Get Fit by Dancing!

The popularity of such TV shows as Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance has spurred interest in dance fitness around the country. Attend a line-dancing event, grab a partner and try some ballroom, or venture into hip-hop or belly dancing to add variety to your exercise program.

Fitness Benefits

For those who already have a fitness regimen but are tired of the same old gym routines or for those who are new to regular exercise but want to start a simple cardio workout, dance fitness provides many benefits for body and spirit.

Ballroom dancing can burn 260 calories per hour, equal to a fast walk, while faster forms of dance can burn up to 450 calories per hour. Dance helps reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, controls weight, improves muscle tone, shapes hips and thighs, improves bone density, improves balance, increases endurance, decreases blood pressure, lowers cholesterol, and improves sleep.

Dance also benefits the mind by reducing stress and contributing to psychological well-being. Studies have linked dance fitness with decreased incidence of dementia. Learning new steps, coordinating movement with music, and socializing with others all keep your mind alert.

Dance Classes and Videos

If you’re new to dance fitness and feel intimidated by dance classes, Ken Alan, spokesperson for the American Council on Exercise and choreographer/program designer for seven Richard Simmons exercise videos, suggests looking for classes or dance lessons for beginners. If there are none in your area, borrow dance videos or DVDs from your local library. In-home videos have the added benefit of providing “the use of your rewind button as often as needed to master the steps,” says Alan. “Joining a class or group is less intimidating if you’ve had a ‘head start’ at home.”

If you already have a regular exercise program, vary your gym or jogging regimen with some dance fitness. The key is to synchronize your physical movement to the beat of the music, explains Alan. “Moving to a specific cadence builds . . . control, coordination, and quality of movement,” he says. “Learning to do something your muscles aren’t used to doing requires concentration and effort,” which gives you a great workout.

Add some socialization to your dance fitness by joining a class. Choose the level of experience appropriate for you. To find local dance classes, look under “dance studios” or “ballroom dancing” in the yellow pages or on the Web; check out YMCAs, Jewish Community Centers, senior centers, health clubs, and gyms.

Get Started!

For an overall cardio workout, spice up your exercise routine with some of these dance fitness styles:

Ballroom dancing, which includes the waltz, tango, and swing, enhances posture, balance, flexibility, alignment, and core strength. Repetitive movements let you master the steps, and having a partner motivates you to work together. This interactive, social dance builds self-esteem while burning calories.

Line dancing, a low-impact social activity that gets your heart rate up, requires no partner and no special skills or techniques. “If you can walk, you can line dance,” says Alan. The steps are taught slowly and practiced before going to full tempo. Music is as varied as country, swing, jazz, waltz, or Latin.

Belly dancing, an aerobic exercise good for beginners, began as a Middle Eastern fertility ritual. In belly dancing, as you hold the abs steady and shake the hips, you are strengthening the back and the muscles of the pelvic floor and toning thighs, abdominal muscles, glutes, and hips. To tone the whole body, add some jazz or ballet moves, such as a relevé or a pirouette.

Hip-hop, or funk or street dancing, is attractive to the younger set. Hip-hop has “quick, sharp, isolated, staccato movements [that] require precision and control” in time with the music, says Alan. Danced solo, with a partner, or in a crew, hip-hop is the most popular dance style in music videos.

Cardio salsa, a fast form of Latin dance with elements of the mambo and cha-cha, is popular in nightclubs. This high-intensity workout with lunges, arm raises, and booty shaking strengthens the core body and tones glutes and hips.