Have You Got Zumba Fever?
I have been hearing a lot of buzz about Zumba and how it is the most effective way to burn up to 1000 calories in one hour.
I have never tried Zumba but as a personal trainer, I have my doubts about the 1000 calorie per hour theory.
I am not the only personal trainer to express this opinion I know but I do believe there is a bigger picture than just Zumba in isolation.
I will start with a personal training session I was doing the other day.
I was doing interval training with a client on treadmill, we did 20 minutes and the client burnt about 350 calories, this was with full out sprints of 30 seconds and 1 minute jogging.
This client would have burnt 1000 calories in one hour but I do not believe that they would have be able to walk out of the gym! This highlights one important issue about anything that claims you can burn 1000 in one hour, it's hard work! and I mean really hard work.
I do not know of anyone that could do interval training for one hour straight.
I include conditioned fitness professionals in this as well.
I don't see how people who perhaps aren't as fit can train at this type of intensity.
The problem for me is the advertising of these type of programs with the hook of burning 1000 calories per hour.
People tend to like that sort of promise when considering a fitness plan.
The reason is the quick fix culture that we live in, whether we like or not.
This is why people buy in to 1000 calorie promises, the reality is that to burn this type of energy it is very tough.
It is achievable but very tough.
The other issue as I see it with these type of classes is that you can't out train a bad diet.
I say this because sometimes people use these type of classes to try and burn off a lot of bad dietary habits.
I call this the "compensation factor" It doesn't work in truth as you would need to maintain chronic exercise to out train a bad diet and you wouldn't have the necessary fuel or nutrients to keep you going.
Have you ever noticed that people who run a lot get ill quite often? It is the stress that chronic exercise can put on the body.
In conclusion, any type of exercise is great so feel free to enjoy classes like Zumba.
Will it provide the magic solution to your weight loss goals? Perhaps not.
I have never tried Zumba but as a personal trainer, I have my doubts about the 1000 calorie per hour theory.
I am not the only personal trainer to express this opinion I know but I do believe there is a bigger picture than just Zumba in isolation.
I will start with a personal training session I was doing the other day.
I was doing interval training with a client on treadmill, we did 20 minutes and the client burnt about 350 calories, this was with full out sprints of 30 seconds and 1 minute jogging.
This client would have burnt 1000 calories in one hour but I do not believe that they would have be able to walk out of the gym! This highlights one important issue about anything that claims you can burn 1000 in one hour, it's hard work! and I mean really hard work.
I do not know of anyone that could do interval training for one hour straight.
I include conditioned fitness professionals in this as well.
I don't see how people who perhaps aren't as fit can train at this type of intensity.
The problem for me is the advertising of these type of programs with the hook of burning 1000 calories per hour.
People tend to like that sort of promise when considering a fitness plan.
The reason is the quick fix culture that we live in, whether we like or not.
This is why people buy in to 1000 calorie promises, the reality is that to burn this type of energy it is very tough.
It is achievable but very tough.
The other issue as I see it with these type of classes is that you can't out train a bad diet.
I say this because sometimes people use these type of classes to try and burn off a lot of bad dietary habits.
I call this the "compensation factor" It doesn't work in truth as you would need to maintain chronic exercise to out train a bad diet and you wouldn't have the necessary fuel or nutrients to keep you going.
Have you ever noticed that people who run a lot get ill quite often? It is the stress that chronic exercise can put on the body.
In conclusion, any type of exercise is great so feel free to enjoy classes like Zumba.
Will it provide the magic solution to your weight loss goals? Perhaps not.
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