How Many Calories Can Be Burned While Doing Zumba?

Mar 7, 2011 | By Rogue Parrish

In his book "Zumba: Ditch the Workout, Join the Party! The Zumba Weight Loss Program," Zumba founder Beto Perez describes numerous cases of dancers losing 20 lbs., 30 lbs., 50 lbs. and more. Combined with a healthy diet and cross-training, this Latin-based dance exercise can burn calories and help you shed weight.

Effects

Perez writes that a Zumba dance class burns 600 to 1,000 calories an hour, depending on your weight. Certified Zumba instructor Adelicia Villagaray of Baltimore, Maryland, has recorded expending 700 calories on a heart-rate monitor during an hour-long class.

Types

Zumba compares favorably to other forms of dance exercise measured by Harvard Health Publications. A 155 lb. dancer loses 224 calories in an hour doing the waltz or foxtrot, 410 calories while disco dancing or performing ballroom or square dancing, and 446 calories in 60 minutes doing ballet or the twist. A 125 lb. person burns 180 to 360 calories per hour depending on the intensity of the dance exercise, and a 185 lb. person burns 266 to 532 calories.

Expert Insight

Calorie burn always depends on what routines the instructor provides during a class and how much energy participants put into them, Villagaray notes. One person can do the same routines with more energy than another and will burn more calories, she says.