DOES ZUMBA WORK?

Today is a bit chilly so I'm thinking of skipping my daily walks (mostly because I'm aniemic so my body gets swallon if I get cold even from just holding a glass of cold water or washing my hands with cold water) so I'm doing my indoor exercises.Not sure which one to do first though but I'm thinking of the ones that I've done before because I know the moves & I know they work.

FLY

Deja, you two chicks sound CUTE!
Fly I would say, just keep watching it.. Force yourself to watch it when you would espect to excersice, you will eventually start working out! You'll see.
As for Zumba, I would try it on Youtube first..
There are loads of excersice vids on youtube and then you can see what you're into. Like pilates, yoga etc.. I like bootcamp type training...
I bodyrock.tv

Hi Ladies,

I'm one of those ladies who's addicted to buying exercise DVDs rather than being addicted to actually doing them.I have the Zumba (all versions) & I havent started with it but I've watched it (practised some few moves) & it looks fun.Other latin moves seems hard though.

I also have 6 women's health DVDs (I just love the magazine) & I've committed to about 2 of them & lost about 10kgs with the "balanced diet" of course.Then I have Taebo (ripped doubled DVD which I also did for about a month) now I just purchased Hip Hop Abs & I'm currently watching the moves & again this one looks fun.

The problem is that I cannot commit to doing the exercise.I have the alarms reminding me to do them but its hard to actually stand & do them.I however am committed to my daily walks & cycling (stationery bike) for about 30-45 minutes 3-4 times a week.

I'm also struggling to eat recommended calories for a woman of my weight & height.Its hard to even reach 1000 calories for a day but atleast I drink my water (about 2L excluding tea & other beverages).

I've started a reflection wall on the 1st & I'm planning to update it regularly although I havent started yet.

Any advice on how to be committed to eating healthy & exercising.

FLY

Hi Missy,

I have done Zumba and its totally addictive ( I loathe exercise full stop). I do however combine it with walking and eating well. To answer your question: I lost 10kgs doing Zumba and eating well in 2 months

1) Woman's body's don't produce enough testosterone to become really big, usually female bodybuilding have to inject themselves with testosterone(steroids) and train a special way to achieve that amount of muscle. - In other words it's really hard for a woman to get that a big without knowing what she is doing.

2) Does it work? Yeah if you are not eating too much, you can eat enough calories to offset your hard work.

3) Are the weights normal and heavy? Most likely they will use low weight with high rep ranges to maximize calorie burn using a method cause depletion training. It is mostly cardio with muscle development ot maximize the energy expenditure and achieve greater weight loss.

Spot on RM. No matter what the exercise type at the end of the day diet by far (as in 80 - 90%) is the more important if one wants to loose weight. Yes there will be an improvement in fitness and tone but if you're not eating right forget about loosing weight if that is also a goal.

Missy I'm doing a combination of Pilates/Zumba importantly with a strong focus on healthy eating and I have lost 5kgs in the last 2 months - I was a little overweight when I started. I can also definitely see a difference in the overall muscle tone of my body as well as fitness. It is also a great stress reliever for me and has improved a lower back problem I have dramatically - this is the main reason I started.

The problem I find with do it yourself exercise routines is the very strong possibility that one is not doing the moves correctly thereby defeating the object of what one is trying to achieve. I injured myself doing this with Pilates and I will never again do something new without first doing it with a properly trained instructor. So just be very careful especially if you have health issues like a bad back etc.