fbpx ;

It’s a Zumba Party In Your Living Room!

Zumba-KinectI’ve been a huge Zumba fan ever since Jenn and I used to make fools of ourselves taking the Latin-fusion dance classes together. I’ve loved the Kinect for Xbox 360 ever since I tried it out and discovered how awesome using your body to control a video game is. Combine Zumba and the Kinect? Love love love!

I’ve never tried out Zumba workout DVDs like Jenn has, so I can’t compare the video game to the other at-home Zumba workouts. But I can say that when you combine really fun music with really fun dance moves and call it Zumba, it’s a sweaty blast.

Now, I’ve been taking it slowly getting back into shape post-baby. It’s been waaay too cold and snowy to get outside to work out, so I’ve been struggling a little bit to fit in my cardio. Now that Zumba made its way into my life, I’m back on the cardio track!

Like other games for the Kinect, you use your body to play, mirroring the Zumba instructor. You score by doing the moves correctly and filling up your Energy Meter, and a countdown timer lets you know how much time is left in each segment. Performance indicators appear on the instructor depending on how well you’re matching the moves. So if your feet, hips or arms are wrong, red circles will let you know to adjust your moves. I don’t know how accurate these were because I swear sometimes I felt like I was right on the money and it was still telling me I was wrong, but I do admit I’m an inept dancer so it’s highly probably that I’m more off than the sensor is. Honestly though, I didn’t really care about the scoring aspect or my accuracy as much as I care about it being a workout, which it is! I definitely got breathless and sweaty, even in the shorter 20-minute segments.

Continue reading to see how many stars we gave this video game workout! —Erin

FTC disclosure: We often receive products from companies to review. All thoughts and opinions are always entirely our own. Unless otherwise stated, we have received no compensation for our review and the content is purely editorial. Affiliate links may be included. If you purchase something through one of those links we may receive a small commission. Thanks for your support!