Can Zumba or dancing *help* tone your body?
Verity1111
Posts: 3,309 Member
I know *lift heavy* etc. But can dancing or Zumba assist in the process? I have 3 kids (2 with disabilities) and I only have so much time in a day. I am super overweight so cardio is priority until I get down to about the 180s and add more strength training (I'm 210 right now and only 5'4"). I am just wondering if Zumba and dancing can help a little with toning the belly or legs, etc.
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The Dietitians I work with, as well as the personal trainers in my gym, have all said the same thing: Yes, us women require cardio, and we should get it wherever we can and however will motivate us to do so. That said, one of my old friends is now a Zumba instructor, and she was motivated to lose weight doing Zumba. It wasn't ALL she did, but it helped her. She did strength training and Zumba for cardio. She looks great, and like I said, she loves her job teaching people Zumba.1
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LadyofValeria wrote: »The Dietitians I work with, as well as the personal trainers in my gym, have all said the same thing: Yes, us women require cardio, and we should get it wherever we can and however will motivate us to do so. That said, one of my old friends is now a Zumba instructor, and she was motivated to lose weight doing Zumba. It wasn't ALL she did, but it helped her. She did strength training and Zumba for cardio. She looks great, and like I said, she loves her job teaching people Zumba.
I'm sorry "women require cardio" what on earth does that mean?
People need cardio for cardiovascular fitness...why would women need it more? What physiological difference would make that a truism
That said Verity if Zumba and dancing is what is getting you going and you can manage then you do it10 -
Thank you both and I love Zumba. I was just curious on if it helps in that way. I read it can help tighten your abdomen/core a bit but I wasn't sure if it's true. I will eventually add in strength training again. I was strength training before, at the gym, along with cardio there, but it was really time consuming with the travel time and this is easier because I can do it at home.LadyofValeria wrote: »The Dietitians I work with, as well as the personal trainers in my gym, have all said the same thing: Yes, us women require cardio, and we should get it wherever we can and however will motivate us to do so. That said, one of my old friends is now a Zumba instructor, and she was motivated to lose weight doing Zumba. It wasn't ALL she did, but it helped her. She did strength training and Zumba for cardio. She looks great, and like I said, she loves her job teaching people Zumba.
I'm sorry "women require cardio" what on earth does that mean?
People need cardio for cardiovascular fitness...why would women need it more? What physiological difference would make that a truism
That said Verity if Zumba and dancing is what is getting you going and you can manage then you do it0 -
It's basically untrained dancing. The instructor isn't looking to improve your actual technique or form of dancing so the muscular improvement is minimal. It's basically cardio. Now, that said, it will increase your calories burned in a day and combined with a calorie deficit, can help you lose weight.
But there are lots and lots of middle aged women I see do Zumba for a few years now and haven't seen any physique improvement because it's not a muscle tone up exercise program. Even the ones they hybrid with weights does very little.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
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Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
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It's basically untrained dancing. The instructor isn't looking to improve your actual technique or form of dancing so the muscular improvement is minimal. It's basically cardio. Now, that said, it will increase your calories burned in a day and combined with a calorie deficit, can help you lose weight.
But there are lots and lots of middle aged women I see do Zumba for a few years now and haven't seen any physique improvement because it's not a muscle tone up exercise program. Even the ones they hybrid with weights does very little.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
Hey hey.... I am not middle aged lol I am only 26 damn it. lmso. Irrelevance! Oh but thanks for the other part.0 -
Middle Aged is not an insult
I rock middle aged
:bigsmile:
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LadyofValeria wrote: »The Dietitians I work with, as well as the personal trainers in my gym, have all said the same thing: Yes, us women require cardio, and we should get it wherever we can and however will motivate us to do so. That said, one of my old friends is now a Zumba instructor, and she was motivated to lose weight doing Zumba. It wasn't ALL she did, but it helped her. She did strength training and Zumba for cardio. She looks great, and like I said, she loves her job teaching people Zumba.
LOL wut?
Women....require cardio? Can you please explain this further?4 -
I’ve been doing Zumba and Werq (hip hop dance fitness classes) for 6 months and I’ve lost 30 pounds doing just those classes for my cardio, and I’ve also toned up a lot on my legs and arms. That being said – you’ll get out of it what you put into it. You really have to push each movement to your fullest extension – big arms, big steps, big squats etc. My legs are just as toned as they were when I used to run and trained for half marathons, and my upper arms and shoulders are probably the most toned they’ve ever been – but I always make sure to fully extend just about everything I can. Small movements are not going to tone you up much. Also, core and ab stuff not so much – some of the twisting is good but core is pretty weak. But Zumba/Werq is FUN and gets me to the gym 5 times a week so if that’s what you love to do and it keeps you going, then do it and enjoy it!2
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To the comment that women require cardio. Some of the healthiest and most incredible looking women in my gym go from the front door to the weights and then back out the door without ever taking a glance towards the cardio section. If a women required cardio, then so would men.5
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I’ve been doing Zumba and Werq (hip hop dance fitness classes) for 6 months and I’ve lost 30 pounds doing just those classes for my cardio, and I’ve also toned up a lot on my legs and arms. That being said – you’ll get out of it what you put into it. You really have to push each movement to your fullest extension – big arms, big steps, big squats etc. My legs are just as toned as they were when I used to run and trained for half marathons, and my upper arms and shoulders are probably the most toned they’ve ever been – but I always make sure to fully extend just about everything I can. Small movements are not going to tone you up much. Also, core and ab stuff not so much – some of the twisting is good but core is pretty weak. But Zumba/Werq is FUN and gets me to the gym 5 times a week so if that’s what you love to do and it keeps you going, then do it and enjoy it!
Werq? I need to look that up lol. Works for me. I can always work on my core more later. A lot of the ones Im doing (actually using Zumba Core for Xbox) have a lot of twisting and bending but Im not sure what it does. Lots of arm and leg movements too. I was able to do a jump today that I couldnt really before...so hopefully my ankle improves and I can enjoy it more.0 -
It's basically untrained dancing. The instructor isn't looking to improve your actual technique or form of dancing so the muscular improvement is minimal. It's basically cardio. Now, that said, it will increase your calories burned in a day and combined with a calorie deficit, can help you lose weight.
But there are lots and lots of middle aged women I see do Zumba for a few years now and haven't seen any physique improvement because it's not a muscle tone up exercise program. Even the ones they hybrid with weights does very little.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
THIS! I joined a new gym this summer and have made a mental note of the bodies I see in the weight section VS the bodies I see going to zumba - two VERY different body types (on the whole).1 -
Depends on the instructor. I teach Zumba. My class is yes very cardio, but I have 3-4 "fitness" songs in there. Those songs focus on a muscle area: arms, abs, glutes. My students want that full body workout and I try to deliver, while still keeping it fun.1
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Muscleflex79 wrote: »It's basically untrained dancing. The instructor isn't looking to improve your actual technique or form of dancing so the muscular improvement is minimal. It's basically cardio. Now, that said, it will increase your calories burned in a day and combined with a calorie deficit, can help you lose weight.
But there are lots and lots of middle aged women I see do Zumba for a few years now and haven't seen any physique improvement because it's not a muscle tone up exercise program. Even the ones they hybrid with weights does very little.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
THIS! I joined a new gym this summer and have made a mental note of the bodies I see in the weight section VS the bodies I see going to zumba - two VERY different body types (on the whole).
Well hey I'm not asking if I'll get abs lol I'm asking if it helps at all like might it help tone loose skin a tiny bit etc0 -
Depends on the instructor. I teach Zumba. My class is yes very cardio, but I have 3-4 "fitness" songs in there. Those songs focus on a muscle area: arms, abs, glutes. My students want that full body workout and I try to deliver, while still keeping it fun.
ah ok. I use Zumba Core for xbox... it has a lot of leg up arms in different positions reaching, swift and slow movements both, jumping, squating, "jumping jacks" (although these are hard for me because of my bad ankle), punching, a variety of kicks, bending down, belly dancing moves and such. It's kind of a variety of different dances. I'm not sure what qualifies as a "fitness song" lol0 -
To the comment that women require cardio. Some of the healthiest and most incredible looking women in my gym go from the front door to the weights and then back out the door without ever taking a glance towards the cardio section. If a women required cardio, then so would men.
Well, if overweight everyone *sort of* requires cardio unless they want to lose weight very slow lol but otherwise I agree with you.0 -
Verity1111 wrote: »Muscleflex79 wrote: »It's basically untrained dancing. The instructor isn't looking to improve your actual technique or form of dancing so the muscular improvement is minimal. It's basically cardio. Now, that said, it will increase your calories burned in a day and combined with a calorie deficit, can help you lose weight.
But there are lots and lots of middle aged women I see do Zumba for a few years now and haven't seen any physique improvement because it's not a muscle tone up exercise program. Even the ones they hybrid with weights does very little.
A.C.E. Certified Personal and Group Fitness Trainer
IDEA Fitness member
Kickboxing Certified Instructor
Been in fitness for 30 years and have studied kinesiology and nutrition
THIS! I joined a new gym this summer and have made a mental note of the bodies I see in the weight section VS the bodies I see going to zumba - two VERY different body types (on the whole).
Well hey I'm not asking if I'll get abs lol I'm asking if it helps at all like might it help tone loose skin a tiny bit etc
No exercise will help tone loose skin. Loose skin is just skin, it has no contractile properties and can't be toned or exercised. If you have loose skin, one of two things will happen:
1) It will tighten up over time, or
2) It won't.
If you gained huge amounts of muscle mass (which is highly unlikely for most women unless they're taking anabolic steroids), the increase in muscle may tighten the skin up a bit - but otherwise, it is what it is. Zumba or dancing won't help it, running won't help it, weight training won't help it (except as above if you gained huge amounts of muscle mass), etc.
Zumba is cardio, sometimes with a bit of calisthenics thrown in. The mechanism isn't similar to progressive strength training, so it's not going to build muscle. It does burn calories, which can help with your deficit - which may help "tone" your body, since "toning" is nothing more than losing fat and exposing your muscles that were previously hiding beneath it.0 -
Ballet teacher here (and I do Zumba for fun). Dancing, by itself, has never made me, "toned." I do Zumba because I enjoy it and so i can eat more.
However, after I started lifting more, my technique has been absolutely outstanding. I land pirouettes more often and my leaps are higher than ever.
I wish I would have started serious lifting in my 20's because my dancing would have been so much better.
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