Zumba is a fun exercise because it combines aerobics, Latin dance, and movements to the rhythm of the music. Zumba exercise also focuses on rhythm and speed, so it benefits heart health.
Doing Zumba exercise can keep your body in shape while preventing you from going senile. See a complete explanation here.
Zumba gymnastics for body health
Zumba is a gymnastics originating from Colombia that combines various dance movements, such as cha-cha, salsa, tango, flamenco, and fast musical accompaniment.
The dynamic and varied movements of Zumba allow you to move your entire body for many health benefits.
1. Improve coordination
When doing Zumba, your arms and legs must move in different directions. You also need to move according to the fast rhythm of the music and keep the movement harmonious.
Therefore, if you regularly exercise Zumba, the benefits you can get are increasing the ability to coordinate the brain with hands and feet.
When body coordination is going well, you can move the correct body part at the right time and intensity.
2. Maintain weight
You can get the benefits of this one because every Zumba movement effectively burns calories.
A study published in the Journal of Sport Science & Medicine (2012) states that one session of Zumba exercise helps burn calories as much as 9.5 kcal per minute.
Zumba workouts are generally 40 minutes long. So, burning calories during one session can reach up to 369 kcal.
Ideally, you need to burn 300–400 kcal of calories in each exercise session to lose weight.
3. Maintain heart health
Zumba workouts fall into the category of cardio exercise. No wonder the benefits are good for heart health.
Still, from the same study, Zumba exercise uses 66% of maximum volume and 79% of maximum heart rate.
This figure meets the target of using maximum oxygen volume (40–85%) and maximum heart rate (64–94%) for exercise that is good for heart health.
Not only that, but various studies have also found that the benefits of Zumba help lower blood pressure.
4. Maintain general mental health
Research published in the journal European Journal of Sport Science (2019) states that Zumba for 12 consecutive weeks can improve memory performance.
Zumba involves the coordination of movement, balance, and musical rhythm, thereby stimulating neural activity. As a result, cognitive abilities and memory also increase.
The study also found that regular Zumba exercise reduced symptoms of depression. No wonder Zumba can be a suitable sport to relieve sadness.
5. Improve the quality of socializing
Another benefit of Zumba that you can get is increased interaction and communication with other people.
Zumba is done with a group of several people and one instructor. So, don’t be surprised if you get involved in conversations between group members and instructors.
You, too, are in a relaxing environment. Socializing will also provide benefits such as improving mood, providing a sense of security, and reducing loneliness and isolation.
6. Reduce stress
Physical activity, including Zumba, helps increase the activity of chemical compounds in the brain, namely endorphins.
These compounds help trigger feelings of pleasure and euphoria. The feeling of happiness from this increase in endorphins is similar to feeling happy when you laugh.
As an aerobic exercise, Zumba makes the body feel calmer and lowers the hormones cortisol and adrenaline. These two hormones are known as stress hormones.
In addition to reducing sadness, Zumba is the right option as a choice of exercise to relieve stress.
7. Reduce pain
Another health benefit of Zumba is that it reduces the severity of pain. Indeed cannot be separated from the role of endorphins.
Endorphins are brain compounds that can work as natural painkillers in the body.
When performing complex Zumba moves, the hypothalamus and pituitary gland release endorphins.
So, doing Zumba can make your body feel better in general.
Zumba is an aerobic exercise that involves dance and movements that are pretty complex and fast.
If you do it regularly, Zumba can improve your overall physical and mental health.
To get the most out of Zumba, make sure you do it for 150 minutes a week or 30 minutes every day.
