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SportLogia

www.SportLogia.com

2014, 10(1), 29-33

e-ISSN 1986-6119

EFFECTS OF ZUMBA FITNESS PROGRAM

ON BODY COMPOSITION OF WOMEN

Adriana Ljubojević1, Vladimir Jakovljević1, and Milijana Popržen2

1Faculty of Physical Education and Sport, University of Banjaluka,

Bosnia and Herzegovina

2Fitness studio “Sport Trend”, Banjaluka, Bosnia and Herzegovina

ORIGINAL SCIENTIFIC PAPER

doi: 10.5550/sgia.141001.en.004L

UDC: 793.3-055.2

SUMMARY

The aim of this research was to determine the effects of zumba fitness program on changes of

women body composition. 12 women aged 25-35 participated in the conducted research. The zumba

fitness program was estimated after eight weeks of exercise, total of 24 training sessions. Body weight,

fat percentage, fat mass, fat free mass and total body water were measured at the beginning and at the

end of the research. The effects of fat-free training model were analyzed by using Paired sample T

test. The obtained result showed that zumba fitness program achieved statistically significant improve-

ment in total body weight loss (p=.019), fat percentage (p=.012) and fat free (p=.000). Although the

value of fat free mass (0.22 kg) and the total amount of body water (0.15 kg) recorded increase after

completed program, they were not statistically significant. The study results clearly indicated that the

zumba fitness exercise can be used as effective group fitness exercise for the change in body compo-

sition of women.

Key Words: body composition, effects of exercise, zumba fitness.

INTRODUCTION

Group fitness exercises represent the form of

programmed physical activity to improve health and

change body shape. The zumba fitness is a new kind

of dance workout, inspired by Latin American music

and Latin American dances. The exercise combines

the basic of dance merengue, salsa, samba, cumbia,

reggeaton and other Latin American dances, uses

basic aerobic steps, but also enriches their composi-

tion of the other dance like hip-hop, belly dancing,

Indian, African dance, etc. It is fusion of basic prin-

ciples of aerobic interval training and strengthening

exercises which promote consumption of calories,

improve cardiovascular system and strength of the

whole body (Perez & Greenwood-Robinson, 2009).

This modern approach of fitness exercising satisfies

goals such as harmony of the body, improving posture

and strengthening bone-joint segments of the loco-

motors apparatus (Furjan-Mandić, Kosalec, & Vlašić,

2011). The researches confirm that the implementa-

tion of various forms of group fitness program

contributed to statistically significant effects in im-

proving functional and motoric abilities of a woman

(Mandarić, Sibinović, Mikalački, & Stojiljković, 2011;

Oreb, Matković, Vlašić, & Kostić, 2007; Park, Park,

Kwon, Yoon, & Kim, 2003; Šebić, Šahat, Zuković, &

Lukić, 2012), and changes in women body composi-

tion, as well (Donges, Duffield, & Drinkwater, 2010;

Stasiulis, Mockiene, Vizbaraite, & Mockus, 2010; Wong

et al., 2002). Also, the latest researches separate dance

aerobic as the most effective group fitness program

(Hižnayova, 2013; Oreb, Matković, Vlašić, & Kostić,

2007; Kostić, Đurašković, Miletić, & Makalčki, 2006;

Kostić & Zagorc, 2005; Luettgen, Foster, Doberste-

in, Mikat, & Porcari, 2012; Stoiljković, Mandarić,

Todorović, & Mitić, 2010; Viskic-Štalec, Štalec, Katić,

Podvorac, & Katović, 2007) which through motivat-

ing music implement creative choreography primar-

ily aimed to entertain the trainees. The advantage of

this model of exercise is that every practice is a new

entertainment based on various dance steps with dif-

29

Ljubojević, A. et al.: EFFECTS OF ZUMBA FITNESS PROGRAM ON BODY... SportLogia 2014, 10(1), 29-33

ferent intensity and form of exercising, what makes

the participants more motivated (Perez & Greenwood-

-Robinson, 2009). This is very important from the

aspect of maintaining interest for continuous exercise,

since the main reason for leaving the group fitness

program is monotony of each training session in long

term of practicing (Stoiljković et al., 2010). What is

the most effective group fitness program that include

healthcare, aesthetic, social and entertainment char-

acter of exercising is the question that fitness instruc-

tors often ask themselves. The aim of this research is

to reveal the effects of zumba fitness program on

changes in women body composition.

METHODS

Sample of participants and varibales

The study was conducted on a sample of 12

women aged 25 to 35 who participated in all training

sessions during eight weeks of implementation of

zumba fitness program. During this research (April

and May) they did not practice any other kind of

physical exercises. They were tested before and after

the implementation of zumba fitness program. Test-

ing was performed in a sports hall of Faculty of

Physical Education and Sport where the temperature

was about 20°C. All 24 zumba trainings were performed

by a licensed zumba instructor. The basic descriptive

statistic parameters were calculated for body weight

(TM), fat percentage (FAT), fat mass (FATMASS),

fat-free mass (FFM) and total body water (TBW).

Zumba fitness program

Zumba fitness exercise was perfomed three times

per week in the evening. Each zumba training (60

minutes) contained basic principles of zumba excer-

cise: warm-up, main part of the workout (zumba

party section), cool down and streching (Perez &

Greenwood-Robinson, 2009). Exercise intensity is

determined by the tempo of the music that changed

during training sections. Warm up contained basic

dance steps (march, step touch, side to side etc.) with

gradually accelerating tempo of music (120-135 bpm),

without leaps and jumps. In the second part of the

warm-up the muscle toning exercises were performed

with soft intensity through dance variations, slightly

squats were allowed (tempo 125-140 bpm). The goal

of warming up was to increase body temperature,

muscle blood flow, joint mobilization and the psy-

chological preparation, as well. Total warm-up time

was 8-10 minutes (tempo 120-140 bpm). The main

part of the zumba training was performed with 8-10

original zumba fitness songs. The dance choreogra-

30

phies and movements intensity was created in accor-

dance with tempo changing of music (tempo between

140-160 bpm). All Latin American dance choreogra-

phies (merengue, salsa, samba, belly dance, cha cha

cha, tango etc.) with their differences in character and

dynamics of movement (Lukić, 2006) provide dosing

of exercise intensity. Each dance lasts 3-5 minutes,

with pause of 15-30 sec. The aim of the main part

of the training is that trainees enjoy the music and

dance, and practice at the same time. Cool down as

the final part of the training contained easy dance

movement with soft music with mental and physical

relaxing purpose. Stretching was performed for

muscle relaxation, as also to prevent muscle soreness

and increase body flexibility. There were not any jumps

or squats allowed, and all the movements could be

performed in standing, sitting or lying position

(tempo of music -100 bpm). When program was

constructed it was considered that intensity of exer-

cising can be changed according to previous adapt-

ability. The intensity of exercise is dosed by using

toning sticks (zumba toning program) as well as by

changing character of the dance moves in presented

choreographies.

Measurement description

All body parameters were measured by TANITA

body analyzer BC-418MA III. Examinees were tested

in sports equipment, barefoot, in womans’ fitness

pants and shirts. During the data collection they were

standing on the bottom of body analyzer and held

electrodes in both arms. Data input contains body

height and age, and for the testing “standard” cate-

gory was selected. Olso, data input containes weight

equipment (0.300g). After signal the direct current

goes through the body and analyzes necessary body

parameters.

Data analysis

Data gathered during this research were analyzed

using statistic programs for personal computers IBM

SPSS 20.0. for Windows. For analysis of basic statis-

tic data and distribution of results on initial and final

measurement, basic descriptive parameters were

calculated: arithmetic mean, minimal value, maximal

value, standard error mean, standard deviation and

K-S test. The effects of applied training model were

analyzed using Paired sample T test. The level of

statistical significance was set at p<.05.

RESULTS

Descriptive statistics in Table 1 indicates changes

of values in all tested parameters after eight weeks of

IN

IT

IA

L

F

INA

L

Ljubojević, A. et al.: EFFECTS OF ZUMBA FITNESS PROGRAM ON BODY... SportLogia 2014, 10(1), 29-33

zumba fitness program. On average, the body weight

was reduced for 0.77 kg, fat percentage for 1.05%,

fat mass for 1.01kg, fat-free mass (composed of

muscle, bone, tissue, water and other non-fat mass)

increased for 0.22 kg, and total body water increased

for 0.15 kg. K-S test indicates a normal distribution

of the obtained results.

Table 2 shows the effectiveness of applied zumba

fitness program on changes in women body compo-

sition. The results indicate that there are statistically

significant differences between initial and final mea-

TABLE 1

surements in parameters: body mass (.01), fat percent-

age (.01) and fat mass (.00). However, even the results

shown in Table 1 indicate the increase of means in

fat-free mass (0.22 kg) and total body water (0.15 kg),

they did not show as statistically significant (FFM

p=.50; TBW p=.54).

DISCUSSION

Obviously, applied zumba fitness program has

caused statistically significant changes in women body

Results of descriptive parameters of initial and final body composition measurement.

n

M Min Max SD SE K-S

TM

12

66.85 59.10 83.60

8.30

2.39

.47

FAT

12

30.05 24.90 38.70

4.59

1.32

.77

FATMASS

12

20.83 15.20 32.40

5.49

1.58

.57

FFM

12

46.48 43.40 56.10

3.74

1.08

.49

TBW

12

34.03 31.80 41.10

2.74

.79

.47

TM

12

66.08 58.20 83.50

8.35

2.41

.63

FAT

12

29.00 24.00 36.70

4.08

1.17

.37

FATMASS

12

19.37 13.90 30.60

4.90

1.41

.64

FFM

12

46.70 43.50 58.40

4.46

1.28

.23

TBW

12

34.18 31.80 42.80

3.28

.94

.24

Legend: n - Number of respondents; M - Sample mean; Min - Minimum; Max - Maximum;

SD - Standard deviation; SE - Standard error; K-S - Normality of the distribution of

results; TM - Body mass; FAT - Fat percentage; FATMASS - Total fat mass; FFM

- Fat-free mass; TBW - Total body water.

TABLE 2

Effects of zumba fitness program exercise on body composition of women.

Paired Differences

95% Confidnece Inter-

t

M SD SE

val of the Differnece

Lower

Upper

df

p

Pair 1 TMI-TMF

.77

.97

.28

.15

1.39

2.75

11

-.01

Pair 2 FATI-FATF

1.05

1.20

.34

.28

1.81

3.00

11

.01

Pair 3 FATMASSI - FATMASSF 1.00

.92

.26

.42

1.59

3.78

11

.00

Pair 4 FFMI-FFMF

-.22

1.13

.32

-.94

.49

-.68

11

.50

Pair 5 TBWI-TBWF

-.15

.83

.24

-.68

.38

-.62

11

.54

Legend: M - Sample mean; SD - Standard deviation; SE - Standard error; t - Students' t dis-

tribution; df - Degrees of freedom; p - Probability; TMI - Body mass initial; TMF

- Body mass final; FATI - Fat percentage initial; FATF - Fat percentage final;

FATMASSI - Total fat mass initial; FATMASSF - Total fat mass final; FFMI - Free

fat mass initial; FFMF - Free fat mass final; TBWI - Total body water initial; TBWI -

Total body water final.

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Ljubojević, A. et al.: EFFECTS OF ZUMBA FITNESS PROGRAM ON BODY... SportLogia 2014, 10(1), 29-33

composition. The changes are reflected primarily on

reduction of body mass (p=.01), fat percentage (p=.01)

and fat mass (p=.00). Applied zumba fitness program

achieved the most effects on the fat percentage that

has been reduced for 1.05%, and the loss of body fat,

in average -1.01kg. Body weight was decreased on

average for 0.77kg. Comparing zumba fitness workout

with tae bo aerobics trainings Hižnayova (2013) ex-

amined differences in the intensity of exercise. The

study was conducted on 11 women during 6 zumba

trainings and 6 tae bo aerobic trainings. The heart

rates were assessed in three parts of the training:

after warm-up, after the main part of the training and

after relaxation and stretching. The results show that

the intensity of exercise during the warm-up and the

main part of the training statistically significantly

increased in all 6 zumba trainings compared to tae bo

aerobic trainings (p<.05). Energy consumption (mea-

sured in kilocalories) during all trainings was also

significantly higher in favor of zumba fitness model

exercise (p<.01). Similar results were obtained in the

studies of Barene, Krustrup, Jackman, Brekke, and

Holtermann (2013) who investigated the effects of

twelve-week zumba fitness program at the percentage

of fat mass and the total amount of fat mass, in a

sample of women employed in the health sector. They

practised 2 to 3 hours a week. The results showed

that the group that exercised zumba fitness reduced

total body fat mass (-0.6kg; p<.05) in comparison to

the control group. In generally, zumba fitness training

program outside of working hours can lead to certain

health benefits for women employed in health care.

The zumba fitness exercise, among other things, is

based on the variety of zumba programs (zumba

classic, zumba gold, zumba toning, zumba sentao,

zumba kids, etc.) in which the complexity of dance

choreographies and intensity of exercise are adapted

to age and the goals that want to be achieved by

practicing. In particular, it should be stressed that the

conducted research on the effects of zumba fitness

program in a relatively short time period of eight

weeks caused a significant changes in the physical

parameters of women, which is not negligible if we

know that the most common motive of an individu-

al to join the group fitness programs is the reduction

of fat mass and weight loss.

CONCLUSION

The research of eight-week zumba fitness program

on a sample of 12 women showed statistically sig-

nificant effects on changes in body composition of

women. They are reflected in the reduction of body

weight, fat percentage and fat mass. Although, even

32

if the value of fat free mass and total body water

increased, they were not shown as statistically sig-

nificant. The research showed high efficiency of

zumba fitness training program on the reduction of

body fat, which is very important since it is the com-

mon motive for joining group fitness programs. The

uniqueness of zumba fitness exercising is in the va-

riety of Latin dance choreographies and dynamic

music that create an atmosphere of fun (zumba

party) in which trainees forget they are practicing.

This approach to exercise enables long-lasting inter-

est and continuous exercising. It would be interesting

to examine the effects of Zumba fitness program on

the reduction of body fat of individual body segments

observed over the long period and continuous exercise

(at least 3x per week), or to compare the effectiveness

of applying Zumba fitness program compared to the

other group fitness programs. It should be noted that

researches about the effects of zumba fitness exercise

are rare compared to studies of other aerobic exercise.

This is because the zumba fitness is the latest “hit”

that appeared in the domain of aerobic exercise and

that its actual effects on different populations and for

different purposes are yet to be examined. This paper

is a contribution to the clarification of its actual ef-

fectiveness in the changes of physical parameters of

women.

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Received: March 13, 2014

Revision received: May 30, 2014

Accepted: Jun 23, 2014

Correspondence to:

Adriana Ljubojevic, PhD

Faculty of Physical Education and Sport

University of Banja Luka

Bulevar Vojvode Petra Bojovića 1a

78000 Banja Luka

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Phone: +387 65 567 612

E mail: adri.ljubojevic@gmail.com

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