Zumba’s Not Just For Teenagers

Are You a Zumba Lover?

We all know that the current guidelines for physical activity means we should be active on most days of the week with at least one of those days really making us puff a little. It is exercise intensity that gives healthy gains to our bodies, as we push them a little bit further than normal.

This doesn’t mean you have to run, jump, or cycle your way to fitness there are many, many more things that you can do that you might enjoy a little more. Enjoying what you do means you are more likely to continue to do it. It is consistency that counts in all things to do with health and fitness as you get older – whether that is your nutrition or your exercise patterns.

One of the many exercise crazes to hit our shores in recent years has just had its effectiveness validated in a study cited in the Journal of Sports Sciences and Medicine (1). Research has now recognised that Zumba Gold, the Zumba designed for older women, is a moderate physical activity. That means it gets your heart and metabolism going fast enough to make a difference to your health and fitness. This means you become fitter and healthier while having a good time.

One of the other benefits of Zumba, and classes like it, is that it gets you out and about and meeting different people and interacting socially. Engagement with others is one of the things known to improve your mood and happiness, and decrease depressive symptoms.

So if you have been struggling to get in some regular exercise because you find it too boring to go the traditional path, try Zumba Gold or something like it. You never know, it just might be the beginning of a whole new life of dancing that you once dreamed of.

(1) Bryant R. Byrd, Ryan M. Weatherwax, Katie A. Roos, Lance C. Dalleck, (2015) Zumba Gold^®: Are The Physiological Responses Sufficient to Improve Fitness in Middle-Age to Older Adults?. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine (14), 689 – 690.