account on Sparkpeople, you can finally get an accurate idea of what you are burning. I take Zumba classes and they are so much fun...you should try it sometime if you get a chance. Hope this was helpful.
    D
  • DOTY1
    DOTY1 Posts: 97
    I have Zumba class 2x a week and it is normaly about 55 min and I use the dancing moder twist and it says that I bure 593 and I am 5'5 and 240. I always put it all out there when Im in the class you get out what you put in.
  • Shar6819
    Shar6819 Posts: 34 Member
    It's hard to measure one day in class 3 of us ladies compared calories burned it range from 440-680, I purchased a HRM so I would have an accurate amount.
  • AnneGenevieveS
    AnneGenevieveS Posts: 441 Member
    The best way to know with any exercise is to get a heart rate monitor that shows your heart rate, your age weight and gender. The monitor will calculate more accurately how many calories you burn. It really depends, because a 300 pound woman's heart rate is going to be elevated and burn more calories... On the other hand, a marathon runner's heart rate might not go up very much at all from zumba (becuase their heart is so well conditioned), and so they will burn less calories with something like zumba.

    Effort changes it too. Someone doing spinning really slowly for 40 minutes might only burn 300 calories. If you push yourself really hard and do lots of sprint and high resistance, you could burn 650+ calories from 40 minutes of spinning.
  • amarie35
    amarie35 Posts: 333 Member
    Thank you. I will look their website up. :smile:
  • justin_time
    justin_time Posts: 38
    the most accurate way is to use a HRM, however for a quick easy to use tool based on metabolic averages using your weight and workout intensity level try http://sites.google.com/site/zumbacaloriesburnt
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