Zumba for Guys?

Pseudocyber · May 2011

Ok, so as much as the women rave about Zumba, I thought it might be a good, fun workout. I have a 360 Kinnect, so I got the game. The actual "class" does look fun - but the moves ... I'm a 44 year old, over weight, out of shape white guy with NO rythm. I get the calypso step, as long as it's step forward, step back - more complicated than that, I start to get lost in making the move more complicated.

Any guys tried this? Anyone with no rythm like me? Is there hope? Stick with it - or go back to the typical "guy" exercises ... ?

clhiter · May 2011

I did the same thing. Thought hey me and family can do this and make it a family affair.....huh me got no rythem.

christina_michelle · May 2011

LOL lots of guys actually do it at my university! & LOTS of them have no rhythm but they SWEAT SO MUCH! So either way you burn calories!~

Athena413 · May 2011

I'm not a guy, but I say stick with it! I have a bad case of white girl can't dance syndrome, but I still go to zumba every week. If I were you, I might try it with the kinect for a bit, get the hang of it, then try to find a smaller class you could go to. The smaller classes are a little more personal and easy to learn in, I think, and you'd be surprised how supportive the women are. We had a guy or two come to the big class I used to go to, and sometimes they were more fun than the girls. Any zumba is going to be a great workout, but nothing beats the energy and intensity of a live class!

chanstriste13 · May 2011

i go to an all women's gym currently, but before that, i signed up for zumba through a community college, and there were fellas there shakin' it like it wasn't no thang! i say go for it - i never know half the foot work their doing in class, but i still burn a *ton* of calories, and it's fun!

kswietek · May 2011

i say if you enjoy it go for it! The moves will come as you get used to the routines! The more you do it the more you will like it and the better you will get so . . . just do it!!!

I mean Beto the creator of Zumba is a guy and if you have gotten very far into some of the routines, there are some guys that lead the "class" per say. Mostly in the single routines is what I have noticed.

It might help to go to an actual class at a gym or something to get a feel for the class and the moves, I did the class before I got Zumba for Kinect so it made a whole lot more sense to me.

HTH, Kay

Samerah12 · May 2011

Dude I've been going to classes for almost 3 months twice a week and I still don't know what the H is going on half the time! As long as you're having fun and breaking a sweat who cares if you do it exactly right? It does get easier the more you do it (especially with a game or DVD where you're doing literally the same moves to the same songs each time) but if you never get it perfect it doesn't matter.

atrayubrandy · May 2011

At my gym there is one guy that goes to my zumba class every Friday. He's pretty good at it, though. There were two guys that came for two classes and then quit. I can tell you that most of the girls in my class go regularly and still aren't good at it. There is one girl in particular that is almost a hazard because she is NEVER doing the right thing and it causes other people to bump in to her constantly. However, my opinion is that if you are enjoying it stick with it. If you don't like dancing then don't do it. You've got to love (or at least enjoy) your workout or else you won't be able to stick with it.

kk281 · May 2011

I have tried this and My friends have tried this. I stopped doing it and continued my more traditional workout and friends didn't. i lost weight, they didn't. bottom line is that, as with any group instruction fitness class, it all depends on the instructor and the motivation of the people with you. I am a strong advocate of traditional strength training combined with low intensity cardio (walking at a brisk pace and the like) for optimal weight loss. I try to maintaina a 3:1:3 lowCV:strength:highcv ration. i walk for about 45-60 minutes every morning when i get to work, BEFORE i eat breakfast, i run for about 15-25 minutes at lunch, and lift in the evenings for about 45-60 minutes. too much high intensity cardio, as achieved with the case in a well run zumba class, can and will cause you to actually burn muscle instead of fat as it is much easier for you body to burn muscle (glucogeneis) than fat (ketsosis). When it comes to weight loss i have found for 99% of people i have met that tried and true traditional methods work much better. Of course if you find something that works for you and its keeping you out of the fridge and off the couch, then go for it, i just think some of these programs are just trying ot be gimmicky and make themsleves seem better than they really are. also you can pruchase some lovely Zumba pants or B-Boy hoody for only $70 a pair if you want......yeah. My philosophy is that if you have to trick yourself into exercise you may not be truly motivated enough and you need to re-evaluate your goals. i have seen some people "tone up" with zumba, they droipped the excess 5-15lbs they had neatly tucked somewhere in there bodies and did gain some definition, but especially for a guy, building muscles (not necessarily gigantic ones) is the best way to burn fat. highCV does burn large quantities of calories whilst your doing it, but it can determent your bodies ability to burn calories the rest of the day that your not working out by decreasing muscle mass as well.

Long story short, i'd just stick to the old tried and true methods

coincidentally, i went into some detail about this and pissed off half of MFP in a thread on this very topic found here:
http://www.myfitnesspal.com/topics/show/233434-zumba

NatalieWinning · May 2011

Bah humbug, I do whats fun. I'm consistant, and I do exercise intensely. Right now i'm doing some DVD's i've promised myself to complete for toning and some weight training, but I've been doing wii Zumba since December. It's my go-to for big calorie burn. Doesn't matter if you do it well, or just jump around like a headless chicken, you are burning big calories. I work so hard I can't pay attention to the time it takes to do it, so the long workout goes fast. Then I have burned 400-700 calories per my HRM.

Let me tell you! I credit it for whittling my waist 5 inches! Also my hips! It's cardio, so maybe you don't need a trim hip, but it's a very good cardio hour. I keep my heart rate up the whole time, and keep going with the low impact workout until it stops. So no time to think about quitting or getting tired.

lkm111 · May 2011

Just like any exercise, it takes practice. If you like it, keep at it, you will get better. Good luck!

Pseudocyber · May 2011

Doesn't matter if you do it well, or just jump around like a headless chicken, you are burning big calories.

LOL - did you hack my Kinnect, have you been watching me? LOL

StevLL · May 2011

We just got ours and will try it tomorrow. I've been telling my wife for years I can't dance and she will now see what I mean. I have no rhythm (not even sure I can spell it), but I do know that while tried and true Iron is my favorite excercise, it is good to break it up. Stick to a solid excercise you will enjoy, but definitely stretch outside the box when you can. Even in weightlifting your body will adapt and fail to respond if you don't change it up regularly. Muscle confusion and building core muscle will greatly enhance all your efforts. Who cares what we look like as long as we're sweatin and got that heart rate up. From what I've read Zumba will build your core and that is a great foundation which will enhance all your other excercises.

Ps... have fun with it. I'm gonna put on a bow tie and pretend I'm a Chunk-n-Dale. hope that visual doesn't hurt anyones retinas permanently. :noway: :laugh:

:bigsmile:

Pseudocyber · May 2011

Ps... have fun with it. I'm gonna put on a bow tie and pretend I'm a Chunk-n-Dale. hope that visual doesn't hurt anyones retinas permanently. :noway: :laugh: :bigsmile:

LMAO. :laugh:

Zumba for Guys?

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