Everyone who’s ever been to a high-intensity Zumba class (especially one of Cristian’s) probably wonders how it will be possible to keep dancing like that for more than 20 hours.

The answer is: you don’t!

You actually lower the intensity to a level that you can sustain for that long. Think of it as a hike vs. a sprint: if you know you’re only running for 100 metres, you give it everything you have. But if you know you have 15 kilometres uphill ahead of you, you slow down to a pace that you can maintain for the whole day.

It’s the same principle!

Except that it’s much harder not to get carried away by the Zumba energy once the class has started.

That’s why we’re using a heart rate monitor with an alert: if Cristian’s heart rate exceeds 135 beats per minute, it beeps, buzzes and complains until his heart rate goes down, which makes it much easier to maintain a sustainable pace.

Your own target heart rate may be higher or lower than 135, depending on your fitness level and other individual factors. The important thing is to find an intensity you can comfortably sustain over a long period.

Come to our next training and experiment with adjusting your intensity to find a pace that works for you!