So, just how many calories do you burn in a fitness class? To answer that question, you have to consider a few things like your…
- age
- gender
- weight
- effort
- fitness level, and
- type of fitness class
The best way to know how many calories YOU burn is to actually measure your heart rate response to the exercise you are doing. Like many others before me, I did just that this week in three classes. Here are my results:
| Sweat & Sculpt | Zumba Basic | Zumba Toning | |
| Date | Mon Apr 9 | Wed Apr 11 | Thu Apr 12 |
| Duration | 59:55 | 49:53 | 57:11 |
| Average HR | 139 | 150 | 149 |
| Max HR | 174 | 171 | 170 |
| Calories | 469 | 449 | 505 |
My other factors: age 50, female, 168 lbs, high effort, high fitness level – hey! I don’t mind sharing!
While we all want that high caloric burn that cardio fitness is so well known for, it’s great to see that the formats that include resistance training ( Sweat & Sculpt, Toning ) also resulted in a great burn! And, keep in mind that there are other benefits of including resistance training and flexibility exercise into a workout like building lean body mass ( a.k.a. increase fat burning potential ), and improving cardiovascular health, strength, balance, coordination and ease of movement.
If you want to know your numbers, it takes a small investment in a good quality heart rate monitor and a bit of learning to set it up and use it. No matter what your goal is – weight loss, improved fitness level – it’s great to know that your time and effort are giving you the results you want.
